Dialogue - unique voice: accent, cadence, phrasing and lingo

Oh boy, we're going to have so much fun with this one ;-)

Action films and comedies do not rely that much on character development. Still we want to make our characters memorable and colourful. The simplest way to achieve it is with the way they speak.

1. ARCHETYPES AND VOICE

- The PROTAGONIST is the one who we want our audience to associate with. We try to make him/her the most relatable, therefore the protagonist should speak in the most "neutral" way. Unless it's a biopic, the main character almost never speaks with a distinctive accent. If he/she did, we would run into the danger that some viewers who don't understand or don't like a given accent could feel alienated.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule:
1) In certain genres the protagonist is expected to speak accented English (eg. westerns).
2) Protagonists who are presented as the underdog may speak with an accent which is perceived as inferior (rural accent of Clarice in Silence of the Lambs) or have a speech impediment (Bertie in King's Speech)

In action films the leading man is usually a guy of few words, but when he says something, it's stingy and ironic. Language-wise, action film protagonist is usually characterised by one-liners.


- The VILLAIN. Usually has a speech impediment, or speaks with a distinct accent. Or both. In the past bad guys almost always spoke British English - unless it was a war movie in which case they spoke with a German accent, or a Cold War one when the accent would be Russian. Nowadays they tend to be more clourful. The best way to check which accent is currently most popular for the villain is to watch the newest BOND film ;-)

Goldeneye




- The MENTOR/ORACLE almost always speaks in a unique voice. Mostly because this character is usually played by an actor of ethnicity other than Caucasian or is not (entirely) human.

The unique tone may result from the accent...

Tia Dalma (POTC)



...or phrasing

Yoda (Star Wars)




- The SIDEKICK (especially if he/she is also the COMIC RELIEF) speaks in accented English. Because their role is to be liked by the audience, the accents they speak are usually ones that appeal to majority of people.

Brewer (Rambo - First Blood 2, James Cameron's draft )

EXT. TAXI STAND - STREET - LATE AFTERNOON

Rambo emerges into the stifling humid heat of Bangkok in May
and stands, scanning for a cab.

D-MINUS 51 HRS
BANGKOK, THAILAND

Bangkok is a city of fervid motion and the street is chaotic
with traffic.

Stepping through throngs of Asians and tourists Rambo reaches
for the door of a beat-to-hell Citroen taxi hunkered low at
the curb like some metal lungfish.

He spins as a hand lightly touches his shoulder.

MAN
Sorry old buddy, I saw it first.

An American in his late twenties, the man speaks with one of
those hard-to-dislike Southern accents. Probably North
Carolina.

He is lanky but muscular, with boyish good looks and hair cut
so short it barely qualifies as stubble. Though dressed in a
loud Hawaiian shirt and Madras slacks, it is painfully
obvious the man is military.

(...)

Rambo grabs the man brutally by his collar.

RAMBO
That’s enough, Brewer.

The American freezes at the sound of his name. Turns slowly.

BREWER
(realizing)
You’re Rambo?
(pause)
Ker-rist!

If the sidekick is a child, s/he's either damn cute...

Short Round (Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom)



... or mute

Feral Kid (Mad Max II)




- You've probably noticed that we haven't analysed the ATTRACTOR yet. It's because usually the same rules apply as with the protagonist.

Of course there are some exceptions again:
1) Stereotyping - Americans like the British accent in females, so sometimes the love interest is a shy girl from England. Similarly, male love interest may speak with French accent.
2) In "bridging the gap between cultures" movies, the (usually female) character may speak accented English.

Luc (French Kiss)



Neytiri (Avatar)

JAKE
Slow down a second will you. I just want
to thank you for killing those --

He makes the mistake of grasping her shoulder and --

WHACK! She WALLOPS him upside the head with her bow in a
fierce backhand swing, laying him out flat.

He looks up to see a FURY standing over him. A Fury who
speaks English -- accented, halting, angry English.

NEYTIRI
Don’t thank! You don’t thank for this!
This is sad. Very sad, only.

2. VOICE IN COMEDY



Accents are fun and serve to strengthen stereotypes and mutual animosity among some social groups.

Just a couple of examples from my favourite films and TV shows:

1) Cockney vs Scouse (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels)



2) French vs stereotypical Englishman who can't speak local language (Allo, allo)



3) German vs Italian



4) Scouse vs Brummie





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Dialogue - getting under someone's skin

Today we'll have a look at how one character can awake negative emotions in another (and, consequently, in the audience).

In the class we'll also analyse the principles of Schopenhauer's "Eristic Dialectic" and see how we can use them to our advantage.


1. The Picnic (TROPFEST winner 2007)



Pay attention especially to the opening scene in which Lily is being introduced to the group.



2. Teasing and taunting.

Such exchange is the body and soul of each revenge film. The villain is teasing the hapless protagonist. It usually happens at the end of Act 2.

Rob Roy (1995)

Cunningham raped Rob's wife and has taken Rob prisoner.

Archibald Cunningham: What did you do with that bag of guts Killearn? Vex me not, McGregor, or I shall have you dragged a while. And I am a man of my word.

Robert Roy MacGregor: You're a thief, a murderer and a violator of women.

Archibald Cunningham: Aah... I had hoped you'd come to me long since on that score.

Robert Roy MacGregor: If I had known earlier you would have been dead sooner.

Archibald Cunningham: I will tell you something, to take with you. Your wife was far sweeter forced than many are willing. And truth put to it, I think not all of her objected...



3. Egging on.

We've already had this scene but it's so good we can watch it again. The Joker needs the guard to approach him. He does it by merely talking.

Dialogue - playing cat and mouse

Before we start:

1. Make a list of 3 best/most memorable film conversations. Don't put down what critics say, this list should be very personal.
2. Make a list of 3 writers/directors who make "talkie movies" - films in which characters talk rather than act or dialogue is particularly memorable.


THE GRADUATE (1967) - "Mrs. Robinson, if you don't mind my saying so, this conversation is getting a little strange."



Directed by Mike Nichols, screenplay by Buck Henry
Script link: The Graduate


HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986)

e.e. cummings

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look will easily unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully ,suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;
nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility:whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands

Written/directed by Woody Allen
Script link: Hannah and her sisters

Dialogue - "walking the minefield"

1. Fresh, authentic dialogue is... NOT saying what we mean.

If your characters say flat out what they are thinking the dialogue becomes too predictable and reader senses that you're feeding him exposition. It's on the nose.

People love mystery, they love sensing what is going on, their minds need a challenge, a chance to do some intellectual work deducing the characters' true agendas.

This requires real art. And since we usually learn the best when we are (cough*stealing from*cough) looking up to professionals, let's have a look at dialogue decomposition done by Scott Myers. This month he is looking into ways of saying "I love you" without actually uttering these words.

HIGH FIDELITY



JERRY MAGUIRE



10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU




2. Sometimes you may be using great language, but the very problem is that you basically have a group of people sitting round a table and talking.

To remedy that make sure that there is some conflict involved. Someone doesn't want to be there. Someone is lying and is sweating bullets that others may call the bluff. Someone realises that if he says one word too many, the listener will blow. You get the idea ;-)

Watch this "poker game from hell" scene from Training Day (2001):



Script link: Training Day (David Ayer, 1999 draft)

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Questions on Tick-Tock - part 2

1. THREE ACT STRUCTURE

- Where do the acts begin and end?
- What is the inciting moment (transition from Act 1 [exposition] to Act 2 [action])?
- What is the function of the "singing to the muzak" scene?
- What is the function of the "disarming training bomb" scene?
- How is the information about Crosby's condition fed to the reader?

2. TRANSITIONS AND EDITING

Can you visualise what the following would look like on screen?

- bridge



- transition










3. LOOKING FOR MEANINGFUL VILLAIN

The main problem with this script is how late James in introduced. All we know about him for the bulk of the story is the following:





and later this:




And then we learn that he has been behind the explosions. Why? He is kind enough to explain:



It doesn't work because we need to give the reader/audience exposition on:
- why he is doing it
- how he managed to do it
- how Crosby got caught in the events

Here it is done in the most unimaginable way possible - dialogue or rather his monologue which offers the explanation.

To make matters worse his motive is cliched and rather boring. Instead of an extremist terrorist doing it because of his radical beliefs or a psycho on a revenge mission, we have a boring stalker with mental problems. Too tame.

And on top of that the audience learns the truth too late and doesn't have enough time to grow to hate the villain. We don't have any feelings for him, so we don't really care.


YOUR TASK: Think of one of the following alternatives:

1) James IS the villain, but he's introduced earlier. All the exposition about him needs to be planted throughout the script, and ideally by showing, not telling.

This can be your inspiration:

ONE OF THE BEST SCENES YOU CAN WRITE
One might argue that the most memorable scene in Die Hard is when Hans pretends to be a hostage. Part of the reason we love this scene so much is because it’s such a clever move by our villain. But this is actually a setup for a scene that works almost every time you use it in a screenplay: We the audience know something that our main character doesn’t - that he’s in danger - and there’s nothing we can do to help him. The tension this creates in a scene – the helplessness we feel - works on an audience almost every time, so if you have the opportunity to use it, do so. Just make sure we like your hero. Obviously, if we don’t, we won’t be too worried when he’s seconds away from getting a bullet in the chest.

Here Carson is talking about a situation when the reader is omniscient. Could work in Tick Tock, but you have to remember that it cannot diminish in any way the character journey of Crosby - so we can't have such scene too early in the script.

2) James is not the villain; or he is, but he's not the MASTERMIND behind the bombs.

Remember this bit?



Maybe something could be done with this mysterious character? Revenge is a good motive. And it is more plausible that he would know enough about Claire's job to prepare this complex plan.

3. Or we could go for the most risky (and ambitious) option in which Crosby IS the bomber...


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