Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 7 hours ago
Judd Apatow has written, directed, performed and produced comedy for years, not only as a master in that field, but also a mentor. Today, I share 5 Lessons I learned from the Judd Apatow Comedy Masterclass.
Already in this Notes From The Pro’s Series, we’ve looked at what I’ve learned from Shonda Rhime’s and Aaron Sorkin’s MasterClasses. But, where Shonda and Arron are the modern day avengers of drama- comedy is my happy place.
What I use in my video:
Best Music for YouTubers: bit.ly/3rA67MI (get 2 extra months)
Best Stock Footage for YouTubers using Artgrid: bit.ly/33dc8ox
I write romcoms and family-friendly movies and Judd’s films action a lot of what I’m learning to get right. Also, his films are funny- like when you have to hold your belly because you’re laughing so hard kind of funny. However, he’s not all about being a comedian in your screenplay. I mean, even though he writes a great joke, he stresses that we do not forget the drama in the screenplay.
The first takeaway is that, if you have a great story with great characters, it’s easy to try and make it funny. But the story should be just as good even if there were no jokes.
He actually even says: “Think of your comedies as dramas”.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:30 Comedy vs Drama
00:54 Finding the funny
01:53 Selling your screenplay
03:16 Facing the blank page
04:38 Outlining Activity
Basically, his approach is that the more personal you get, the funnier you’ll be.
Then just to add on this, he encourages you to take notes of cinematic moments in your life. He shares examples of how some of the best work he did was the most personal. I’ve had some pretty hysterical things happen in my life, and it was fun to reflect on those and aim to incorporate them into some of my screenplays as opposed to thinking of situation that are text-book funny, but without that personal flair.
His process about approaching your first draft is something I’m doing to prepare for the next screenplay that I’m about to start writing. He mentions that for a few months to even about a year, he writes out scene ideas around the theme of the film, or the idea of the film. I’m not giving myself that much time, but you know- the point is to jot things down to set yourself up for success when you eventually hit the blank page.
So, Judd isn’t necessarily sure of how his ideas will connect, but he just writes these ideas down anyway. So after he has many cards with scene ideas, he goes full Sherlock and finds the movie.
He comes at the idea of facing the blank page by making it approachable and not intimidating.
#screenwriting #screenwritngtips #juddapatow
DISCLAIMER - If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my channel :)
Judd Apatow has written, directed, performed and produced comedy for years, not only as a master in that field, but also a mentor. Today, I share 5 Lessons I learned from the Judd Apatow Comedy Masterclass.
Already in this Notes From The Pro’s Series, we’ve looked at what I’ve learned from Shonda Rhime’s and Aaron Sorkin’s MasterClasses. But, where Shonda and Arron are the modern day avengers of drama- comedy is my happy place.
What I use in my video:
Best Music for YouTubers: bit.ly/3rA67MI (get 2 extra months)
Best Stock Footage for YouTubers using Artgrid: bit.ly/33dc8ox
I write romcoms and family-friendly movies and Judd’s films action a lot of what I’m learning to get right. Also, his films are funny- like when you have to hold your belly because you’re laughing so hard kind of funny. However, he’s not all about being a comedian in your screenplay. I mean, even though he writes a great joke, he stresses that we do not forget the drama in the screenplay.
The first takeaway is that, if you have a great story with great characters, it’s easy to try and make it funny. But the story should be just as good even if there were no jokes.
He actually even says: “Think of your comedies as dramas”.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:30 Comedy vs Drama
00:54 Finding the funny
01:53 Selling your screenplay
03:16 Facing the blank page
04:38 Outlining Activity
Basically, his approach is that the more personal you get, the funnier you’ll be.
Then just to add on this, he encourages you to take notes of cinematic moments in your life. He shares examples of how some of the best work he did was the most personal. I’ve had some pretty hysterical things happen in my life, and it was fun to reflect on those and aim to incorporate them into some of my screenplays as opposed to thinking of situation that are text-book funny, but without that personal flair.
His process about approaching your first draft is something I’m doing to prepare for the next screenplay that I’m about to start writing. He mentions that for a few months to even about a year, he writes out scene ideas around the theme of the film, or the idea of the film. I’m not giving myself that much time, but you know- the point is to jot things down to set yourself up for success when you eventually hit the blank page.
So, Judd isn’t necessarily sure of how his ideas will connect, but he just writes these ideas down anyway. So after he has many cards with scene ideas, he goes full Sherlock and finds the movie.
He comes at the idea of facing the blank page by making it approachable and not intimidating.
#screenwriting #screenwritngtips #juddapatow
DISCLAIMER - If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my channel :)
