ASSIGNMENT: DIALOGUE

ASSIGNMENT: DIALOGUE

 

 

PART A: Opening Sequence for a Short Script (3 pages, screenplay format)

 

PART B: Brainstorm (brief paragraph, 1st person)

 

 

PART A: Opening Sequence for a Short Script (3 pages, SCREENPLAY FORMAT)

 

Using the opening scenes of films we have seen as examples (Ordinary People, Body Heat, Au Revoir Les Enfants, Shawshank Redemption), write an OPENING SEQUENCE (a series of short scenes) for a short script you may want to develop further.

 

Establish the ORDINARY WORLD and write dialogue between your protagonist and a secondary character that implies BACKSTORY and shows the protagonist’s character.

 

Think about GOALS: what are your characters’ GOALS? All characters must have a goal at the top of the scene. What is the goal of the scene? What do you want the viewer to know by the end of the opening sequence?

 

Follow these guidelines:

 

• Open with a short description of the SETTING/a powerful IMAGE that will be a metaphor for your story and plant clues.

 

• How will we meet your PROTAGONIST? Give us their NAME, AGE, and what ACTION they are doing. This should be significant.

 

• Introduce a SECONDARY CHARACTER. Give them a goal. Imply BACKSTORY. Remember to use VISUAL language as well as dialogue to reveal information about these two people.

 

• Be minimal with your opening lines. There’s no necessity for a long monologue or conversation with anyone to reveal this information to the viewer – just a few lines.

 

Remember:

 

• Use free screenwriting software such as Celtx.com that will do screenplay formatting for you!

 

• Write in THIRD PERSON, PRESENT TENSE. Write clearly, succinctly, and visually.

 

• Be aware of CONTRAST, FORESHADOWING AND CONFLICT.

(cont’d on next page)

 

 

• DON’T OVERWRITE. This is a simple assignment to see how you write a powerful opening VISUAL and to see how much information you can plant/imply in a few economical lines. Be very strategic with your choice of VISUALS.

 

• Ask yourself what each character’s GOAL is at the top of the scene, and at the bottom of the scene. Never have your characters talking randomly!

 

• PART B: Brainstorm (brief paragraph, 1st person)

 

• Write a brief paragraph reflecting on how you’d like to develop this sequence if you were given the opportunity. Where do you see your characters going?

 

CLASS EXAMPLES

 

You might decide to write your sequence like Body Heat: your protagonist can be seen alone but talking to another character who is off screen. Or you might begin with a strong ordinary world and introduce your protagonist in two contrasting scenes as in Ordinary People. Or you might bring your characters together at the top of the scene as in Au Revoir Les Enfants.

 

Ordinary People:

 

• In Ordinary People, the opening visuals are very beautiful and tranquil. This is strategic. The serenity and beauty are in sharp contrast to the conflict and pain that is in this family and that is the driving force of the narrative.

 

• We first see a peaceful, beautiful park area and a lake – no characters, but the place is the character. It seems pristine, untroubled as if nothing bad could ever happen there, except that we will learn that indeed, the lake was where the brother drowned. As we move into the school we hear a choir – again, everything appears to be in harmony.

 

• But we then cut to a quick CONTRASTING shot of Conrad as he wakes up in a panic. Then another contrasting scene where we’re introduced to Beth and Calvin out with friends at a local theatre. The stage actors’ dialogue foreshadows, very subtly, the journey we will take with this couple. The male actor on the stage claims he doesn’t know everything about his wife, not even her favorite perfume, but despite that he’s never been out of love with her. Back at the house, Beth walks past Conrad’s door, but Calvin knocks and asks Conrad, “Are you okay?” It’s very important that this is his first line to his son. This concern for his son’s wellbeing will carry us forward through the entire narrative.

 

Body Heat:

 

• The opening shot of flames in the night sky gives us an immediate visual sense of the ordinary world and foreshadows the themes – crime, deception and destruction. In this opening scene, the fire has been set for financial reasons. Later in the film, another fire occurs, also at night. Like the first fire, the second one is also a crime.

 

• We first see Ned Racine standing at the window. We see him by himself, as a loner watching the fire and commenting on it to someone we can’t see. This is an

 

 

important first image because we will learn that Ned is indeed a loner, has few friends and consequently will be easy later, for Maddy to manipulate.

 

• He casually says that someone has torched the inn “to clear the lot” and that it was probably “one of his clients.” In this dialogue, we learn instantly that he is probably a lawyer, and that he takes this kind of crime rather lightly.

 

• We see the secondary character – a young woman (the Flight Attendant) on a rumpled bed. We infer from the visual that they have just had sex, and that Ned might be a bit of a womanizer. Ned’s goal at the TOP of the scene is merely to relax by himself and look at the fire. His goal at the END is to make love to the Flight Attendant. At this point in the story, we need to have important character information as quickly as possible. Ned Racine being a womanizer is a good start but we need more. The following scene shows us Ned in the courtroom and we learn that he isn’t a respected lawyer. These two scenes in combination give the viewer exactly what we need to move FORWARD. We see his sexual ego and his legal incompetence.

 

Au Revoir Les Enfants:

 

• We first see a train station platform and a mother and son. It’s clear by their clothing that this takes place in the past. We see soldiers walking by, and numerous children and teenagers dressed in school uniforms. The mother’s first line is “Julien, don’t start this again. Be reasonable.” So we have She says, “You promised not to cry. Time will fly and you’ll be back in time for Mardi Gras.” She tries to minimize his concern by reminding him of something fun he can look forward to while informing the viewer that Julien is being sent away for a long time. Julien is petulant. She says, “Your dad and I will write often” and he says, “I don’t give a damn about him and I hate you. Here’s the theme of the narrative. He will learn how small and privileged his life really is, and the true nature of hatred.

 

Shawshank Redemption:

 

• We first see Andy sitting drunk in his car, looking at a house. The people in the house are unseen, but they will have a huge importance to his life. There is no dialogue, yet we are given volumes of information in the visual and through Andy’s actions. Andy’s goal at the top of the scene is to shoot somebody (we think). After we cut to the courtroom scene, the dialogue between Andy and the Judge reveals the judge’s contempt and Andy’s stoic declaration of his innocence. Andy isn’t accustomed to contempt.

 

• We learn from the secondary character (the Judge) that Andy has been on trial for murder and that the judge believes he is totally guilty. Notice that we don’t have to see the trial. All we see is the ending, where the judgement is taking place.