•    Dialogue establishes relationships between characters
-     once you have established your main character’s POV, you can use dialogue with other characters to show that they have other attitudes, creating opposite/alternative POVs
-    this helps to create and sustain the element of conflict between  characters

•    Good effective dialogue will move the story forward.
•    Dialogue communicates faces and information to the audience (your audience must find out something new)
-    it conveys essential exposition
-    characters will talk about what happened, establishing the storyline
•    Dialogue comments on the acition
•    Dialogue ties the script together
- it is one of the devices that you as a writer can use to expand and enlarge your characters
•    If you can see it or hear it, don’t write it. – Neville Smith
•    Dialogue should be used sparingly
•    Never tell the audience what they can see for themselves
<Dialogue is not a substitute for action!>
In Hollywood, when they look at a page and it’s got too much black, too much ink on the paper, they say: “SHIT! IT’S FREEZE THE CAMERA TIME!”
•    Common mistake
- students sometimes never achieve a level of competence as they tend to reproduce conventional spoken language, long statements of “REAL TALKING”, and defend their decision by telling us that : “It’s how the character speaks.”
•    Dialogue is affected by: age(speed of speech, how busy a person is), gender, social status (educational qualification)
•    Good dialogue is not somebody’s ability to write authentic speech as heard in real life
-    if that was all there is to it, you can just push a button on the tape reocarder, then go collect your oscar
•    Good dialogue is the illusion of reality
- you’ve got to know how to edit what people say without losing any of the spirit
•    Common mistake
- students tend to create radio shows with images
<< Film is a visual medium>>
A screenplay is a story told in pictures

Exercise : writing dialogue
The scenario :
A middle aged man returns home from work.
He had stopped for a few drinks with his friends and forgot to phone his wife to tell her he’ll be late.
The dinner is ruined.
The exercise :
Write a short scene composed of dialogue between husband and wife.

Role play : 2 students to play the roles from their stories.
The real exercise :
Repeat the experiment, but
Husband and wife are your own parents
Get two people to read the dialogue
Record the reading
Post it to your blog

Purpose of the exercise
- a true story is not exactly an exciting story
- true life stories do not offer neat and relevant endings
- life is unpredictable
- in a story, we can and must control the events and sequences so that it gives the appearance of being like life.

Characterization : defining the character
- every story starts with a character

The character is the heart, the soul, and the nervous system
It is true your characters that the viewers experience emotions.
Without a character, there is no action.
Without action, you have no conflict.
Without conflict, you have no story.
Without story, you have no screenplay.

Developing characters
When developing a character, ask yourself :
1. Who is your character?
2. What does he want? (he must have a goal, a target to meet)
3. What is his quest?
4. What drives him to the resolution of the story?

1. Establish your main character.
- characters should have a 3 dimensional structure.
a) physiology
b) sociology
c) psychology

a) PHYSIOLOGY
- sex
- age
- height, weight
- colour of hair, eyes, skin
- posture
- appearance
- defects, abnormalities, deformities, birth marks, diseases
- heredity
b) SOCIOLOGY
- class (lower, middle, upper)
- occupation : type of work, hours of work, income, condition of work, attitude towards organization, suitability for work
- education : amount, kind of schools, marks, favourite subjects, poorest subjects, aptitudes
- home life : parents living, earning power, orphan, parents separated/divorced, parents’ habits, parents’ mental development, parents’ vices, neglect, character’s marital status
- religion
- race, nationality
- place in the community; leader among friends, clubs, sports
- political affiliations
- amusements : hobbies, books, newspapers, magazines he/she reads
c) PSYCHOLOGY
- sex life, moral standards
- personal premise, ambition
- frustrations, chief disappointments
- temperament: choleric, easy going, pessimistic, optimistic
- attitude towards life : resigned, militant, defeatist
- complexes : obsessions, inhibitions, superstitions, phobias
- personality : extrovert, introvert
- abilities : language, talents
- qualities : imagination, judgment, taste, poise
- IQ/EQ
- What is the deep and personal secret this character has which he is desperate to protect/hide?

1. Separate the components of his life into 2 basic categories :
a) Interior
- the interior life takes place from birth until the moment your story begins
- it is a process that forms character (when you start formulating your character from birth, you see your character build in body and form)
• How old is he when the story begins?
• Where does he live?
• Does he have siblings?
• What kind of childhood did he have?
• What was his relationship to his parents?
• What kind of child was he?
• Is he married, single, widowed, separated or divorced?
b) Exterior
- the exterior life takes place the moment your story begins to its conclusion
- it is a process that reveals character.
• Who are they and what do they want?
• Are they sad or happy with their life?
• Do they wish their life was different? Another job, another wife?
You must create your characters in relation to other people or things
All dramatic characters interact in 3 ways :
1. They experience conflict in achieving their dramatic need. (eg; need money – rob a bank, a store, a person?)
2. They interact with other characters (either in an antagonistic, friendly of indifferent way
3. They interact with themselves. (eg; he overcame his fear of being caught by pulling off the robbery successfully)

How do you invent characters?
- try turning them upside down. (eg; a monk who is devoted to his religion.. but is a football fanatic. A serial killer.. whose obsession is to kill other serial killers. A common street rat.. who loves to eat and cook only fine food.)
Movie screening: taxi driver

This process of change is an essential ingredient of any effective story

In dramatic writing, the very essence is character change. 

a storyteller should be concerned with the potential of every experience. 

everything about you, where you were born, what food you eat , the bump on your forehead, your experiences are unique and irreplaceable

many of your experiences are universal and translatable and can be used in any location

universal themes : 1st day at school, first/puppy love, first baby, loss of loved ones, hanging with friends.

translatable : 

language, culture, setting.

tip : 

if you don;t know what to do with a character, make him yourself for a while.

see hoe he relates to the world he has been thrown into.

plunder your own personal background.

the things that happen to you as you grow up and the things that are currently happening to you make terrific story sources. 

——

All people have fragments of stories 

These potential ideas prompt your desire to know more.

respond emotionally and intellectually to what you heard.

good stories are born in the heart, not the head.

remember the role of an audience

- MEMORY

your memory is a wonderful cabinet of past incidents which you have experienced or been told.

these memories are points of reference to your own past experience

write what you do not know because you will find some part of you that does know

what is the difference between memory and experience

how do we use memory to build creative content?s

Shawshank Redemption(1994)

Director/Writer: Frank Darabont.

Review of Shawshank Redemption

• Why would we classify Andy as a tragic hero?
• What was his flaw and how did it cause his fall from grace?
• What lessons did he learn from his mistakes?
• How did he change and how did he change others?

• Reflection
• Visual Trigger: Find an image and tell a story that comes to your mind as you see it.
• Picture should not be taken for this purpose use only pictures you can find.

Principles of tragedy

Incorporate principles or tragedy into your writing!

What is Tragedy?

Tragedy doesn’t mean that something bad happens and the story ends.

It means something bad happens as a result of a flaw in your character, and you show how this tragic fall forces your character to learn something about herself or himself.

Review exercise: People-Watch

• Take 1 character from the person above you on the bloglist.
• Take 1 character from the person below you on the bloglist.
• Write a story about how these two people interact.
• Don’t forget the most essential element of drama…. CONFLICT~

• Difficulties- What were they?
• Restraints- Did they help?

Do constraints help you to be a better writer?

What constraints do professional writers face?

Storytelling Tool 1: Observation.

• Observe in a conscious way
• Train yourself to see and record:

1. movements
2. physical characteristics 
3. settings

• Adopt a KEEN EYE
• Develop a natural SENSE OF CURIOSITY

~An observed event, when subject to simple questions, can set up a sequence of possibilities that will develop into a story worth telling.                for e.g when you observe a couple having a meal yet totally not talking…. What questions come to mind.

• Whom am i writing about? 
• Who is my character?
• What is he/she/it like?
• What does he/she/it do?
• What happen to him/her/it in the story?

Awareness level.

• People rarely observe familiar people or things closely.
• Most people pass through the day with 20%-30% awareness.

Mindless observation vs True observation

• Observe in a conscious way.
• Develop the ability to SEE and RECORD people:

1. Their MOVEMENTS
2. Their PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
3. The SETTINGS 

Exercise: People-Watch

1. Walk into the canteen/library, etc, and watch people pass by.
2. Eventually, one will catch your attention.
3. Write down as many details as possible through observation.

• 2 different genders
• 2 different settings (locations)

       4.  Repeat steps 1-3 for a second character.

       5.  Transcribe all these details into the “PEOPLE-WATCH” page that you will create on your blog.

ARISTOTLE

1. Review the list of questions on groups of 3.
2. You have an hour to complete your research.
3. Avoid presenting just facts or theories. Support your answers with interesting antidotes or tales about Aristotle.

- Opposition of persons or forces

- Can result internally or externally

- It is the interaction of opposing ideas, interests or wills that creates the plot. ( serious/ not so serious disagreements. Hostile encounter. Mental/ emotional/ physical struggle. )

Types of conflict

*Dramatic conflict is the protagonist’s struggle against something or someone.

- Man VS man.

- Man VS environment

- Man VS system

- Man against self!

Variations of conflict can arise from gender, age, religion and culture.

* Author of opener to comment on new interpretation.

* Decide who is the author of the final piece.

Causes and effects of conflict

- Conflict arises when there is change.

- Changes may be major/minor.

- While change is universal & common, it is not always accepted.

- Conflict arises when people resist changes.

- Intensity of conflict depends on how people react to the change.

- The action in drama depends on conflict.

* People must cope with change to survive!

Importance of conflict

- Plot cannot be constructed without conflict.

- Central feature of screenplay.

- As characters try to reach their goals, conflict!

* The end of story is when two characters reach their goals and conflict rise to generate maximum suspense and excitement. 

Story is from people to people. (:

Antagonist 

- Person

- Time

- Weather

- Object

- System

Writer’s purpose

- To connect the audiences!

- themselves

- their unique vision

- the material/issue

- the drama

- others.

*Audiences want to be transported by a screenplay.

* Practice observing, ‘listening’ and reading body language of people.

Writing for an audience

*Screenwriter = Storyteller!

* The cinematic experience is not just made up of text on paper, but the audience’s emotional reaction to that info.

Any picture on screen = Story (originated )

Proper writing format :  Present tense, 3rd person and A visual voice.

The 3rd person present tense = Character narrating the story as it is happening.

Visual writing mostly used for…

- Screen plays ( more urgent and immediate feel to the story )

- Thriller and suspense genres.

Passive voice ( no action )

- Uses weak verbs

- Tells what’s happening in the character’s head.

- Creates a distance between the reader from story.

Active voice 

- Strong action voice

- Shows the action

- Uses an immediate sentence structure.

- Conveys story in a lively manner.

Use narration only if it really is not boring, and adds to the depth of the story.

Actions can be added for ‘ boring ‘ narrative.

Begin with short description of story first! *

Whose story am I telling?

What is the point of story?

How to get audience’s attention?

CREDIBILITY!