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Lecture 6:Lecture 6:Subtext or Bust!Subtext or Bust!

Professor Christopher Bradley

Double Indemnity (1944)

Screenplay by Billy Wilder

Previous LessonPrevious Lesson

• Designing a Scene

– Purpose

– Turning Points

– Transitions

• Exposition

– Show

– Don’t Tell

– Conflict

The Turning Point (1977)Screenplay by Arthur Laurents

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In this LessonIn this Lesson• Dialog

– Text

– Subtext

• Image Systems

• Titles

• Proper Screenplay Formatting

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Double Indemnity (1944)

Screenplay by Billy Wilder

DialogDialog

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Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Screenplay by Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder & D.M. Marshman, Jr.

Lesson 6: Part I

Dialog – Text (1)Dialog – Text (1)

• Dialog is not conversation– You can get reality by walking out your

front door. For free. Good art cuts out the boring parts!

– “Speak as common people do, but think as wise men do.” —Aristotle

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Dialog – Text (2)Dialog – Text (2)

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• Action/Reaction: Again, conflict. Scenes where people agree with each other have no life and they don’t advance your story! What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

Screenplay by Lukas Heller

Dialog – Text (3)Dialog – Text (3)• Short, quick sentences. Half-sentences

and one-word answers as often as not.• Don’t direct the actors. (Don’t

misunderstand the example McKee gives on page 391 of Story. He’s showing you how to break up chunks of dialog, but directing from the page is the mark of an amateur!)

• Avoid the Passive Voice

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Dialog – Text (4)Dialog – Text (4)• Monologues? Rarely. People rarely let

others go on and on without asking a question or changing the subject. Remember, your characters should speak like real people (just more interesting)!

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Dialog – Subtext (1)Dialog – Subtext (1)• We rarely say what we really mean.

For example:– Text: “Sorry this report is a few minutes

late, Boss. I got held up helping Garret finish his spreadsheet.”

– Subtext: “Not only did I complete my work, but I helped a less competent colleague complete his. A little something to remember at promotion time.”

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Dialog – Subtext (2)Dialog – Subtext (2)• Example:

– Text: “We’re taking Andy’s car? That’s great! He always keeps us on our best behavior. I have to check with my Mom to see if I can still go.”

– Subtext: “Andy’s a tedious, rule-obsessed fun-wrecker. I’m making other plans.”

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Dialog – Subtext (3)Dialog – Subtext (3)• Example:

– Text: “Ed! You’re here! So… We both made it to the party after all. You know how food poisoning can just come and go really fast? I was feeling better so Barry stopped by to get me on his way. And look! You came, too!”

– Subtext: “I didn’t want to go out with you, so I lied and said I was sick. I didn’t think you’d come here alone.”

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Clip #1Clip #1

• Pause the lecture and watch the clip from Double Indemnity in the Learning Tasks section of today’s lesson.

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Double Indemnity Double Indemnity - 1- 1

• How does the text of what Phyllis and Walter are saying contrast with the subtext?

• What are the clues to what they are really feeling?

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Double Indemnity Double Indemnity - 2- 2

• What does Walter ask for in the scene?

• What does he really want?• What kind of person does he consider

Phyllis to be by his words?• By his actions?

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Clip #2Clip #2

• Pause the lecture and watch the clip from Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead in the Learning Tasks section of today’s lesson.

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Before the Devil Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead Knows You’re Dead - 1- 1

• Andy and Hank smile a lot in this scene. Is something funny?

• Andy’s body language and words indicate great confidence. Is he confident? Or desperate?

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Before the Devil Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead Knows You’re Dead - 2- 2

• Andy assures Hank that everything is going to work out fine. Is it your sense at the end of this scene that Andy believes everything is going to work out fine?

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Image SystemsImage Systems

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The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood

Image Systems -1Image Systems -1

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The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood

The Past and Present as Windows and Mirrors in The Best Years of Our Lives

Image Systems - 2Image Systems - 2Looking to the Future

and Hurrying From the Past

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Image Systems - 3Image Systems - 3

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Looking to the Future

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Image Systems - 4Image Systems - 4

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Looking to the Future

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Image Systems - 5Image Systems - 5

Hurrying from the Past

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Image Systems - 6Image Systems - 6

Looking to the Future

and Hurrying From the Past

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Image Systems - 7Image Systems - 7

• In a climactic moment, Homer Parrish smashes the hooks he now has for hands through a window.

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TitlesTitles

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Lesson 6: Part III

LA Confidential (1997)

Screenplay by Brian Helgeland& Curtis Hanson

TitlesTitles• The best titles raise questions in the

audience’s mind and/or have the conflict of the story in the title itself.– The Empire Strikes Back– No Man of Her Own– Requiem for a Dream– White Men Can’t Jump– Do the Right Thing– Catch Me If You Can

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Proper Screenplay FormatProper Screenplay Format

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Lesson 6: Part IV

Proper Screenplay FormatProper Screenplay Format• Your screenplay

page should look something like this.

• Lots of white space• Proper margins

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Proper Screenplay FormatProper Screenplay Format• The reading from Trottier will give you

particulars, but I’d like to emphasize:– No fancy covers– No directing the camera– No directing the actors

• These things can label you as an amateur and you and I both want your work read (which is the first step to it being produced!)

– Trottier is referring to “CONTINUED” and “CON’T” at the bottom of the page. If characters are continuing to speak after an action, you should use “CON’T”. 30

AssignmentsAssignments

Psycho (1960)

Screenplay by Joseph Stefano

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Lesson 6: Part V

ReadingReading

• Read Chapter 18 in Story, “Text”• Read pages 122-185 in Book III of The

Screenwriter’s Bible. Also look at pages 228-230, regarding when to break the formatting rules.

• Do the Reading Review to be sure you’re clear on what you’ve read!

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E-Board PostE-Board Post• Demonstrate that you understand proper

screenwriting format by posting a snippet of your script, properly formatted, including a SLUGLINE, ACTION, CHARACTER NAMES and a few lines of DIALOG. (You won’t be able to do it perfectly in the eboard format– just show that you understand these basics.)

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End of Lecture 6End of Lecture 6

Next Lecture: Location, Location, Location

Citizen Kane (1944)

Screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles

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