Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
4. It can reveal a character's transformation over time.
Robber: “Maybe tomorrow.”
Driving the Plot Forward
When dialogue drives the plot, it does so by acting on the train of thought and emotions
of the audience or reveals information to the character that forces him or her to act.
There are fi ve main ways that dialogue drives the plot forward:
1. Creates curiosity
Robber #1: “Did you bring it?”
2. Creates tension (through the exchange of power—social, political, sexual, or physical)
Robber #1: “Are you sure
you
picked the right place?”
3. Creates confl ict by presenting new information
Robber #2: “No, I'm not sure. My mother would be so disappointed in me.”
4. Shows us something we did not expect
Police: “We're here to check on a disturbance.”
5. Builds suspense for what is to come
Bank Teller: “Well be closing in 10 minutes.”
Robber #1: “What now?”
Driving the Resolution
When dialogue drives the resolution it implies, reinforces, or reveals the theme of the piece.
Review the section on themes in Chapter 1. Remember how often, in fi lms, the characters
remind us of the theme of the piece through dialogue.
Robber #2: “Getting a job would be easier than this!”
Creating Subtext
Subtext always seems like a diffi cult concept. But if you link it to emotion it becomes relatively
easy. One of the biggest pitfalls of dialogue is that beginning writers mirror exactly what
the character is thinking with what they are saying. Don't do this.
At the beginning of
The Animator and the Seat
, Chunk is tired and needs a break. He
doesn't say, “I'm so tired. I think I'll take a break.” Instead the audience sees mounds of
soda cans and empty coffee pots (not cups . . . pots!). Chunk sighs, “I used to like bears.”
And the audience is given the opportunity to view what he has been forced to spend hours
animating. His simple phrase, coupled with the visuals, communicates it all in a much more
powerful way. He
is
tired. He
does
need a break. But we don't have to hit the audience
over the head with the message.
