MIDTERM- How to Make A Viral Comedic Video

We've all been there. Sitting at your office desk, hanging out on a computer with your friend, watching the news and an amusing report comes on, reading the newspaper and coming across a description on how one quickly became a phenomenon. Viral comedic videos have been the topics of countless water cooler discussions and "hey did you see the one where..." talks for the past five or so years. It all started back right around the advent of YouTube (we'll get to that later,) and stretched into 2010 where everyone is looking for the hottest, best viral video to show their family and friends. Not all of them skyrocket into the public's eye- as a matter of fact, a vast majority flounder, are unfunny and barely scrape up views. However, when they do 'hit,' it's a force to be reckon with.

PART ONE: STEPS TO VIRAL SUCCESS

Take a look at this handy guide if you want to make the perfect, quintessential viral video. Also, take a gander at some examples and before you know it, even YOU can have your very own viral video phenomenon.

**Quick note: when the term "viral comedic video" is used, for this purpose it means a video that can be amusing- not totally laugh out loud. With that being said......

STEP ONE: BE QUIRKY AND ORIGINAL

No one wants to watch something that's been done over and over again, or something you can easily catch on TV any day. The viral comedic videos that really take off have something that sets them apart from the rest of the pack. Maybe they've never been done before? Perhaps they have a relatable factor? Maybe it's something you can only dream of doing, but never had the time, which is exactly why the following video is the very latest comedic viral video. It's a music video that the band OKGO recently released for their latest single. OKGO first came onto the scene with a viral video that featured the band, on treadmills, singing their debut song "Here It Goes Again." To follow up, they wanted to do something epic......

Only posted March 1st of this year, the video for "This Too Shall Pass"has already gotten seven million views and features a Rube Goldberg machine, which is a device using found parts. Taken several months to build by a team of physicists and scientists, including those from NASA, this video exemplifies step number one in the best way possible.

STEP NUMBER TWO: FEATURE CELEBRITIES

While step number two isn't a deal breaker, it will sure help your cause and at least get it initially noticed, but for all the videos without celebrities, there are some that feature today's hottest stars that get passed around the most. Whether it's for a good cause like the "Saturday Night Live" Presidential Reunion that featured Dana Carvey, Will Ferrell, Jim Carrey, Dan Akroyd and Chevy Chase, the ever popular "I'm F***king Matt Damon," or the follow up "I'm F***king Ben Affleck," which featured (among others,) Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and a plethora of other stars. Not getting a ton of celebrities together isn't a deal-breaker either- sometimes you only need one- and a baby. Will Ferrell's "The Landlord" showcased this perfectly and became such phenomenon a that it even fueled a full-fledged website devoted to funny videos owned by Ferrell, writer Adam McKay and producer Judd Apatow.

The Landlord from Will Ferrell

Posted a little over two years ago, "The Landlord" has garnered an astounding 71,000,000 views and counting. This means that "The Landlord" conceivably garnered more views than Will Ferrell's latest movie, the remake of the television show "Land of the Lost," that cost millions to produce and bombed the box office. "The Landlord" meanwhile was filmed over the course of a few hours on a shoe-string budget. That's the power of the internet...

STEP THREE: FEATURE A CATCHY SONG

Videos that feature catchy songs do two things- raise the profile of the song and gives the video an extra remembrance factor- one can get the song stuck in their head and therefore makes it easier for them to remember the video. The clip "JK Wedding Entrance" perfectly illustrates this point. It showcases the Chris Brown song "Forever," and came at a time when Chris Brown needed good publicity the most, since it was posted a few months after he assaulted then-girlfriend, the singer Rhianna. Filmed on a home video camera, this video incorporates steps One and Three in a perfect coupling...

The video, which took off the summer of 2009, became such a hit that it even inspired a parody on NBC sitcom "The Office," and the original dancers were invited to recreate their entrance on a variety of TV shows, including "Today."

STEP FOUR: BETTER YET, DO A MUSIC VIDEO

A good amount of comedic videos that really hit it big happen to be music videos. The one thing that varies is that sometimes they are done by major artists, while other times they can be done by anyone with a boombox and a webcam. One of the first videos to really take off is "Lazy Sunday," which was first featured on the NBC sketch comedy showcase "Saturday Night Live." Filmed in New York over the course of a day, and edited throughout the night, the video stars comedic actors Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell rapping about their quest to go see the 2005 children's adventure film "Chronicles of Narnia" (therefore explaining the chorus- "the chronoc-WHAT-cles of Narnia"- chronic taking a double meaning, to mean marijuana and the title of the flick.) The video was so successful, it is the one that arguably put YouTube on the map, and even gave Samberg a movie deal (in the form of the 2007 film "Hot Rod.") Unfortunately, NBC.com makes it difficult to embed videos in blog posts such as this, so here's one of the countless 'salutes' to the video made by a fan in the wake of the initial "Lazy Sunday's" success.

The video was such a hit, it spawned even more music videos featuring Samberg including 'MotherLover," a duet about loving 'cougars' with Justin Timberlake, "Dick in a Box," a goof of an R&B song about giving the special someone in your life just that (also with Timberlake,) and "Iran So Far Away," a ballad sung by Samberg and Maroon 5's Adam Levine about the demented Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinijad.

STEP FIVE: EMBARRASS YOURSELF

If there's one thing we've learned from shows like "America's Funniest Home Videos," it's that when people make a fool of themselves, nothing is ever funnier. At least once a week something like this is passed around- whether it be guy who made a video resume and came off like a loser, the countless news-anchors caught for cursing while on air (who can forget the local New York weatherman who said "keep F***king that chicken,") or a tirade caught on tape (like Christian Bale yelling at a crew member, or Bill O'Rielly cursing out one of his producers on the set of "Inside Edition" in the 1990's. Possibly the best of this crop is the simple fall- it could be when a news reporter falls out of a barrel while stomping grapes live on the air, or this video appropriately titled "Scarlet Takes a Tumble."

The Scarlet in the video became quite a celebrity and embraced her fall, appearing on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," among others, having a good time poking fun at herself. There's something about seeing someone else fall that makes anyone laugh themselves silly. Being the person that does the falling? That's something else all together......

STEP SIX: BE A LIL' KID

We all know that little kids steal the attention in any household, but they also do so online. There are a variety of funny online videos that are passed around that feature little kids in funny situations, they can range many emotions- like being sad (like the girl who is crying because she loves Justin Bieber so much,) or angry (like the boy who gets angry at his video game system and flips out- much to the delight of everyone watching.) Arguably the most popular video featuring a little kid is "David After Dentist," which showcases a young boy named David being filmed by his father in his car after a trip to the dentist's office. David had some sort of surgery done and is still under the effects of the anesthesia when the camera started rolling.....

Featuring such memorable lines as "is this real life?" the video which was originally posted in January of 2009 has garnered an amazing 54 million views thus far. It has also attracted a fair amount of controversy, as has the "Landlord" video, in which detractors say that little kids are being exploited. Whether or not that is true is for the viewer to decide, but what is proven is that controversy can go a long way in aiding the life span of a video. Sometimes the most outrageous (like "David") are the most memorable as well.

PART TWO: MOST POPULAR YOUTUBE VIDEOS: WHERE DO THEY FALL IN?

Let's take a peak at some of the most viewed videos in the history of YouTube, and see what steps they incorporated in order to be on the top of the heap....

NAME: "Charlie Bit My Finger"

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM

RANK: 1

VIEWS: Over 172,000,000

DESCRIPTION: A little British kid complains that his little brother 'bit his finger."

STEPS INCORPORATED: 1, 6

NAME: "Evolution of Dance"

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg

RANK: 3

VIEWS: Over 139,000,000

DESCRIPTION: A guy dances to a melody of different songs.

STEPS INCORPORATED: 1,3

NAME: "Hahaha"

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk

RANK: 5

VIEWS: Over 111,000,000

DESCRIPTION: A baby laughs.

STEPS INCORPORATED: 1,6

NAME: "Jeff Dunham- Achmed the Dead Terrorist"

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwOL4rB-go

RANK: 7

VIEWS: Over 109,000,000

DESCRIPTION: Comedian Jeff Dunham and his terrorist puppet.

STEPS INCORPORATED: 1, 2

NAME: "Jizz in My Pants"

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pXfHLUlZf4

RANK: 16

VIEWS: Over 79,000,000

DESCRIPTION: A music video from Andy Samberg about an embarrassing situation. Made for "Saturday Night Live."

STEPS INCORPORATED: 1, 2, 4, 5

PART THREE: IT'S UP TO YOU

Now you have the knowledge in order to make the most popular YouTube video of all time. What steps will you incorporate? Where will you go right- or wrong? As anyone will tell you that uploaded the most popular videos, you never know what will take off and what will flop. The wedding video, for example, was filmed and posted with the sole purpose of showing friends and family who couldn't attend the wedding what went down. The poster had no idea it would be a favorite among a global audience. Also, remember there's little to no money that is guaranteed. Sure, you might be on a few TV shows here and there, but when the glory fades away, it's kind of like having one top 10 song. Sure it's fun for awhile and you'll always be remembered for it, but is that a good thing? Do you want the only thing you're remembered by to be you falling flat on your face, like in "Scarlet Takes a Tumble?" Lastly, remember this- even if you do make a popular video, with the exception of record companies, there are no two comedic videos on the top 30 of youtube that have the same up-loader. Of course some of their follow-up videos were successful, but it's almost guaranteed you'll never repeat the same amount of success- it's like getting stuck by lightning twice.

Don't let any of that stop you, though! Take that camera, think of a good idea and go for it. Even if you're video doesn't take off to get astronomical views, at least some of your friends will get a kick out of it....