Armstrong and Bain's guide to comedy

With the new series of their sitcom Peep Show about to start on Channel 4, in The Guardian, Guild members Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain offer their guide to writing comedy.

Devise An Innovative Shooting Style That Makes Filming Incredibly Difficult And Alienates The Majority Of Your Potential Audience

"We like the point of view filming style and internal monologues in Peep Show but very occasionally we wonder what it would be like if we shot the whole thing normally. Perhaps it would have more mainstream appeal and be considered less of a cult. The style makes the show appear edgy even when we're writing quite traditional comedy. We could probably write a scene in which a vicar was coming round for tea and a character was struggling to get his trousers on but still retain a sense of reality to the situation because of the camerawork! Certainly, we did a scene in series three where Mark's boss turns up at the flat and sees him sitting on the toilet."