Steve Coombes Character And Dialogue

In our latest lecture with Steve Coombes we learned about characters and dialogue in screenwriting. Some of the source material we looked at included "When Harry met Sally" and "Full Metal Jacket". 

In this post I will summarize some of the key points that i picked up on starting with dialogue.

Dialogue:

Dialogue is one of the least important parts of film/TV but it is still important to get it right, since some dialogue is intended for TV, some for Film, and some for Theatre. 

Dialogue should have a point, it should not be overly detailed or too formal (show don't tell). 

Different characters speak differently, with different vocabulary and phrases, you can read it aloud to see if it sounds natural. 

Where possible it is good to replace dialogue with actions or facial expressions.

Accents are best avoided unless necessary, and you shouldn't have characters speak the hidden meaning of your script.

Denial is key for conveying messages and creating subtext, e.g. I'm fine, no i don't love her.

It is good to start in the middle of a conversation and let the audience figure out whats going on. 

Different characters use different curse words. 

Character:

Know your characters well, and know what their traits are, as if they were your friends.

Characters should have flaws and visual tells e.g. tattoos, or the fact they like things a certain way, or have OCD. 

Characters should be right most of the time, but wrong now and then to help them develop.

If you have a character who is a psychopath or a monster, the best way to make them more likable is to introduce someone who's an even bigger monster and put them "next to each other".

Their should be a character based on the idea of the "existential hero". Many characters when faced with individuality or change, question their lives  and morals. It is mostly men who go through an existential crisis.

Make your characters choose, give them some kind of conflict that they have to make a choice between. Have them be pulled in different directions.

When characters need to make decisions it is important to keep them on edge and indecisive, and know what it is that will make them like this.