Sunday Mailbag- Researching Parodies?

Q: When you need to do a movie or TV parody for MAD, how much time do you spend researching the subject matter? Do you watch the movie just once, or a few times? Do you watch just an episode or two of the TV show or an entire season or more?

A: There are big differences between movie parodies and TV show parodies with respect to the research I put in. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Movie parodies are far less time consuming to research but usually require a lot more work to find actual references from the film and of the actors. Since the film is a self contained story, I need only watch the movie to see the entire thing. This is usually only a few hours of time (unless it’s set in Middle Earth, then it’s 10 hours or so). That said, the parody usually mirrors the plot of the film and keys in on certain scenes and sequences, so I go see the movie three times at least.

The first time is right after I am assigned the parody, before I get the script or layouts. I just go see the film as anyone would, and try to react to it as if I was not about to try and lampoon it. I want to register a casual viewer’s reaction to the movie… where I started looking at my watch, when I was riveted to the screen, where I shook my head at a ridiculous plot hole, what kind of odd things do I notice, etc. The second time is after I have gotten the script from MAD, so I know which scenes are in the parody, and what the jokes the writer has crafted are. Now I watch the film with an eye on the details of those moments… what do I notice about the scene? What’s the set like, and what is everyone wearing? How’s the lighting? The camera angles? The actor’s performances? I am looking for things that define these moments and especially anything that makes them awkward or odd or stand out. In fact I look for anything that is distracting or drives me crazy overall. For example, in the first “Avengers” movie I noticed that, despite being in a cold, marble-floored palace in Avengers Tower, Gwyneth Paltrow’s character Pepper Potts walked around barefoot in a pair of Daisy Duke Jorts. Every time I drew her in the parody she has big, flappy, smelly, Gollum feet. I usually go see the film a third time, after I have done the pencils and am inking the finals. I just want to get a refresher at that point, and maybe notice something I missed.

Having only a two-three hour film to watch makes that part of the research easier, but the disadvantage is that the film is still in theaters and I cannot do screen caps of individual scenes or of the actors. I will download all the trailers I can find, and they give me some helpful imagery. So do movie stills used in articles about the film. Usually I have to go to other resources to put together a collection of references of each actor at different angles so I can work out how to caricature them. These include image searches online or maybe renting other films they have been in and watching those/doing screen caps. I also research any visual gags I might come up with… cameos of characters or elements from other films or media.

TV shows are much more time consuming up front, because with the exception of reality or game shows or I don’t just watch a couple of episodes. I need to get a feel for the show and the characters, so I have to watch at least a full season, and will often try and watch the entire run if it’s only a few seasons. Depending on the show that can be a big time commitment… 13 to 22 hours per season. I get a sense of the characters and how to portray them over time, not just from a couple of episodes or scenes. I also get ideas for visual gags from the show as a whole. There are repetitive things in a show that you do not notice without getting very familiar with it.

The advantage to TV shows is you have no lack of specific reference. I can download episodes and do screen captures of certain scenes so I can get the set, costumes, props, everything right. I can also create a group of references of the actors I am caricaturing IN CHARACTER, which is a lot easier when trying to nail a likeness and represent the way a character is portrayed. Of course I also need to research non-sequitur and related visual gags I might add.

I have no opinion on which I prefer, although after a few of one type in a row I am ready for the other.

Thanks to G Jonen for the question. If you have a question you want answered for the mailbag about cartooning, illustration, MAD Magazine, caricature or similar, e-mail me and I’ll try and answer it here!