Hi All! Just after some advice on dialogue where the character is communicating with sign language. If produced, I imagine that the sign language will be translated into subtitles on the screen, but when writing the screenplay, how do I format this? I guess that I write the dialogue as normal but add a parenthetical. But do I need to do this every time she communicates through sign? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Screenwriting : Sign Language by Liam Lacy
Sign Language
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Is it your intent that we, as the audience, are supposed to understand what she's signing? Or is there another character who acts as his/her translator?
Thanks Lisa, but I'm actually not sure how foreign language is treated in a script? I'll be sure to check out that film. Monique, the sign will be captioned/subtitled on the screen.
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I have that in my current script. I just wrote: MARY (signs) You call this a bialy?
Is she a deaf character that always signs? If she is, then you only need to put it once. If she does it occasionally, only put it when she starts, and when she verbally speaks, but (speaks) in parenthesis.
Thanks guys. Jean-Pierre, she isn't deaf but simply cannot speak.
It isn't revealed at first why she cannot speak, but she is physically unable to due to having her tongue cut out. People who can hear but cannot speak still do often use sign. She communicates only with the protagonist and her own father and sister, who all understand sign, having been close to her for so long. So it works fine from that respect.
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Kerry's example is right, but then Liam was asking if he should continue to put "signs" in parentheses as she continues to speak. I'm saying you shouldn't until she breaks verbally speaks. And vice versa.
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When it gets to production, often the dialogue will be translated into ASL format for actors to sign. So I wouldn't stress about that. Just put (signing) or (In ASL). I'm hard of hearing and was part of a deaf program in college. They regularly put on popular plays and musicals and translate the dialogue to ASL and have speakers translate during the show. I'd look into more films that have dialogue and signing... There's a film called "The Hammer" it's about the UFC Fighter Matt Hamill. He was born deaf into a hearing family and he also had a hearing girlfriend. So there's a lot of mixture between signing and speaking. Hope that helps!! Plus it was shot at my college because he's an alumni. How cool! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1094666/)
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Thanks a lot Emi!
http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/parts/tongue3.htm
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Thanks Lisa, then think of it as her voice box was destroyed. I'll worry about explanations - thanks for the advice on the dialogue.