tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post7471859439956917667..comments2023-05-04T03:37:04.200-07:00Comments on The Rouge Wave: Short Scene FinalistsJulie Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14690487940378619749noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-56165248073287741982008-09-25T15:50:00.000-07:002008-09-25T15:50:00.000-07:00@MegIt's a difficult balance, all you hear from th...@<A>Meg</A><BR/><BR/>It's a difficult balance, all you hear from the experts is make it "visual." <BR/><BR/>Two thinks happen with young/new screenwriters, one they "tell" rather "show" when writing their screenplays. And they confuse those words with the importance of using dialog to move the story forward... <BR/><BR/>Action is description, dialog is movement--both are important to the screenplay.<BR/><BR/>Make no mistake, dialog, <I>good</I> dialog is the lifeblood of any film worth thinking about. And if you're good at it, you'll do well as a screenwriter.Kirklandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04858762006283118835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-48436452127501862742008-09-25T12:40:00.000-07:002008-09-25T12:40:00.000-07:00@ Kirkland I'm having fun with this discussion. I ...@ Kirkland <BR/>I'm having fun with this discussion. I find both points of view interesting. I'm so new at this screenwriting stuff i didn't realize there's a dialog vs description/visual debate...I tend towards the dialog myself, perferring to let the words and the actors convey the meaning...meghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07383192607366785499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-24347282286104472462008-09-25T10:55:00.000-07:002008-09-25T10:55:00.000-07:00@megWhich are, oddly enough, created with words. I...@<A>meg</A><BR/><BR/>Which are, oddly enough, created with words. It seems most of the screenwriters who hold an opinion on this topic--visual v. dialog--want to devalue dialog, to dismiss it as being unimportant, as something to be tolerated but not needed in cinematic storytelling. And that viewpoint is simply wrong, to me anyway. There isn't any film (of the talking era anyway), that people have quoted in their everyday lexicon of conversation that didn't come from dialog. <BR/><BR/>Think about it, when was the last time someone used a scene of a film as part of their everyday conversation. But everyday someone spouts something they've heard in movie dialog, even without realizing where it came from. That says something about the importance of dialog, but also speaks to how words creep into our lives and affect our lives on a daily basis, doesn't it?<BR/><BR/>And if you don't believe me, try writing a film without it, and see how far you get. <BR/><BR/>People may go to the movies to "see" a film, but what lives with them long after the images are gone from their memory is the dialog. It's there in the subconscious just waiting for the right moment to be used.<BR/><BR/>Dialog matters, it's that simple.Kirklandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04858762006283118835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-61080017230346601412008-09-25T08:49:00.000-07:002008-09-25T08:49:00.000-07:00Might I suggest that memorable dialog is memorabl...Might I suggest that memorable dialog is memorable precisely because memorable scenes have created a context for the dialog to be remembered?meghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07383192607366785499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-84078605814079827282008-09-25T01:29:00.000-07:002008-09-25T01:29:00.000-07:00@ Kirkland --If I were to list 100 movies that you...@ Kirkland --<BR/><BR/>If I were to list 100 movies that you've seen, would you remember more lines of dialog, or would you remember more visual images?<BR/><BR/>Finding Nemo -- I remember a few quotes, and the dialog was good, but more than that I remember watching Marlin and Dory bounce on the jelly fish, Marlin's "kids" getting eaten by the barracuda, riding the current with Squirt and Crush, the fish at the end dropping into the ocean while still in plastic bags, being on the tongue of the whale, all the fish swimming down in the net --<BR/><BR/>Dialog may be catchy, but images are the heart of a film.<BR/><BR/>I don't remember a single quote from Bambi other than "Man has entered the forest", but I remember a lot of the scenes.<BR/><BR/>Dialog is important, but images are more important. Ultimately it comes down to:<BR/><BR/>Show, don't tell.<BR/><BR/>We may have a philosophical disagreement, you say you write to be remembered for the words, I'd rather be remembered for the images.Dave Alehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03474450946075032613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-5799977145814070162008-09-24T21:11:00.000-07:002008-09-24T21:11:00.000-07:00ShepherdAs a writer with a little bit of experienc...<A>Shepherd</A><BR/><BR/>As a writer with a little bit of experience at writing movies, I think <A>Anonymous</A> <I>may</I> have a point. A limited point, but a point nonetheless. I would tend to agree with him or her, so I'll ask you the obvious:<BR/><BR/>Compare the last time you quoted the action lines from a movie to that of the dialog. Which gets quoted most often?<BR/><BR/>A movie may be <I>visual</I>, but it's <I>heard</I> and remembered for the words. It's why I tell stories, how about you?Kirklandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04858762006283118835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-53277484157985930552008-09-24T18:59:00.000-07:002008-09-24T18:59:00.000-07:00@ Anonymous --Good one.Never said I had a problem ...@ Anonymous --<BR/><BR/>Good one.<BR/><BR/>Never said I had a problem with dialog. All I said was that action works better in film than dialog. And I'm right.<BR/><BR/>People don't go to a movie to hear people talk, they go to a movie to see things happen.<BR/><BR/>Ask a person what a movie is about and they'll tell you the images they remember, not the snippets of dialog.Dave Alehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03474450946075032613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-44828239621472146542008-09-24T18:16:00.000-07:002008-09-24T18:16:00.000-07:00Oops. I wasn't clear. Perhaps this is how I shou...Oops. I wasn't clear. Perhaps this is how I should have asked. Did most entries, in addition to the 3 finalists, use the president term as a reference to a USA prez? Just wondering if many went beyond the obvious use.<BR/> <BR/>Anyway, I appreciate the explanation of why some didn't get considered. Typos. Really? That surprises me. And strangely gives me hope. Every screenwriting book I've studied seems to mention that.<BR/>But it still seems to be a big secret.meghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07383192607366785499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-81926198382835167112008-09-24T17:12:00.000-07:002008-09-24T17:12:00.000-07:00Break my heart, why don't-cha Miss Gray! Thought ...Break my heart, why don't-cha Miss Gray! Thought I had untill tonight to make a submission... <BR/><BR/>(frownie face)<BR/><BR/>Well-p, I've got what I THINK is a real funny scene that I'm going to down in my room and finish. Whether or not it makes the finalists I hope read it Julie. I'm going to sent you two scenes. 1 the one page, 2 the complete scene as comes from my heart. Hopefully I'll be able to make you laugh...<BR/><BR/>- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WAE.C. Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10748007729066148300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-54773447516720364742008-09-24T16:15:00.000-07:002008-09-24T16:15:00.000-07:00I wish we ad been allowed two scenes, the second w...I wish we ad been allowed <I>two</I> scenes, the second would reveal that all is not what it seems.<BR/><BR/>But at least I made it into the top three (provided, of course, there were more then three who made it past the discerning eye of the Script Department staff).Curious Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08265432776433286611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-32370424345003308632008-09-24T15:49:00.000-07:002008-09-24T15:49:00.000-07:00All 3 entries did use the word "president" and ref...All 3 entries did use the word "president" and refer to the president of the US. It didn't matter what type of president people indicated in the script, these 3 just happened to do it the way they did.<BR/><BR/>I received a number of entries that were knocked out of the top 3 for these reasons:<BR/><BR/>typos<BR/><BR/>copious, poorly written action lines<BR/><BR/>not compelling or entertaining<BR/><BR/>language usage issuesJulie Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14690487940378619749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-84457411160911687562008-09-24T15:45:00.000-07:002008-09-24T15:45:00.000-07:00@Shepard, welcome to the new era, it's called "the...@Shepard, welcome to the new era, it's called "the talkie."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-463898193918555162008-09-24T15:12:00.000-07:002008-09-24T15:12:00.000-07:00Enjoyed all three. Good point, Dave, about the di...Enjoyed all three. Good point, Dave, about the dialog vs action.<BR/><BR/>I was working on a short scene too. Oh, well, it wasn't meant to be. Learning as a writer not everything is in my control.<BR/><BR/>I'm wondering, Julie, if all the entries used the word president in reference to the President of the US? I was taking it in another direction.meghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07383192607366785499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-85873735457079957372008-09-24T14:04:00.000-07:002008-09-24T14:04:00.000-07:00I didn't enter, but I've always wondered why short...I didn't enter, but I've always wondered why short scene competitions tend to favor dialog heavy scenes when we're supposed to be writing for a visual medium.<BR/><BR/>Generally speaking, action work far better on the silver screen than dialog -- Wall-E, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood -- all have minimalist dialog, all great pieces of writing.<BR/><BR/>Don't get me wrong, dialog is important -- but you can make a movie without dialog, you can't make a movie without action.<BR/><BR/>Comedy is also favored above all else in shorts, but that makes sense to me, as it's one of the more difficult genres to write.Dave Alehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03474450946075032613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-51106851398828082282008-09-24T13:42:00.000-07:002008-09-24T13:42:00.000-07:00Naked Comes The President - great, funny mini-prem...<B>Naked Comes The President</B> - great, funny mini-premise (I love the idea of the president gambling American territories).<BR/><BR/><B>Oranged</B> - Meow hear this, sounds like someone recently watched Super Troopers (word game) and the episode of the Simpsons where Homer went to college ("This bra bomb of yours better work, Nerdlinger!"). It's always fun to mess with the president's head!<BR/><BR/><B>Todd Explains</B> - nice use of the "orange" requirement. Not sure what's really happening beyond this Jesus dude getting tough on crime.Luzidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15862297674415830596noreply@blogger.com