Film and TV Directing: Dialogue Writing Skills

Film and TV Directors: Dialogue Writing Skills

In our daily lives, we all have more or less knowledge about some professional schools. Below I have compiled some relevant knowledge for you. Film and television directors: You are welcome to share content related to dialogue writing skills. I hope it will be helpful to everyone.

Writing dialogue is a headache for screenwriters. Even the most experienced screenwriters cannot guarantee that they can write it well. Dialogue discrepancies are often one of the important reasons why scripts are rejected, because dialogue is the most straightforward to stimulate readers and audiences - you can tell whether it is interesting or not with every word spoken by the actors.

Film and television directors: dialogue writing skills

1. Clarify the character’s speaking style

One criterion for testing the quality of dialogue is: if the character’s name is obscured, Can you still tell who said it? If you can, it means you have found a speaking style that is unique to that character. In the script, the rhythm of the character's speech, the worldview and background story reflected in the speech content should all be reflected in the character's dialogue. Does your character like to interrupt others when speaking? Are they a chat stopper? Are these people more extroverted or introverted? What is their social status? Do they always like to compete for the right to speak? Or tend to conform to others? Get to know your characters well and they will begin to talk to you themselves.

2. Cleverly arrange explanatory dialogue

When dialogue has the function of explanation and explanation, it should be squeezed into the audience bit by bit like eye drops, rather than telling everything. Use dialogue to create a reversal or humorous effect, but be careful not to reveal the truth too early. In the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", two outlaws who committed evil deeds were chased by the police and villagers and intercepted on the edge of a cliff. Butch suggested that the two jump into the river to escape. At this critical moment that threatened their lives, Butch learned from his partner that Learned the fact that he couldn't swim. Explanatory dialogue needs to be slowly laid out and brewed in the early stage.

3. Fully understand your characters

Before you start writing dialogue about your characters, you must really understand them. To do this, you can first write a background story for them. In his book "The Art of Screenwriting", Lajoche Egli proposes a good template for character background construction, which mainly covers the three main aspects of the character - psychological level, physical level and social level.

4. Introduce dialects according to plot needs

Taking into account the regional issues where the story takes place, when the plot requires it, character dialogues can appropriately quote dialects. Ken Loach's film The Kid and the Eagle is adapted from Barry Hines' novel, with all dialogue written in South Yorkshire dialect. During the script adaptation process, these dialects were replaced with Mandarin. When local Yorkshire actors were finally hired to perform, the written dialogue was changed into a dialect that best suited the theme and atmosphere of the film.

5. Use voiceovers with caution

Using voiceovers to tell stories is a terrible thing. If the plot is all told through narration, what's the point of being a screenwriter? However, there are still many excellent movies that use voiceovers well, such as "Apocalypse Now", "Blade Runner", "American Beauty" and so on. The voice-over is very instructive. If the voiceover speaker is an unreliable narrator, you can take advantage of this to mislead the audience and create suspense, since people tend to follow the voiceover's instructions.

6. Learn to use dialogue as a foreshadowing

In addition to using visual foreshadowing to foreshadow or mislead what is going to happen next, dialogue can also be used to complete this process.

7. Don’t write rubber ducky monologues

Sydney Lu once said in his “Making Movies” that you don’t write rubber ducky dialogue.

Rubber duck dialogue is a monologue in which a character directly explains to the audience how they became who they are as a result of past trauma. However, in real life, people are usually not consciously aware of the reasons and experiences that affect their growth trajectory.

8. Let your character joke

Your character must be able to joke. This of course also depends to some extent on the type of story.

Action movies rarely have time to explore characters, but the same cannot be said about dramas. At the beginning of a movie, the screenwriter hopes to win the audience's sympathy for the character as much as possible, because you have to make the audience have the urge to take the initiative to understand the character. Having characters tell jokes is a great way to draw the audience into the plot. In this joke, you can begin to foreshadow the theme or specific message of the story. In the movie "Alien", through the laughter and scolding between the characters, the audience can understand some of the dynamic relationships between the characters, such as Brett and Parker's dislike of Ripley; Kane's laziness (which later caused him to fall into some trouble).

Another function of having characters joke is to create suspense. One rule of dramatic writing is: make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait. Overall, playful dialogue can help us like and understand a character and create tension when needed. In a comedy, the playful dialogue will be the focus of the entire story.

9. It is better to write more than to write less

Many people tend to write a lot of dialogue in the first draft, but when the final draft is completed or filming begins, the dialogue will be Cut back a lot. When writing a script, we usually write a lot of dialogue, because at this stage, we are dealing with the words on the page, and we have not entered a visual environment at this time. Therefore, it is easy for the screenwriter to describe what they see on behalf of the characters. objects (everything we end up seeing on the screen), and say how they feel on their behalf (which can be replaced by expressions or gestures).

10. Do research and write quickly

William Goldman once said, do research and build a good background story for your character. When you feel you are ready to go , and started writing quickly. This method works well for me personally. If you do your research well, the character will automatically start talking to you. Writing quickly can temporarily block critical thinking and help improve writing efficiency.

Extended reading: Employment direction of film and television directors

Employment direction:

Under the development trend of integration of radio and television program production talents, directors and directors, radio and television directors Professional employment prospects are becoming increasingly broad. It is also worth mentioning that as the Internet, the fourth largest media in modern times, is heating up, graduates in the field of Internet art will have good development prospects. Whether in a radio station, a television station, or an Internet company, graduates of the radio and television editing and directing major will be of great use.

The professional employment direction includes seven modules, including TV editor, literary director, news director, film and television drama director, feature film director, music editor and Internet art. These directions mainly study the writing and directing of news programs, literary and artistic programs, documentaries, music programs and network art in radio and television media. Specific jobs can include reporters, planners, program directors, photographers, editors, writers, producers, post-production, editors, and even lighting and recorders. You can also serve as a producer in a column group established by a TV station channel, so that you can manage a column group. In short, the directing profession mainly focuses on behind-the-scenes work, and some with extremely strong abilities can also work in front of the stage.

Specific employment paths:

1. Film and television production effects designers for companies in various industries;

2. TV station column planners, directors, reporters;

3. Directors and producers of various film and television advertising companies;

4. Post-production staff of advertising and film companies.

When your business level is excellent, you have four options:

1. Continue to stay in the TV station or radio station and seek to become better and stronger. If you can become a regular employee , the job and income are relatively stable;

2. Entering a privately-owned film and television company, advertising company or cultural communication company, which mainly involves post-editing and various work related to specific shooting, such as Talk about joining a film crew hosted by a film and television company, such as lighting, sound, scene recorder, director assistant, camera assistant, etc.

3. You can also choose administrative departments, such as the radio and television bureaus in various places, and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television at the higher level, but this is not accessible to ordinary people. This job should be very challenging.

4. If you are tired of that kind of regular job, then become a freelance videographer or called a folk video recorder. Nowadays, it is more popular to say that you can shoot the documentary you like. Participate in various film festivals and award competitions, and if you win the prize, the bonus is not cheap. But since you are engaged in this work, you must have your own unique feelings about art, and the purpose is to be happy.

Another very important point is that although we are learning about choreography, we must know that there is no insurmountable gap between choreography and directing, camerawork, screenwriting, production and other professions!

Employment prospects

The film and television media major is an emerging major established to adapt to the vigorous development of the cultural industry. The cultural industry has become a very eye-catching emerging industry in the world today. In developed countries, the cultural industry not only outpaces traditional industries in terms of development speed, but also increasingly shows strong growth strength in terms of industrial scale and wealth creation capabilities, becoming a leading industry in its continuous expansion of foreign trade and a key factor in national economic and social development. important pillar. Since the 1990s, in order to adapt to the development of the cultural industry, my country's major art schools, drama schools, film schools, music schools, as well as various comprehensive universities and normal colleges have successively established media majors. As an emerging major, it mainly serves the cultural and art management departments of governments at all levels, as well as cultural communication departments such as radio, television, the Internet, newspapers, and publishing houses; art activity groups such as music, art, drama, and film and television, as well as mass culture and corporate culture , cultural industry, press and publication, tourism and culture and other departments to cultivate high-level professionals in business and management work. In the past 10 years, as the United States took the lead in completing a major transformation from industrialization to a "knowledge economy", it has played an important leading role in the adjustment of industrial structures in all Western developed countries and even the world. At the turn of the century, the charm of modern cultural industries emerged at the turn of the century. turning point. During this period, the export volume of U.S. consumer audio-visual technology and cultural products reached US$60 billion, replacing the aerospace industry as the largest export commodity. Such a dazzling industrial structure adjustment not only allows us to see a new commanding height in the industrial upgrading of the world today, but also gives us a new understanding of the modern cultural industry.

What are the film and television directing majors

About the film and television directing major

The cultural industry has become a very eye-catching emerging industry in the world today. In developed countries, the cultural industry not only outpaces traditional industries in terms of development speed, but also increasingly shows strong growth strength in terms of industrial scale and wealth creation capabilities, becoming a leading industry in its continuous expansion of foreign trade and a key factor in national economic and social development. important pillar. Since the 1990s, in order to adapt to the development of the cultural industry, my country's major art schools, drama schools, film schools, music schools, as well as various comprehensive universities and normal colleges have successively established media majors.

Career Management Major

(1) Culture and Art Management: This major takes art and culture as the main body, radiates social culture, and mainly cultivates people who can work in cultural and art management departments of governments at all levels, radio and television High-level professionals with both ability and political integrity who are engaged in business and management work in cultural communication departments such as newspaper and magazine publishing, art activity groups such as music, art, drama, film and television, as well as mass culture, corporate culture, cultural industry, tourism culture and other departments.

(2) Production management: This major mainly cultivates talents with a good foundation of film and television art creation and high management capabilities for radio and television groups, TV stations, film and television production companies and other enterprises and institutions at all levels across the country. Film and television program producers and other media organizations cultivate specialized talents engaged in media management, planning, organization, coordination, project operation, audience research, etc., as well as those who can engage in publicity planning, organizational coordination, and economic management of film and television drama project operations. Applied talents for work.

Radio and television director (literary director direction)

This major trains high-quality and high-level talents for radio and television media organizations to engage in radio and television art program, column, channel planning, editing and directing, Specialized talents in production, etc.

Radio and Television Director (TV Editing Direction)

This professional direction mainly cultivates comprehensive qualities for TV stations and TV media organizations, engaged in TV news collection and production, and TV documentary feature film directors. , channel and TV column planning, and professional talents in the editing and directing of TV news programs

Digital media art (digital film and television production direction)

This professional direction is for TV stations, digital film production companies, interactive Entertainment companies, advertising companies, TV channel and column packaging departments, TV drama production departments, animation companies and other film and television production institutions carry out digital film and television program planning and creation, digital film and television special effects production, TV title design and production, and TV column and channel packaging Comprehensive senior talents who combine science and art.

Digital media art (network multimedia design direction)

This professional direction is for major portal websites, Internet companies, television or radio websites, advertising production companies, electronic audio and video publishing houses, multimedia Software development and production companies, computer video and audio entertainment product development and production companies, interactive multimedia application development and production companies and other units carry out modern website overall image design and planning, online animation, online advertising, and online video and audio art design and production. Comprehensive senior talents with awareness.

Photography

This professional direction is for training people engaged in film and television in TV stations, film studios, TV drama production centers, film and television production companies, TV advertising production companies, TV audio and video publishing departments, and TV research institutions. Senior professionals in drama photography and other types of television and art program photography.

Lighting Art

This major is for film studios, TV stations, film and television production companies, advertising production companies, and TV program production companies to train people engaged in movies, TV series, large-scale literary evenings, and TV columns , specialized talents in lighting design for film and television advertisements and research talents in lighting art and technology.

Drama, film and television literature

This major mainly cultivates theoretical knowledge and high aesthetic level of drama, film and television literature for audio and video publishing units of radio and television groups at all levels across the country (including various radio and television stations, etc.) Those who are also familiar with the market rules of drama, film and television literature creation, and can engage in radio, film and television drama creation, script writing skills, editing and publicity planning, editing and publishing work, and the creation and review of radio, film and television literature, literature and art, cultural special programs and related professional theoretical research and teaching Senior professionals.

Professional introduction to film and television directors

Professional introduction

The director is the organizer and leader of film art creation, and the person in charge of putting film and literary scripts on the screen. . As the synthesizer of various artistic elements in film creation, the director organizes and unites all the creative and technical personnel in the film crew to give full play to their talents and integrate the creative work of the film crew into one. The director's re-creation is based on film literary scripts, using montage thinking for artistic conception, writing split-shot scripts and "director's explanations", including grasping the theme of future films, description of characters, scheduling of scenes, as well as time and space structure, sound and picture Determination of modeling and artistic styles, etc. Then identify and determine the actors, and based on the overall concept, put forward requirements for the photography, actors, art design, recording, composition and other creative departments, organize the main creative staff to study relevant information, analyze the script, focus and unify the creative intentions, and determine the overall creation of the film plan. The director also leads the on-site shooting and various post-production work according to the filming plan arranged by the production department until the entire filming of the film is completed. The quality of a film depends to a large extent on the quality and accomplishment of the director; the style of a film often reflects the director's artistic style.

Professional advantages

The film and television directing major is relatively close to the liberal arts major and the drama major.

1. The cultural requirements are low, with scores between 300 and 500, and students ranked around 40 in the class have the opportunity;

2. The recruitment conditions and scope are wide. ：Those who are serious about partial subjects, have special personalities, special preferences, and have unique abilities will have great hope;

3. There is a large space for major selection and the classification of majors is very detailed, which is suitable for students with different conditions and different pursuits; < /p>

4. There is potential for employment development, with new majors and a wide range of employment opportunities. It is suitable for entrepreneurship and the positions in public institutions are still not saturated.

Exam subjects

1. Written test:

1. Historical theory. Question types include: fill-in-the-blanks, short answers, and quiz questions; fill-in-the-blanks test your understanding of history, place names, names of people, and works. The quiz questions test your depth of knowledge of art terminology and genre names. For example: "Separation of sound and picture", "Business". "On the relationship between artistic fiction and life reality", "What are the characteristics of commercial films", "How to evaluate Wang Shuo's films", "Urban and rural cultural construction".

2. Review category: film and television reviews. A film is shown and candidates are asked to write a review of the film in class. This is an exam subject that tests your comprehensive literacy and requires a more comprehensive understanding. During the exam, you need to learn how to watch movies. After watching the movie, a movie review should be formed in your mind.

3. Propositional writing such as narrative prose and argumentative essays.

4. TV commercial creativity and program planning 5. Drama stories

2. Interview: Interview is also called oral examination, which is usually conducted in the re-examination. There are no interviews for the time being in colleges and universities in Shandong Province. During the exam, the examiner will ask you some questions about literature, life, even philosophy and aesthetics, as well as personal hobbies, interests, and professional knowledge levels. The purpose is to understand the candidate's language expression ability, memory and logical thinking ability, and to examine whether the candidate's quality is professional. development potential. No matter what, you should be generous and not nervous during the exam, but you should also be realistic and try not to cover yourself up with illusions, but cleverly show your strengths to the examiner.

Admissions institutions

Comprehensive universities: Peking University, Northwest University, Hunan University, Sichuan University, Chongqing University, Shenyang University, Dalian University, Zhengzhou University of Technology, Liaocheng University, Chengdu University of Technology University, Department of Communication of Shijiazhuang Polytechnic Vocational College, Tongji University, Xi'an International Studies University, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Pingdingshan University, Nanchang Airlines, Nanjing Airlines, Chongqing Posts and Telecommunications, Yellow River Science and Technology, Guizhou Nationalities, Zhongyuan Institute of Technology, Changchun Normal University, Jinan University, Huanggang Normal University, Huanghuai University, Chifeng University, Nanyang Normal University;

Normal universities: Beijing Normal University, Shanghai Normal University, Tianjin Normal University, Southwest Normal University, Harbin Normal University, Hainan Normal University, Sichuan Normal University, Shandong Normal University, Northeast Normal University, Central China Normal University, Linyi Normal University;

Arts universities: Central Conservatory of Music, Communication University of China, Zhejiang University of Communication, Chinese Opera Academy, Beijing Film Academy, Central Academy of Drama, Shanghai Theater Academy, China Conservatory of Music, Hebei University of Communication, Tianjin Conservatory of Music, Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Shenyang Conservatory of Music, Nanjing University of the Arts, Shandong University of the Arts, Jilin University of the Arts, Yunnan University of the Arts, Guangxi University of the Arts, Xinjiang Arts College, Yellow River Institute of Science and Technology; China Media Nanguang Branch, Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Branch, Northeast Agricultural University Chengdong College, Chengdu University of Technology School of Radio, Film and Television, Chongqing University School of Fine Arts, Sichuan Conservatory of Music International Performing Arts School, Shanyi International Exchange School, Nanyi Shangmei College, Northeast Normal University School of Humanities, China Women's University Shandong Branch, Sichuan University Jincheng College, Sichuan Conservatory of Music Mianyang Art College.

Application requirements

Aspiring students who are average in all aspects but are unwilling to give in, and students with specialties in liberal arts, science, music and art, can apply;

Public management category: Organizational management ability, marketing planning ability, cultural and artistic hobbies...;

Mass communication category: Love film and television art, like activities, be good at communication, write quickly, pay attention to social life, think Be a reporter...

Creative Director Category: Love writing, reading, good at conceiving... (poetry, prose, narrative writing skills are better);

Director Category: Image is more acceptable , good pronunciation of Mandarin, and good English (preferably with certain literary and artistic expertise or literary and art committee members);

Employment direction

Generally speaking, after graduation from these majors, they will engage in film and television cultural communication and Management work. Specifically, they are reporters, hosts, planners or administrative directors, business managers, editors, directors and other professionals in newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, radio stations, television stations, film production departments, etc. It generally refers to the organization and management of many cultural industries derived from film and television art.

For example: cultural agents, film and television producers, media planners, literary directors, entertainment reporters, bilingual hosts, film and television screenwriters, film and television directors or assistants for various film and television programs; as well as newspapers, publishing houses, magazines, cultural agencies, Planning and management personnel of public institutions such as radio and television bureaus, publicity ministries, education, science, culture and health and other national organizations. ;