Cinema Vocabulary: Dying is Easy, Comedy is Hard

Black comedy

looking at the grim with a grin, black comedy finds humor in serious matters

Breakaway furniture

specially constructed props made from light-weight materials that easily break apart; often used for fight scenes

Vaudeville

a stage variety entertainment show, featuring a series of short acts - songs, dancing, acrobatics, comedy skits, and animal acts

Spoof

a film that playfully imitates the style of a serious work

Satire

a film that criticizes the style of a serious work by harshly mocking it

Mime

instrumental in silent films, speechless acting out of a character and his actions

Improv (Improvisation)

an actor ad-libs his character, acting out a scene without a script or rehearsal

Slapstick

violent actions used for humorous effect

Double take

a delayed comic reaction in which an event goes unnoticed until the actor suddenly acknowledges it

Pratfall

falling on one's bottom for comedic effect

Shtick

a Yiddish term for a comedian's trademark talent

Sit com (Situational comedy)

a television comedy that focuses on the natural humor of a particular setting, purely a television term

Dramedy

a genre which combines the elements of drama and comedy; also known as "serio-comedy," for serious comedy

Sketch

a short comedy routine with actors staged in a pre-planned situation

Laugh track

a recording of laughter used only in television comedy shows; also known as "canned laughter"