Character and Dialogue -Steve Coombes

Yesterday we had another lecture with Steve, this time focusing on character and dialogue in a screen play.

Character:

I learn't that any character can be interesting if it has some kind of crisis and we see that clearly. Characters have to be big and have a meaning, otherwise they become boring. Need to show the transition in their life, like first job or university etc. Actions tell you important information in a character, the way they talk, walk and look. Steve told us about how characters can be different stereotypes.
 monsters, being interesting and conflicted. Basil Fawlty from Fawlty towers, he is a 'monster' as he is always getting into conflict and being loud. The characters need to be tense and the same, once we see a character on screen you can't change them.
Heroin - we see these as fraudulent, people who don't know who they really are. like a existential hero, not sure what they want to be.
Women are usually making big choices, the characters have to make big decisions in the story.

We watched The Sopranos to find the characters in the screen play. Steve gave us a script from the opening lines of the drama. This was great to look at as I could see what was said in the drama. TV shows can afford around 10-12 speaking characters in an hour show. Exterior location shots at night are expensive so it is rare to see these on TV, usually they are filmed in a studio. However watching The Sopranos they filmed at night on location. They used 15 exterior locations and a studio set.

Dialogue:

We then went on to learning about dialogue. Steve told us not to have pointless dialogue, it has to have a meaning. He reminded us from what he said on Monday which is not to say it but to show it. Having characters speaking about a subject that can be clearly shown or obvious is pointless and is not entertaining at all. Dialogue needs to mean something that leads up to the plot or to a moment.
Dialogue should not be too clear or too direct. Steve also pointed out to us that characters can be informal with how they speak, not to worry about grammar. A character should be him/herself with an accent and appropriate slang/street talk etc. A character needs to have a rhythm when speaking, pausing at the right time or generally talking at an appropriate speed for that character. A final word from Steve on this was not to make speech for longer than 3 lines as it can get too long for the audience.

Final Draft:

Steve briefly went through Final Draft with us. Final draft is a software for creating scripts in the right format and is a professional tool that most screen writers use. It is quite straight forward with options on what text to be inputted like heading, character, dialogue, transition and action. We were given a copy of the first few lines on The Sopranos and I could clearly see what each text was for. Here is a picture I found showing this.

script 

At the top it has the title of the screen play along with series and date etc.  It follows to the scene name and number displayed with FADE IN (transition), INT (Interior set) name of scene and then DAY which is the time of day that is filmed.

Inspired:

From what Steve said it has inspired me with my idea and story. Steve has made me think more about my characters and I am now planning on what they look, walk and talk. The dialogue that they say and the accent/grammar. I am thinking what my characters should say and how they talk. Steve has inspired me to explore with my characters and to make sure I pick the right one. If the dialogue doesn't fit my character I need to think differently and use something else. I need to think about a big moment with my character. When I start writing my script I now know how to format it and make it look appropriate. I am already planning on what to include and the way I can direct my actors/actresses simply without using many words on the script. Steve told us to keep text short and straight to the point with important and key parts in capital text. He mentioned about transitions and camera angles/movements and that we should not put much of these down unless it is appropriate. I have been planning on what camera movements I am wanting in my story so if it is important and the cast needs to know then I will include it in my script.