Deconstructing Jim Gaffigan's First Tight Five

[@herseem]

Jerry, this is a serendipitous discovery. Forced by circumstances to break it into bits and comment on each part, this forensic bit-by-bit analysis is just what we want.

[@JerryCorley]

I’ll be doing more like this

[@CraftyCraftCalledComedyChannel]

Hey Jerry this is the by 1000% the Best Play by Play Stand Up Comedy Breakdown/Lesson 👍 You Literally cant get it better than this on KZbin🙌🙌 You deserve Millions and I hope you get it Doc👍

[@Thegoviafamily]

You are so Right

[@generalruler]

@@Thegoviafamily you're good at jokes!

[@paramdongre5549]

Hello Jerry this is one of the best videos you have made... Please we need more like these

[@danaycomedy]

Agree!

[@wayneflake2171]

Thanks Jerry. This video was superb! Most people probably would want a single flow. But breaking it down bit by bit was very informative and was easy to follow.

[@JerryCorley]

Thanks for that information. So far the feedback on the video has been super positive, so I’ll be doing more like this.

[@Jeff-z5y]

Jerry, I enjoy so many of your videos, I had to pick one to leave a comment on. Thanks so much for digging into comedy for us. Showing us the inter-working, triggers, etc. I used to be a software trainer and took my first steps into stand up during my training sessions. Now, I'm writing jokes, going to Open Mics, and learning. Your videos, book and great advice give me great help along the way. I have written comedy posts for Social Media, and have learned the brutal truth of pruning my writings down to stand up material. I guess you never stop editing comedy. Thanks again for everything.

[@JerryCorley]

That’s so cool to hear that. Keep it going and I’m glad my stuff has inspired you!

[@goandroidtech2105]

You had change my life jerry. Your videos are most useful resource i look up to. Thanks for doing it and keep making more videos regularly 🙏🙏😇

[@euggiemonad2523]

I really need to watch this more than once and take notes the second time, which I will do. There's more than one way to get something done and you nailed it with this video. Thank you for posting this. More like this please! So many people have abused the system and its made KZbin have to be stricter. The machine/algorithms show that its not personal, and while that's little consolation, it is their platform, as you said.

[@danaycomedy]

More deconstructing videos like this please! Super helpful.

[@BryanWalkerAgentVSX]

Please do more of these! The concepts of structures has always been hard for me to grasp but this gives me more context and shows me what i need to do!

[@kellykaufman007]

This was SO HELPFUL!!! I love how you broke it down after every joke. I think it was meant to be-- because if you would’ve saved the whole summary for the end of the video, it would’ve been harder to remember all the jokes. Please make more videos like this breaking down other comic’s specials. This is honestly the most educational/helpful video I’ve ever seen on standup writing. I’ve rewatched this over 5x & continue to watch. THANK YOU!!

[@da8675]

This my favorite of all your video's. I wish you could do more of these breakdowns of really funny comedian's jokes.

[@siddeshpai9728]

This is the video I needed today. You're awesome! Thank you!

[@grandrioentertainment7280]

So so helpful! More videos like this please!

[@TERRIBLETRADER]

These kind of breakdowns are incredible, thank you so much and please give us more!

[@Steve-hc4bc]

Jerry, you are just great!!! thank you so much for your content and structure to everything. I find that your techniques and advice on structure don't only apply to comedy but to writing in general. Again thank you so much!!!! you are a blessing

[@sharonwong7556]

Jerry, this is fantastic! Thanks for being awesome!

[@JerryCorley]

Thanks, Sharon!

[@ali89863]

That was amazing. I love your book. Thank you for both of them. Video and the book. I'm from iran but i love American standup comedians.

[@JerryCorley]

Go get it, Ali! My college roommate was from Iran. He was studying directing and we wound up doing some college comedy projects together in film

[@ali89863]

@@JerryCorley thank you so much.❤️

[@PrestonDalling]

This is a great video. I could see my writing improve when I applied your advice to my material. Thank you!

[@thescotty2h864]

This was AWESOME! Thank you for what you do! I kinda feel lame for "learning" comedy as I would another subject because I've always had the perception that successful comedians were uniquely talented and that if I had to learn it like a subject in school, then maybe I didn't "have it." I have since disregarded that and don't give a shit! I'm gonna learn whichever way I can as I DEFINITELY want to be a standup comic! Thank again, Jerry!

[@marving27]

Wow this is a great video. Breaking down the structure really makes me appreciate Jim Gaffigan even more.

[@Erin-uk2jj]

Fantastic, thank you! This is really helpful. Can you do more?

[@joaquin-lunacomedian1683]

That was awesome Jerry! This has been the best instructional video I have ever seen in regards to stand up comedy. Takeing each 25:03 joke, breaking it down and explaining it was very useful. Thank you again.

[@richard_parr]

Thanks Jerry. This is a fantastic deconstruction. It’s really making me think about my sets and jokes.

[@charlescollins2076]

Really helpful video! Please do more break down deconstructing videos like this!

[@jerrykrull9436]

Jerry, great content as usual. I started doing exactly this method about 10 years ago as I looked to improve my material. I had some short story bits where I wanted to turn it into a two person "sketch-like" bit. So I transcribed some Brian Regan bits (Buying a refrigerator, Eye-doctor) and I saw how many setup, punchlines and tags he used for both himself and the other "character". It was eye-opening how much I was able to cut setup lines and add tags to my bits after that. I started to analyze John Pinette and Mike Birbiglia too. You can learn a lot from analyzing Birbiglia's bit about performing at a baseball writers award show. Great storytelling structure that gets a roll of laughs and a couple call backs to earlier bits he used.

[@JerryCorley]

Maybe Birbiglia will be next.

[@JerryCorley]

That’s one of the things I learned early on, to transcribe monologues and dissect each joke.

[@marioolivares1216]

Hi! Something caught my eye both in the video and in @jerrykrull comment, what do you mean by tags? what are those tags for? I have never seen them and I wonder how could they help me to have a better structure. Thank you!!!

[@Lucky13_Saint]

Thank you so much for all your hard work. This was super helpful

[@SidLaw500]

Love what you're doing with these breakowns!

[@jas18320]

This one blew my mind. Thanks for doing this.

[@JerryCorley]

Thanks Jason! I’m glad you got some value from this.

[@rayfollis8992]

This is one time I'm glad KZbin decided to copyright bully - this was an excellent analysis. Well done!

[@JerryCorley]

You know, you’re right. It really helped for me to break it up and do the analysis piece by piece and I think it made for a better teaching tool. Thanks for sharing that.

[@elvisfakicomedy7223]

Hey Jerry please do more videos like these ones

[@tonivalleraull]

This video is awesome Jerry, thank you! Keep them coming please!! Is great to see the explanation of techniques used in each of the jokes. And I like it the way it is, stopping after each of the jokes. More videos like this please :)

[@vendelalilliestrale1208]

Absolutely love this video! Your whole channel is great but this was amazing. I would love more videos like these please 😍

[@GeneralAccount-t5f]

Jerry Corley!!!! This was amazing. I still have your book. THIS was so amazing. Thank you! I just learned a ton in 25 minutes.

[@JerryCorley]

So happy to hear that you got something from it.

[@william.darrigo]

I would love to see more of these analysis!

[@JerryCorley]

Thanks! I’m working on one for Brian Regan now. Any particular comedian you want to see deconstructed?

[@thecuriousquest]

This breakdown is super helpful!

[@wordrubble2395]

Very helpful. More, more, more!

[@henryp3780]

I don't know what you had before but I like this a lot better.

[@SeriouslyMichi]

Thanks so much for this, so helpful 👏👏👏

[@PaimanVahdati]

This was super helpful, thank you!

[@mguerra79]

Great analysis! Thank you!

[@JerryCorley]

So glad you enjoyed it!

[@mguerra79]

@@JerryCorley sir, I always enjoy your content, and often refer it to friends that I think that should take action and move into Stand Up careers! Even for me, but I have no money for this at the moment, for your courses, despite receiving your newsletter, but I intent to attend one day, but for now my focus in Branding, Brand Strategy and to help people/entities develop their own brands, so this is, to me, at best, a liitle down the line... :D Cheers from Portugal!

[@MrTurbObrown]

Thank you!

[@Freezo85]

Great video Jerry, love how you break it down into simple bite sizes. Is it also possible to download the PDF you've made? Then I could use the template to work out some of my own material.

[@elvisfakicomedy7223]

This is very good analysis can you please do more videos like this

[@GoatlikePersonality]

Great video. I just bought your book and I might read it. I am glad youtube forced you to break it down. And they were right in doing this. Yes you can use copyrighted material for critisism parody and education. But just like humor, there is not clear line how much you can take before you cross the line. So the general rule is that you should take as litle as possible, and break it up as mush as possible. I have to be transformative. If I would go up on a stage and say I will teach you how the Jerry Corley tell his jokes, this would be copyright infigment if it was funny. Because turning funny into funny is not transformative, even if I use the «education fair use» excuse. However if someone would make a educational video with all your jokes in a boring way…. Then its transformative. I do ex cult comedy! This mean my humor have a very small audience of tramaticed cult survivor, while the cultleaders are powerfull institution with hundreds of lawyers. So when I take their material I must know exactly how to make it transformative. I made a video called «steven lett explain masturbation» and it consist 100% of the cultleaders statement taken out of context. He did not like it but there is nothing he can do since its transformative. I started making ex cult humor as a way to heal after leaving the cult, and this have been great therapy for me and others with the same trauma. But I realised that I must learn how to make normal jokes to normal people and I learned a lot of you. Making jokes about the jehovah witnesses is a slim audience, so I decided to branch out and start making fun of the mormons. I hope to see you in Utah

[@JerryCorley]

Thanks for the tip.

[@GoatlikePersonality]

@@JerryCorley You are welcome. And please stop for coffee at my farm next time you come to Norway

[@alecmiddleton1842]

I have plenty of real life experience of cults. Shortly after Bin Laden's plane attacks in the US, I observed plenty of people recruit themselves into the online cult of 9/11 Truthers. Always thought cults needed a physical place for potential acolytes to go to. Nope. You can be sat online in your living room and the techniques used by the old world analogue cults still work in the new digital world. The hypnotic editing of reality, the exclusive narrow TRUTH, the paranoia and hostility to all criticism of the TRUTH and the limited phrasing and vocabulary of true believers. It's all there. There is a larger market for your material than you might think.

[@keychange6231]

Brilliant!

[@william.darrigo]

Such an excellent analysis!

[@hahamasala]

That was one of your best videos. The concepts will help me come up with jokes which are as good as some of my best jokes which I think already follow some of these patterns. I wrote them not realizing that.

[@JerryCorley]

Thanks for your comments! It really helps me to put together better content. 😁

[@jatinchhu]

I read that Jim Gaffigan worked in advertising. Maybe that's why he does so many act-outs of pitch meetings.

[@JerryCorley]

That’s right! He did. Good observation!

[@TrentBabbComedy]

Great stuff! Do another one!😊

[@bradhouston4734]

This was great! Loved it! Thanks

[@JerryCorley]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mikestratton78]

Thank you for this Jerry. Very helpful!

[@alexwolf42]

Thank you very much ❤

[@JerryCorley]

You’re welcome

[@BerthierAlan80]

great stuff! thank you!!

[@MrPhesodge]

Nice content dude, I'm a small town entertainer and wouldn't be learning this stuff to smooth out my act without you ❤ My other edu/docu KZbinrs often upload to nebula when the content gets too spicy for KZbin

[@JerryCorley]

Happy to be helpful! Nebula, huh? I’ll have to take a look

[@roopsaini3759]

LOL. I was JUST looking for this set! Thanks for the detailed breakdown!!! You did my homework for me ;)

[@32sonoflightmason8]

Excellent video!

[@cookiestheentertainerchann7907]

Great stuff! Cheers, Carlos Figueroa!

[@JerryCorley]

Thanks Carlos!

[@AnthonyHernandezIllusions]

This was just great!!!

[@linaalvaa]

You sir are magical. Thank you immensely for all the splendid advice you give. Cant wait for your next In person class ✨✨✨

[@JerryCorley]

Abra Cadabra! New in-person class coming to a comedy club near you soon! Hope to see you there!

[@Scottfowlerishere]

Wow! This is amazing thank you!

[@JerryCorley]

You’re welcome, Scott. You’ve been doing some of these comparisons, now you can study some Gaffigan and and just a little more punch!

[@mirosgerg]

I read your book fun ideas, keep up the Good Work. I really enjoyed your Hot Breath interviews

[@da8675]

I really like Gaffigan and he is a great comedian to study.

[@churchofclaus]

Please do more "Deconstructing" Videos

[@TheInnerMakeupArtist]

Great video!!

[@Ben.Standup]

thank you very much a great video

[@JerryCorley]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@michaelsix9684]

first six minutes is the hardest part, you either win the crowd or not, pass the audition or not

[@aleisjoking]

Love it!!!

[@JerryCorley]

Thank you Alessandra!

[@Makiaveliiste]

Hello Jerry, I saw a blog article of yours. I was wondering if there a difference between the "paraprosdokians" and the "reverse"? Thank you.

[@davidroth7542]

Love it Jerry!

[@JerryCorley]

Thanks Dave!

[@DavidAranovich1]

So f’in good. Next level good. (Sounds better than “great” lol)

[@JerryCorley]

Thanks David!

[@sabrinahlm]

Your videos are extremely helpful - I’m learning a ton! I might even drum up enough courage to make some word association lists and give it a try!! My question is - How do you effectively make choices to shatter the audience’s expectations - is there a trick to finding the right thing to say? Or is it more about trying many things to see what plays best? Seems like the choice has to be unexpected but still exist within the world you’ve created … but still… not sure how to do it…

[@aVeganMia]

Great video

[@Juan_rivera]

I didn't used to likd Gaffigan, he's el not me favorite but i got some chuckles adhd laughs out of this

[@calgarciacomedy]

Great stuff!

[@JerryCorley]

Glad you think so!

[@teddyBfunny]

great video doc!!! Would you suggest it's almost like a recipe? Also is best to open with a Reverse joke and end with reverse joke that includes a call back or is that me getting too clever?

[@JerryCorley]

Thanks Teddy B! That’s actually a great idea. Just like Gaffigan, the callback resolves the piece

[@Geppicomedy]

Jerry great content. I am sorry for you, that the copyright issue happend, but i think the outcome is the better Version of this Episode. We need more

[@JerryCorley]

Yes, thank you! Persistence paid off. Happy you enjoyed the content

[@b1sing53]

Thanks for the breakdown of Gaffigan’s comedy. It’s good to see Americans laughing at themselves. The civilized world has been laughing at them for a long time.

[@JerryCorley]

Haha! We need to laugh at ourselves.

[@steffietv9238]

Hi Jerry! I'm just starting out, did a handful of open mics. I'm having difficulty applying this to sets that are packed wuth act outs. Like Brian Regan's refrigerator bit. I'm dying laughing, but I don't see the structure much yet. I'm doing act outs too, but having a hard time to structure them. Kinda follow my gut wuth stories from my life, but that's probably not always gonna work.. Any advice? Ever teaching in person in Florida? Thank you!!

[@JerryCorley]

Hi Steffie! Thanks for your comment. I love Brian Regan. He’s actually very close to Gaffigan in style, as Gaffigan drives a lot of his laughs with character act-outs. But in the refrigerator bit (should be called “Refrigerator Salesman” bit” because that’s who he’s making fun of. So in this bit the Target is clear. Plus we want to win against the salesman. Regan makes him a bit of an antagonist. Regan, however is relying different comedy structures in that bit. He’s using Observation, comedic irony and simple truth to get the laughs. I should do a video on that video, huh? I’d love to come back out to Florida to do a workshop. Where are you and do you know a place there I could talk to to set up a space for a weekend?

[@steffietv9238]

@@JerryCorley Hi Jerry! Thank you for your quick reply! It would be awesome if you did a video on that Regan bit! And St. Petersburg, FL would love to have you! There are tons of clubs in the area. Spitfire Comedy House is great, Coastal Creative has a big space (Robert Kelly shot his special there), McCurdy's Comedy theater in Sarasota, the Gimmick in Tampa etc etc. I would think they all would be happy to host you for a class/show! I'd sign up;)

[@tonygoodwin08]

Hey Jerry, take a look around KZbin for "reaction videos" to music videos or movie trailers for a good idea of how other creators have figured out how to post their Fair Use content without tripping KZbin's anti-copyright algorithms.

[@JerryCorley]

Thanks Tony! I did exactly that. Use clips varying times, less than a minute per clip. That’s the simple version. I appreciate your help! 😃

[@heathermcgwiggin4622]

Four jokes a minute - 20 total

[@steven13cody]

I don’t get the call back portion. Can you explain how this was a call back when there was no previous mention of the French?? Kinda got lost at the call back portion…

[@wf1218]

May I suggest: Emo Phillips?

[@JerryCorley]

Great Suggestion!

[@aakashsoni2199]

❤

[@TheLeagueOfSteve]

HEY KZbin! I LEARNT A LOT FROM THIS!

[@reycesarcarino4653]

How many type of Jokes are they're And do you have to have a variation for your Audience

[@JerryCorley]

Great question. There are 13 Major comedy structures, but there are also literary devices that create humor too. I use a wide variety of these structures. Most successful comedians use 3 or 4.

[@reycesarcarino4653]

@@JerryCorley Only 13 wow you got a Video on that

[@dawngrabowski]

Great video. Just a suggestion maybe you can get some of your comedy friends to sign off on their material, and then you wouldn't have a problem with KZbin. So essentially, you could break down some of your students' jokes 😊

[@GoatlikePersonality]

He would still spend the same amount of time… trust me. He is arguing with a robot. And if the robot now belive this video from Jerry Corley is Kocher, then Jim Gaffigan might get a copyright strike for using Jerrys material. KZbin do not have a person working this cases… its a robot.

[@GoatlikePersonality]

But I have an Ide… If Jerry would ask people to send him videos with «reverse jokes» we would do it for free. Because we all want to be promoted in any form possible. Jerry could do «top ten comparison jokes» and explain what amatour comedian did the best. Keep Goatlike i mind 😂

[@CraftyCraftCalledComedyChannel]

Can you do Chappelle Next🙏🙏🙏

[@JerryCorley]

Great idea! I’m doing Brian Regan next, then Chappelle. Can’t wait!

[@alickoldfield5435]

🏃 promo sm

[@yukiwhitley]

the bottled water bit did not age well 😢

[@-xirx-]

He maybe an adept joke writer, I just don't find him funny