Screenwriting : Thoughts by Steven M. Cross

Hi Steven, if the dialogue and the acting are compelling, a dialogue-heavy script can be quite compelling. The first example that comes to mind is Glengarry Glen Ross. Is it possible to break up large, dialogue-heavy scenes across multiple scenes and locations?

There's a general 1 finger rule. If the dialogue goes past one finger width on the page, and it's not a monologue or something similar to that, you may want to trim it down. A look or gesture can be just as if not more effective than a line.

Michael, the issue isn’t long speeches. Generally, I use short , snappy writing. What I mean is like a five page scene with mostly talking.

One of my friend asked me to review his script it was completely dialogue all over with beats.. Just from an overview it looks perfect script for writers and feels great, engaging but I often have this skill like I can instantly see visual images of whats going on when I read it. And it made me feel tired reading through his script.

Because dialogue heavy often have its own silent times. Like its a musical note but we need some spaces in between which weaves the story, characters and incidents around that dialogue. If we don't notice that our breathing pattern feels heavier when we read or visualize tha. script.

I told him to try these. Write the character description thoroughly and in the scene see if you have written dialogues which are. his or any character description. Minimise it and create action around it. Quite often in playwriting we describe many character description unknowingly. It can be substantially reduced. with action.

Second, get a story board artist who can draw the script in simple stick figures and write the scene, dialogue and see through it . You will instantly notice where you need those spaces in between.

You can try if possible. Rest, others might share some tricks and ways which might work. Those two worked for my friend.

Best of luck

Steven, I have read a lot of screenplays lately. Produced and unproduced. Modern-day screenplays. For a hundred-pages screenplay, the 'average' scene is a bit shorter than half a page. Then again, if most of your scenes are short, and you have (a few) long (GOLDEN) scenes, let us say max 3-5 pages. that would be fine. Just my two cents.

Hey, Steven! Once, I was advised to mix my dialogues / monologues with the flashbacks, where the same info is introduced but in a visual way, and when a flashback finishes, we go back to the scene, feeling refreshed, while it's actually the same dialogue/monologue happening. Hope it helps!

No one can answers this without any context. The only test is to have someone read it and give you feedback.

Dialogue can feel excessive when characters are explaining how they feel rather than showing it. In a stage play these things have to be put into words so the audience members in the back row understand what is going on, but on screen you can play with non-verbal communication between characters (body language, expression, reaction etc.). If you are wondering if the dialogue is becoming excessive, a good thing to do is to ask yourself “what is being communicated here” and “is there a different way to communicate this”? Sometimes a character not being able to express themselves can be more captivating to watch than a character that can.

I think it's a great exercise to write just two people in a room or single space, no additional props, and see if you can write a compelling conversation. I tend to try this every now and then. I was really into Edward Albee's The Zoo Story.

And on the flip side of that, talking heads scenes can be boring for audiences though, especially in film because it's a visual medium, unless there's something that gives it tension or ups the stakes to keep us invested. Why are we enjoying watching this conversation?

So what's the difference between The Zoo Story and a talking heads scene? Tension, stakes, reveals, mysteries in the dialogue. Like Ewan was saying, what they're not saying is sometimes more exciting. I'm not particularly good at this because I write comedy and comedy works better when characters are being honest, but the paradigm of a scene can shift so easily with a lie or a reveal that ups the ante.

Basically what I'm saying is that if you can write a compelling scene where two people are doing nothing but talking, you can write anything, and there are tons of films out there able to do this. And I don't know if anything is too much dialogue unless we're going into a repetitive territory. If this is a dialogue-driven piece, then go overboard at first. Then maybe go back and see what you can trim down. See what lines you can change to have less honesty, see what lines you can have the characters unaware of how they feel, or know exactly how they feel in that moment.

Steven, I would personally read the first scene of Tarantino's screenplay "Inglorious Bastards". Could (partly) answer several of your questions at once as it reflects about all that is said in this thread.

Rutger, I watched the scene. Not sure what to think yet.

Don't only watch it. READ the screenplay!! http://www.cinefile.biz/script/basterds.pdf

Or even better: SCREENPLAYED "Inglorious Bastards" it's not the first scene but the same principle.; https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=461625637917660

I think apart from reading the scene in Tarantino's "Inglorious Bastards" you should read a lot of screenplays, produced or not, especially ones you think somehow reflect your screenplay's genre, setup, and dialog. Besides all that is already said in this thread. That's all I can say.

I have been reading several screenplays, and I find I'm drawn to the more experimental type script. Memento for example. I did reread the scene. It is amazing, isn't it?

People never just stand and talk. We are not like that. (I know people are sick of me mention this film) But when I wrote the hostage I had this problem. One guy strapped to a chair. Two guys questioning him for 90 mins.

So I added in the occasionally phone call to the outside world. Sometime we didn’t hear the call, but the person taking it had to walk away. The remaining people could have a conversation in private. I also dropped in acting hints. “James is barely holding it together”.

You have to find ways to break it up to make the read easier (mostly). I would read it out. The places I would naturally break, I would add something for the reader.

Tarantino always has tension mingling his big conversations. You sense something bad gonna happen when the talk stops, so you follow it through with attention...

Hi Steven,

It's difficult to answer the question 'what might be too much dialogue in an indie type film', without some context. Is this limited location, or multiple - what's the story about?

12 Angry Men, Glengarry Glen Ross, and more recently, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom are all examples of 'dialogue-heavy' films - but they are all adapted from plays.

Plays have different constraints to movies, therefore dialogue serves an additional function.

I think a rule of thumb, in regard to dialogue-heavy in your film - if you can show something visually, but have used dialogue instead - then it's dialogue heavy.

Yes Memento is briljant. Love that sceenplay and film!

I very much like the idea Rohit mentioned about storyboarding with stick figures- may give that a go myself!