Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
The Purpose of Dialogue
In this chapter, we are going to defi ne the functions that dialogue serves in a story so that
you can choose when and how to use it well. Then we will see how these are put into prac-
tice in a dialogue analysis of the short script,
The Captain,
by Christianne Greiert and Nick
Pierce.
Setting the Mood
A short can begin with dialogue:
A mother singing a lullaby
A man yelling at the top of his lungs
Children telling jokes, playing, and laughing
A bank teller counting money
All of these things could almost be defi ned as ambient sound—the same as wind through
the trees, or cars and sirens in a city—except for the fact that
what
the mother is singing,
what
the man is yelling,
which
jokes the children are telling,
how
much money is being
counted
should
have specifi c meaning that drives the plot forward, foreshadows the theme
of the piece, or establishes a story question. How can a good mother sing Heavy Metal to
her newborn infant? The man is yelling
HELP!
What does he need and will he get it? Where
did little children like
that
learn jokes like
those?!
Sometimes dialogue can change the mood. Perhaps there is a boxing match on the TV in
a bar. As two men begin to fi ght over a seat at the bar, the boxing match escalates and
the voice of the sports announcer seems to be narrating the confl ict of the men in the bar
instead. The point is that everything that is said in your piece, whether it is background or
foreground information, has meaning. What we hear as background information can also
set the mood.
Revealing the Character
When dialogue reveals the character it means that what the character says discloses his or
her goals, personality, needs, fears, and transformation.
There are four main ways that dialogue reveals character:
1. It reveals a character's goal or motivation.
Robber: “Money will fi x everything.”
2. It reveals a character's attitude toward a situation.
Robber: “Isn't it a little late for this?”
3. It reveals the antagonist's motive.
Robber: “No one told me there were four guards.”
