15 Types Of Laugh For Camera You Must Learn | How To

Learn The famous laughter style of Navjot Sidhu

If you are acting for the camera, there's good news and bad news. 

The good news: you can create many different takes and an editor/director can choose the one that works best.
The bad news: film crews are expensive, and time equals money. The director will grow impatient if you can't come up with a right realistic la. Depending on the scene and your fellow actors, off camera interaction, can often evoke genuine laughter. Also, surprise moments between actors can work wonders -- as long as the director appreciates!

Studying Laughter

• The sounds of laughter are similar around the world. Most laughter consists of H-sounds: Ha, ho, hee. Other bursts of laughter might contain vowel sounds.
• In fact, there's an entire field of science dedicated to the study of laughter. It's called gelotology. 
• Learning about the mental and physical aspects of laughter can help actors become more adept at producing laughs on cue. 

Facts On Laughter

1. Females laugh more often than men.
2. Men are more likely to attempt to make others laugh.
3. Speakers (joke tellers) laugh almost 50% more than their audience.
4. Laughter often occurs at the end of a sentence.
5. We laugh more when in the company of others than when we are alone.

What can motivate your character's Laughter?

If you can laugh spontaneously and sound believable, you're ready for your audition.
If the laugh sounded forced it might be because you have no idea why your character is laughing. The more you emotionally "Feel" with your character, the more you can feel like her and laugh like her.

How To Laugh

For some actors laughing on *cue can be just as difficult a task as to cry on *cue. Here are a few tips on how to laugh effectively:

• First and foremost, keep your attention on the scene and on your partner. If you are truly engrossed in the moment of the scene, the laugh will come organically.
• Think of the kind of laugh required for the moment. What size or type of laugh is an appropriate reaction to the situation? Sometimes a little chuckle is far more effective than a belly laugh. Although a seemingly inappropriate laugh may work as well, particularly if you are acting in a comedy.
• Be aware of the what the mood of the scene is and decide how your character would honestly react. After that, forget about it. Let the moment carry you through.

When To Stop Laughing

• You cannot continue laughing until eternity unless of course, your character is a maniac. This would depend on the character you are playing. If the role is comedic then an abrupt end and remaining still may work.
• For example, you are playing a character of a subordinate and your boss slips while sitting or mispronounced a word or drops something, which has evoked a laughter in you (natural). You have to stop suddenly and froze realizing that your laughter may be insulting to your boss.
• In a second situation, you are sitting with friends and enjoying jokes. Here laughing belly out may be okay

Watch How Others Laugh

As an actor, you are probably a people watcher already, and if you haven't taken up the pastime of carefully watching others, it's time to begin. Spend the next five days observing different categories of people how others laugh.

• Do they giggle in a high pitched spurt?
• Do they do a courtesy laugh just to please others?
• Are they intoxicated?
• Maniacal? Childish?
• Are they laughing sarcastically? Uncontrollably?
• Are they trying (but failing) to hold it in?
• Take notes if you can.

Here are some of the contemporary laughing style for actors to learn. Few of them are never taught in any acting school and are great to surprise a casting director or a Bollywood director. You can find these laughs in the live video attached below: