Two years ago today I entered my first cartoon caption contest. While my caption entries have had no impact on the New Yorker's weekly contest, they have enjoyed modest success in the bimonthly Moment magazine contest. It's all here in the archives.
The lesson of these contests is simple. Captions need to be short and funny. Funny is a given, but why so short? An overwhelming number of successful captions have ten words or fewer. This places a constraint on caption contest entries that the New Yorker's cartoonists themselves are not bound by. To give an example, here's a George Booth cartoon original that was sold last year in New York. The caption is ungainly by any standards yet somehow alongside that Booth drawing it's rather endearing. Longer captions can develop a rhythm, even a poetry, that short captions can't aspire to. A few lines of text offer the opportunity for a degree of character development as well. Very short captions may be just fine, but they may be just punch lines.
While I can't confirm that this cartoon was published in the New Yorker, a Post-It note says it was. Who are you going to believe?
Note: Captions and caption contests have been a frequent topic of blog posts (and consternation) around here.
See more about George Booth.
It's already Passover. Don't miss my previous blog posts.
Easter is tomorrow. I must have said something about that too.
The lesson of these contests is simple. Captions need to be short and funny. Funny is a given, but why so short? An overwhelming number of successful captions have ten words or fewer. This places a constraint on caption contest entries that the New Yorker's cartoonists themselves are not bound by. To give an example, here's a George Booth cartoon original that was sold last year in New York. The caption is ungainly by any standards yet somehow alongside that Booth drawing it's rather endearing. Longer captions can develop a rhythm, even a poetry, that short captions can't aspire to. A few lines of text offer the opportunity for a degree of character development as well. Very short captions may be just fine, but they may be just punch lines.
While I can't confirm that this cartoon was published in the New Yorker, a Post-It note says it was. Who are you going to believe?
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| George Booth, Original art. "An apple is nourishing and good for you. In days like these all of us must help each other as never before in modern times. It has been our pleasure to be of service and may your day be a good one, Sir. Enjoy your apple." |
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| Should you trust a Post-It note? |
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| Detail |
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| Caption: "An apple is nourishing and good for you. In days like these all of us must help each other as never before in modern times. It has been our pleasure to be of service and may your day be a good one, Sir. Enjoy your apple." |
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| George Booth's signature |
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| Frame with Nicholls Gallery sticker |
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| Roland Auctioneers & Valuers, New York, November 15, 2014 |
Note: Captions and caption contests have been a frequent topic of blog posts (and consternation) around here.
See more about George Booth.
It's already Passover. Don't miss my previous blog posts.
Easter is tomorrow. I must have said something about that too.
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