DIALOGUE REVEALS CHARACTER
- A character will talk about himself and other people will talk about him.
DIALOGUE ESTABLISHES RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CHARACTERS
- Once you have established your main character’s POV, you can use dialogue with other characters to show that they have other attitudes, creating opposite/alternative POVs.
- This helps to create and sustain the element of conflict between characters
GOOD EFFECTIVE DIALOGUE WILL MOVE THE STORY FORWARD
DIALOGUE COMMUNICATES FACTS AND INFORMATION TO THE AUDIENCE
- It conveys essential exposition
- Characters will talk about what happened, establishing the storyline
DIALOGUE COMMENTS ON THE ACTION
DIALOGUE TIES THE SCRIPT TOGETHER
- It is one of the devices that YOU as a writer can use to expand and enlarge your characters.
“If you can see it or hear it, don’t write it.” – Neville Smith
DIALOGUE SHOULD BE USED SPARINGLY
NEVER TELL THE AUDIENCE WHAT THEY CAN SEE FOR THEMSELVES!!!
<< DIALOGUE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTION >>
In Hollywood when they look at a page and it’s got too much black, too much ink on the paper, they say: “SHIT! IT’S FREEZE THE CAMERA TIME!!!”
This is because there are not enough visual elements to cover the dialogue.
COMMON MISTAKE:
- Students sometimes never achieve a level of competence as they tend to reproduce conventional spoken language, long statements of “REAL TALKING”, and defend their decision by telling us that: “It’s how the character speaks.”
GOOD DIALOGUE is not somebody’s ability to write authentic speech as heard in real life.
Examples of Bad Dialogue:
-Cheesy
-Unfocused
-Inappropriate tone/language
-Long-winded
- If that was all there is to it, you can just push a button on the tape recorder and then go collect your Oscar
GOOD DIALOGUE is the illusion of reality.
- You’ve got to know how to edit what people say without losing any of the spirit.
COMMON MISTAKE:
- Students tend to create radio shows with images.
<< FILM IS A VISUAL MEDIUM >>
A SCREENPLAY IS A STORY TOLD IN PICTURES.
EXERCISE: WRITING DIALOGUE
ROLE-PLAY:
-2 Students to play the role from their stories.
The Scenario:
-a middle-aged man returns home from work
-he had stopped for a few drinks with his friends and forgot to phone his wife to tell her he’ll be late
-the dinner is ruined
Exercise:
Husband: I’m back, honey. What’s for dinner?
Wife: Have you forgotten what day today is?
Husband: Oh yeah, it’s Sam’s birthday isn’t it?
Wife: It’s the 19th of December, our wedding anniversary. How could you forget?
Husband: Oh god, I’m so sorry, honey. I’ve been so busy with work that it totally slipped off my mind.
Wife: But you promised to be home early!
Husband: Look, I’ve already apologised. What more do you want?
Wife: You’ve been drinking again, haven’t you?
Husband: What are you talking about? I stayed back with John to discuss about a project. Anyway, why are you complaining so much? I didn’t complain when you drove my car into the swimming pool.
THE REAL EXPERIENCE:
Repeat “THE EXPERIMENT” but:
-Husband and Wife are YOUR own parents.
-Get two people to read the dialogue.
-Record the reading
-Post it to your blog (using Youtube, Multiply, etc.)
