Why So Many Sitcoms Look the Same

(YouTube link)

When the question in the title is posed, they aren't talking about the laugh track, the jokes, the plot, or even the sets. This is about the three-camera technique, which was developed by German filmmaker Karl Freund, and worked so well in TV shows that eventually all sitcoms used it. It's not just the cameras, but also the studio audience and the lighting that give it a particular style. Vox explains the three-camera technique, why it works, and how it became so ubiquitous. -via Laughing Squid


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Three camera shoots with saturation lighting are so common, it did not occur to me that someone had to invent it. Thanks.

And while we are at it, I wonder which genius decided to cajole Freund into working on The Lucy Show, I am betting it was Desi.
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No, I didn't miss the point. The reason the update is funny is because there are so many modern actual baseball players with names funny enough to work in a classic comedy routine.

The old one is funny. It's classic, it's genius.

The new one is funny because of the reality incorporated into it.
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Miss C: You missed his point entirely! All your points are common sense ones but don't answer his question. What Houndogg asked was why does a classic comedy routine like Who's on First need updating? It is a timeless example of comedy. That's why it is a classic. It most certainly does not need updating. It stands on it's own merits. It is one of the all time funniest routines ever. I suppose next you will want to update the Mona Lisa painting.

(P Hu)

(BTW it can't legally be updated any way since it
was copywrited in 1944 but that's beside the point.)
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Because it's funny to see real players in it? Why does anyone write entertaining things? Maybe he wants to give people a chuckle. Maybe because someone is paying him to write entertaining things. You could ask him.
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