Movie Dialogue: How to Harness the Power of Your Character’s Point of View.
Movie dialogue is like paint on a car. It was the last thing to wear, but it was The first thing everyone notices.
Most of the time, people know good movie dialogue and bad movie dialogue…but if you ask them Why If one wire is good or one wire is bad, they may not be able to tell you.
There’s no point talking about truly bad movie dialogue because no writer worth their salt will ever make their character sound like Tommy Wiseau. No, it’s much harder to take your movie’s dialogue from good to great.
There’s a lot of wit and characterization involved, to be sure, but there’s also some Basic choice You can do this, and it will help eliminate one of the most terrible curses screenwriters know: on-the-nose dialogue.
Great movie dialogue is dialogue in code.
Confused? Don’t worry. When it comes to scripted character development, there’s a great tip that can put you on the path to writing powerful dialogue for a movie:
Let your character say something, but don’t say it directly.
This may sound ridiculous, but if your characters need to talk about how one of them is an asshole…don’t outright have one of them call the other an asshole.
Instead, let them discuss some express one’s point of view and shows that the character is mean or has mean views.
movie dialogue examples Midnight run.
A good example is in the movie midnight run. Jack, an ex-cop turned bounty hunter, is dragging Jonathan, a white-collar criminal who stole from mob boss Jimmy Serrano, from New York to Los Angeles in order to collect a massive bounty.
When they were having dinner on the train, Jonathan didn’t start the conversation by bluntly telling Jack that he was a bad guy…he started by grilling him with his dietary choice of fried chicken, which, of course, was really bad. just a metaphor for his life in general.
Let’s take a look at the next dialogue from the movie:
If they did talk directly about Jack’s living situation, it wouldn’t work. But since they’re talking about fried chicken…that’s great movie dialogue.
Conversation flipped.
Better yet, Jack change the subject Regarding Jonathan, who is accused of stealing millions of dollars from mob bosses and donating them to charity:
By twisting the dialogue, we not only get the necessary backstory and exposition, but we get it in an immersive way character interaction.
The reversal of power in the scene, from Jonathan to Jack, completely upends the first half of the dialogue.
Taking beats from the first half of the dialogue and flipping them around in the scene is a great trick that not only makes the character look witty but also makes the moment funny more energetic.
Utilize opinions rather than bare facts in movie dialogue.
But we’re not done yet. After Jack’s words, Jonathan responded:
Note that when Jack explains to us who Jonathan stole from, he is not simply stating the facts. he is Give an opinionwhich is key to making things sound natural.
That’s why this cinematic conversation feels like a real conversation rather than an exposition: Every time someone offers information, there’s an emotion attached to it.
The message is followed by another scene reversal, this time Jonathan regains a position of power in the conversation by leading Jack to talk about his estranged family…which is a very important part of the story and his character arc.
What is the underlying motivation for your character’s dialogue?
The best part of it all is a reason Jonathan talks to Jack and asks him all these questions: He’s trying to get Jack to like him so Jack will let him go.
The tension between the characters is the heart and soul of the film, and it’s made of these conversations. And none of them look striking.
The point here is that while exposition in conversation is difficult, it’s not impossible. Characterization works best when you use cinematic dialogue to express the character rather than telling it through stiff lines.
If you want to provide a message to your audience, do so in the form of an opinion. If you want to portray someone through movie dialogue, express that character to the audience by having them talk about something in the following ways: show who they are.
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The author of this article is Ashley Scott Meyerswriter and podcaster. How do you make movie dialogue sound authentic? What do you think of the technology outlined in this article? Let us know in the comments below!
Like this article? Learn more about how to film conversations…
Scripted Dialogue: If Your Characters Are Just Talking, You’re Doing It Wrong
Example about nose dialogue and how to stop it from killing your script
How to Write a Screenplay: Secrets to Beyond the Ordinary
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