History SoYouWantTo / WriteAnAbridgedSeries

** {{Flanderization}}- Take one character trait and make it their entire character, a variation of this is to keep one character trait from the canon, and change every other (Edgeworth in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZxbi78MnQU Bullshit Evoloved]] keeps his snobbishness but alters nearly everything else).
** [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks Altered Voice]]- [[AmericansAreCowboys Making the one American character Texan]], [[GenderBender or giving the tomboy a man's voice]], are common examples of this.
* Humor Style - Restricting yourself to one style isn't usually necessary, but a fairly lighthearted style is usually good.
* RunningGag - A good running joke can be the best part of an abridged series; don't worry too much about the original joke being funny, sometimes a lame joke can grow funny over time and vice versa, but you should make sure each time you use the joke it works and makes ''some'' amount of sense. One thing many people don't realise is that anything that can be done to a trope can be done to a running gag; subverting, lampshading, etc.
* References - The ideal reference gag works whether someone gets the reference or not. Make sure you don't alienate the fanbase your show is targeting, and if you are going to use them, make sure to share the wealth - if half your references are to the same show, it's going to make people question what series they're ''actually'' watching a parody of.
* Extra Credit - Adding animation or background music can take your series to the next level, but make sure you know what you're doing and are adding to your series, not cluttering.

* Humor. While necessary in any abridged series, keep in mind that the number one reason abridged series fail is because they try too hard to be funny. If you can't think of something truly humorous (get independent feedback); you can get by using {{Non Sequitur}}s, pointing out {{Plot Hole}}s, or sometimes just playing it how the original did and letting its' weirdness/terribleness shine through. If you really want to, you can add a NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer caption with it.

* Overzealous copyright protection. One the one hand, that's good--if the source material's lawyers feel threatened by your product, it means you're doing something right. On the other hand, it keeps anyone from ''seeing'' your product... and YouTube has a shoot-first-ask-questions-later policy when it comes to copyright violation, Fair Use: Parody or not. The alternative is, of course, other hosting sites; many abridgers migrated to blip.tv precisely because they are less hot-headed about copyvio. ...Well, ''[[TechnologyMarchesOn were]]'' less hot-headed. The new mecca for abridging has yet to arise.

* Audio and clip quality. When making an abridged series, make sure your viewers will be able to make out what's going on and hear what the characters are saying. We're not asking you get the best of the best, but it'd be nice to make it at least somewhat clear. Decent USB microphones can be had for under $100 these days, and decent ''recording'' software does exist in freeware: check out [[http://audacity.sourceforge.net Audacity]] to start with. Also, weirdly enough, GuitarHero has a really good microphone.

The general idea of an abridged series is to keep fairly close to the original plot, but much quicker - about a quarter of the original length seems to work best. Some abridged episodes [[http://www.dawnsomewhere.com/mentally-advanced-series/mas-episode-12/ completely change the plot]], and some [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU5eJUl0WgA run nearly as long as the original]]. While these may not be ''true'' abridged series, there's nothing wrong with them - however, keep in mind you're only making things harder on yourself.

When in doubt, just stay true to the original and let the humor come from what they say and do.

* Humor. While necessary in any abridged series, keep in mind that the number one reason abridged series fail is because they try too hard to be funny. If you can't think of something truly humorous (get independent feedback); you can get by using {{Non Sequitur}}s, pointing out {{Plot Hole}}s, or sometimes just playing it how the original did and letting it's weirdness/terribleness shine through.

The general idea of an abridged series is to keep fairly close to the original plot, but much quicker - about a quarter the original length seems to work best. Some abridged episodes [[http://www.dawnsomewhere.com/mentally-advanced-series/mas-episode-12/completely change the plot]], and some [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU5eJUl0WgA run nearly as long as the original]]. While these may not be ''true'' abridged series, there's nothing wrong with them - however, keep in mind you're only making things harder on yourself.

** {{Flanderization}}- Take one charcater trait and make it their entire character, a variation of this is to keep one character trait from the canon, and change every other (Edgworth in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZxbi78MnQU Bullshit Evoloved]] keeps his snobbishness but alters nearly everything else).

* References - The ideal reference gag works whether someone gets the reference or not. Make sure you don't alianate the fanbase your show is targeting, and if you are going to use them make sure to share the wealth - if half your references are to the same show, it's going to make people question what series they're ''actually'' watching a parody of.

* Humor. While neccesary in any abridged series, keep in mind that the number one reason abridged series fail is because they try too hard to be funny. If you can't think of something truly humerous (get independent feedback); you can get by using {{Non Sequitur}}s, pointing out {{Plot Hole}}s, or sometimes just playing it how the original did and letting it's weirdness/terribleness shine through.

Although abridged series' work best when it's SoBadItsGood, any animated show can potentially be abridged well, (eg. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPRhlFFIvns Mirai Nikki]]). It's been popular ever since the genre's TropeMaker, ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'', was created ([[OlderThanTheyThink though the concept of abridging works goes back for a while]]). If you want to take a shot at joining the parodies yourself, look no further than the advice below.

* First off, ScheduleSlip is a big danger here. Working on each episode of an abridged series takes at least several hours, and a lot of people don't have time for it. If you're really, truly interested in committing yourself to an abridged series, make sure you have a few hours to spare in your free time to update.

The general idea of an abridged series is too keep fairly close to the original plot, but much quicker - about a quarter the original length seems to work best. Some abridged episodes [[http://www.dawnsomewhere.com/mentally-advanced-series/mas-episode-12/completely change the plot]], and some [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU5eJUl0WgA run nearly as long as the original]]. While these may not be ''true'' abridged series, there's nothing wrong with them - however, keep in mind you're only making things harder on yourself.
* Characters. There are several ways to aproach character, and it's usually not best to go at each one the same way.
** {{Flanderization}}- Take one charcater trait and make it their entire character, a variation of this is too keep one character trait from the canon, and change every other (Edgworth in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZxbi78MnQU Bullshit Evoloved]] keeps his snobbishness but alters nearly everything else).

* RunningGag - A good running joke can be the best part of an abridged series; don't worry too much about the original joke being funny, something unhumerous can grow funny over time and vice versa, but you should make sure each time you use the joke it works and makes ''some'' amount of sense. One thing many people don't realise is that anything that can be done to a trope can be done to a running gag; subverting, lampshading, etc.

{{Flanderization}}- Take one charcater trait and make it their entire character, a variation of this is too keep one character trait from the canon, and change every other (Edgworth in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZxbi78MnQU Bullshit Evoloved]] keeps his snobbishness but alters nearly everything else).

[[TheyChangedItNowItSucks Altered Voice]]- [[AmericansAreCowboys Making the one American character Texan]], [[GenderBender or giving the tomboy a man's voice]], are common examples of this.

* Humor Style - restricting yourself to one style isn't usually necessary, but a fairly lighthearted style is usually good.

Ah, TheAbridgedSeries. A way of shortening any work that ranges from SoBadItsGood to taking itself too seriously and adding tons of humor and lampooning of the work's flaws, it's been popular ever since the genre's TropeMaker, ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'', was created ([[OlderThanTheyThink though the concept of abridging works goes back for a while]]). If you want to take a shot at joining the parodies yourself, look no further than the advice below.

* Humor. Out of all the things you need while making an AbridgedSeries, humor should be a top priority. It's part of the entire premise of TheAbridgedSeries, after all. Popular methods of humor are AlternativeCharacterInterpretation of canon characters into [[DysfunctionJunction a screwed-up cast]], [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] ridiculous and illogical moments, and completely original subplots deviating from the parodied canon.

* Audio and clip quality. When making an abridged series, make sure your viewers will be able to make out what's going on and hear what the characters are saying. We're not asking you get the best of the best, but it'd be nice to make it at least somewhat clear. Decent USB microphones can be had for under $100 these days, and decent ''recording'' software does exist in freeware: check out [[http://audacity.sourceforge.net Audacity]] to start with.
* Voice acting. You'll need to get a few other people on board to provide voices for the characters, unless you're a ManOfAThousandVoices who can do it yourself. Most of us aren't, so don't hesitate to look for fellow thespians.
* Knowledge of the series you're spoofing. What's the point of making an abridged series if you don't know your source material? You don't have to be an obsessive, die-hard fan of the source material, but you need to at least have a grasp of what it's about and its flaws in order to lampoon it. Otherwise, you'll miss opportunities for jokes and LampshadeHanging.

''How'' do you plan to abridge your series? You can either just take all existing episodes and dub over them, but you can also cut episodes shorter, abridge them in AnachronicOrder, or even combine them into your own spin-off plots.

What sort of alternative interpretation are you going to apply to the plot? Play it straight as usual with added snarkiness, or make your own out of the original with added AlternativeCharacterInterpretation for the main cast? Some fans love it when you flanderize the characters into something different and kooky; some hate it, and prefer every line to be in-character. You can't please everyone, so choose.

What kind of humor are you going for? This is partially dependent on your source material; ''BarneyAndFriends'' is ripe for, say, raunchy sex comedy, but ''GraveOfTheFireflies'' is... [[TearJerker not]]. But's also dependent on your personal talent. Part of humor's appeal is that we can joke about things that are otherwise too sad to talk about ([[TooSoon at least normally]]), and if you know you can be radically funny and turn something solemn on its ear, you should feel free to do so. Just make sure you ''can'' do it.

* Overzealous copyright protection. One the one hand, that's good--if the source material's lawyers feel threatened by your product, it means you're doing something right. On the other hand, it keeps anyone from ''seeing'' your product... and YouTube has a shoot-first-ask-questions-later policy when it comes to copyright violation, Fair Use: Parody or not. The alternative is, of course, other hosting sites; many abridgers have migrated to blip.tv precisely because they're less hot-headed about copyvio.

* Clip editing. The entire point of TheAbridgedSeries to spoof a visual work's pre-existing material, so you'll need to have a general knowledge of how to splice and use clips and have a good editing program, such as Sony Vegas or Adobe Premiere Elements.
* Audio and clip quality. When making an abridged series, make sure your viewers will be able to make out what's going on and hear what the characters are saying. We're not asking you get the best of the best, but it'd be nice to make it at least somewhat clear.
* Voice acting. You'll need to get a few other people on board to provide voices for the characters, unless you're a ManOfAThousandVoices who can do it yourself.

''How'' do you plan to abridge your series? You can either just take all existing episodes and dub over them, but you can also cut episodes shorter or abridge the episodes in AnachronicOrder.

What sort of alternative interpretation are you going to apply to the plot? Play it straight as usual with added snarkiness, or make your own out of the original with added AlternativeCharacterInterpretation for the main cast?

* Audio and clip quality.

''How'' do you plan to abridge your series? You can either just take all existing episodes and dub over them, but you can also cut episodes shorter or abridge the episodes in AnachronisticOrder.

'''Necessary Tropes'''

* Knowledge of the series you're spoofing.

(Side note: Although abridged series are generally allowed as far as legal matters are concerned, due to being parodies, the use of copyrighted material pits them against the DMCA. Because of this, YouTube has a habit of having abridged series pulled down and the channels suspended. So don't be surprised if your own AbridgedSeries gets taken down as well.)

Ah, TheAbridgedSeries. A way of shortening any work that ranges from SoBadItsGood to taking itself too seriously and adding tons of humor and lampooning of the work's flaws, it's been popular ever since the TropeMaker of it, YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries, was created ([[OlderThanTheyThink though the concept of abridging works goes back for a while]]). If you want to take a shot at joining the parodies yourself, look no further than the advice below.

* Humor. Out of all the things you need while making an AbridgedSeries, humor should be a top priority. It's part of the entire premise of TheAbridgedSeries, after all. Popular methods of humor are AlternativeCharacterInterpretation of canon characters into [[DysfunctionJunction a screwed-up cast]], [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] ridiculous and illogical moments, and completely original subplots deviating from the parodied canon.

Ah, TheAbridgedSeries. A way of shortening any work that ranges from SoBadItsGood to taking itself too seriously and adding tons of humor and lampooning of the work's flaws, it's been popular ever since the TropeMaker of it, YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries, was created ([[OlderThanTheyThink though the concept of abridging works goes back for a while]]). Perhaps you have a favorite series that you want to try making an AffectionateParody of, or you've seen something SoBadItsGood that you think is perfect to abridge. Whatever the reason, if you want to take a shot at creating an AbridgedSeries, look no further than the advice below.

* Humor. Out of all the things you need while making an AbridgedSeries, humor should be a top priority. You need to get your viewers to laugh at the absurdity and enjoy the spoofing of canonical parts. Popular methods of humor are AlternativeCharacterInterpretation of canon characters into [[DysfunctionJunction a screwed-up cast]], [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] ridiculous and illogical moments, and completely original subplots deviating from the parodied canon.

Humor. Out of all the things you need while making an AbridgedSeries, humor should be a top priority. You need to get your viewers to laugh at the absurdity and enjoy the spoofing of canonical parts. Popular methods of humor are AlternativeCharacterInterpretation of canon characters into [[DysfunctionJunction a screwed-up cast]], [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] ridiculous and illogical moments, and completely original subplots deviating from the parodied canon.

Ah, TheAbridgedSeries. A way of shortening any work that ranges from SoBadItsGood to taking itself too seriously and adding tons of humor and lampooning of the work's flaws, it's been popular ever since the TropeMaker of it, YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries, was created ( [[OlderThanTheyThink though the concept of abridging works goes back for a while]]). Perhaps you have a favorite series that you want to try making an AffectionateParody of, or you've seen something SoBadItsGood that you think is perfect to abridge. Whatever the reason, if you want to take a shot at creating an AbridgedSeries, look no further than the advice below.