[vimeo 96558506 w=584 h=390]

Here Vimeo user Tony Zhou breaks down what he says are the hallmarks of good comedy movies and bad comedy movies. The latter (and the far more typical), he says, are sort of just edited improv scenes. The former – of which he uses the techniques of Edgar Wright, director of Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hott Fuzz (2007), and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) as examples – are movies that achieve a rich sensory medium by using everything at filmmaking’s disposal to keep you engaged and laughing. But Zhou’s breakdown is much more concise and understandable than my own. Watch it.