People always ask where I get the ideas for my skits. The truth? Most of them start as a tiny, throwaway thought, some random comment I heard in line at the grocery store, a dumb situation I imagined in the shower, or a joke I texted a friend at 2AM and immediately thought, wait… this might actually be something.
The process of turning that little spark into a full-blown 20-second video is part instinct, part confusion, and part me staring at the record button contemplating the video. But after making a ton of these, I’ve figured out a system that works (most of the time). So, here’s how I take a tiny joke and turn it into a full sketch, start to finish.
It all starts with the idea dump. I keep a running list of skit concepts on my phone. Some are one-liners. Some are half-written scripts. Some just say things like “guy who thinks microwaves are surveillance devices.” Not every idea is a winner, but I’ve learned not to judge them too quickly. What seems dumb today might be gold next week when I’m stuck and desperate. The key is writing everything down the moment it pops into my head, because if I don’t, it’s gone forever.
Once something on that list still makes me laugh after a second read, I start fleshing it out. I usually ask myself a few quick questions: Who are the characters? What’s the situation? Where’s the twist? If I can answer those in under 30 seconds, I know there’s something to work with. If I can see the punchline playing out in my head, it is even better.
Next comes the writing phase, which is basically me acting the skit out in my room alone like a lunatic. I play both parts, feel out the rhythm of the dialogue, and figure out how long it’ll take to get from the setup to punchline. Since my videos are short, I try to trim the fat right away. Every line needs to either build the joke or pay it off. If it doesn’t serve the funny, it’s gone.
Once I’ve got the lines down, I open CapCut or whatever app I’m using that day and start planning the actual shots. I don’t storyboard or anything, but I do think about framing. Left side for one character, right side for the other, or maybe a close-up if a reaction is the star of the joke. I’ll also start browsing TikTok sounds to find something that fits the mood. Sometimes I already have a sound in mind, other times I let the audio shape the vibe of the sketch.
Then it’s time to film, and here’s where the fun (and occasional rage) kicks in. I film one character’s side all the way through first, every line, every reaction. Then I change outfits (or put my hood up) and film the other side. I usually rewatch the first takes to match timing, which saves a lot of stress during editing. Sometimes I nail it in one go, other times I’m sweating on take seventeen wondering why I ever chose comedy as a creative outlet.
Once the filming is done, I head into editing mode. I trim every clip down to the essentials, sync up the timing between characters, and make sure the transitions feel clean. Then I add captions, making sure they are readable and timed to the exact mouth movements. If the punchline relies on a pause or a stare, I make sure the text matches that rhythm. Then I drop in the TikTok sound and do a final pass to make sure the whole thing flows.
That’s the full process. From dumb thought to full-blown skit, it’s all about trusting your gut, trusting the funny, and not overthinking it. Some ideas blow up. Others flop. But every time I post, I learn something new, and sometimes, that next tiny idea waiting in my Notes app ends up being the one that takes off.