Tutorial 31/10/18

FEEDBACK on my monologue:

1) Originally I wrote it as a dialogue, with the artist literally talking to a manifestation of himself in his brain. This is the laziest way to write a monologue and left me in danger of being predictable, with a lack of subtext.

2) I must condense, remember that realistic dialogue is not cinematic. DOn't repeat myself.

I feel optimistic. The more I write, the better I'll get. I'll keep McKee's 'Dialogue' close to hand at all times.

In researching this, I watched Olivier's 'Hamlet' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. Blanche Dubois falls under the same archetype in the enneagram as my own character, and I wanted to see how her conflicted manifested itself onscreen.

Finding Primary Sources

I contacted Daniel Lundh who directed "People in Cars", a short that consists entirely of intimate conversations in cars. It's perfect for my research as it's incredibly simple and places great emphasis on complicated characters.

People in Cars (2017)

The questions I'll ask are along these lines:

What informed your own writing style?

How do you avoid writing clichéd characters?

What techniques do you make sure you always employ to give a character depth?

How do you know when to use dialogue and when to exclude it?

His response was really informative. It taught me plenty about how I should approach writing this monologue. Naturalism and believability are key and he encourages his actors to improvise, as long as they touch on certain plot developments.

"During improvisation I tell the actors to go from A to B to C, following the storyline but using their own words... their focus is on getting from A to B to C, and so their acting somehow becomes more natural and relaxed"

-Excerpt from Daniel Lundh's e-mail

I could either write quite naturalistic dialogue or I could make it a lot more extreme and exaggerated. I feel that both approaches have their upsides.

Building a character

To write an introductory inner monologue, I must know who I'm writing it for.

I'll establish the type of character I want to write using the Enneagram from Jason Lee's "The Psychology of Screenwriting" .

The ENNEAGRAM defines 9 different personality types.

Lee demonstrates how you can combine personality types on the Enneagram to create a more rounded character, e.g. "The Two with a One Wing", a character with the rationality of the One, a reformer, and the emotionality of a Two, the lover/helper.

It'll be interesting to play around with these types and see if I can create a character who contradicts themselves.

I've chosen an inner monologue because it's the most personal. Lee outlines Wagner's 25 questions to ask about your character, to get a better understanding of them.

What is the purpose of life?
What are your defence mechanisms?
What passions are like addictions for you?

And so on.

My only reservation about the enneagram is that I want to avoid making a character just to fit a category. Everyone is inherently different and this approach seems almost mathematical. However, I'm certain that the more I consider the character, the more depth I can add.

Next week I should begin character design with a firm idea of who they are in my head. 

Tutorial 25.10.18

This week's tutorial forced me to answer questions about my practical piece. My initial vague plan was to write some kind of monologue.

What is the context of the monologue? As in, who is the character and what has led them to express themselves as they do?

I was made very aware that nothing on-screen exists by itself. There are a plethora of elements that support it such as staging, cinematography, lighting, character design, the order of the scenes, etc.

I cannot write a meaningful monologue without considering these elements. However, I cannot weigh up the importance of every cinematic technique in relation to monologues because it would take forever. I must strip down as much as possible, focussing on the monologue, while acknowledging these cinematic techniques.

I will write an introductory inner monologue that establishes a character. I will employ a simple character design, one that is more physically expressive than realistic and technical. This will allow me to invest my energy into working out the voice and physicality and not get too bogged down with technical stuff.

 I still must consider the setting, as that will influence the character.

Tutorial 17.10.18 and research

I've streamlined my concept further, deciding now to focus exclusively on monologues. I can also look to musicals, as the emotionally charged songs are essentially monologues that reveal the content of a character and their motivations.

I showed a draft introduction and was told to shorten my sentences and apply correct grammar and sentence structure to make it more readable, but I have a solid concept to expand on which is good!

My tutorial offered useful insight on how I can relate this topic back to animation specifically. I went and watched 'Negative Space', 'I am Tom Moody' and 'Creature Comforts' which all address monologues differently.

Negative Space (2017)

I Am Tom Moody (2012)

I enjoyed 'I am Tom Moody' for the two inner monologues battling it out inside the protagonist's head, each with different memories of the character's past that influence the way he is now. By confronting the trains of thought, Tom Moody discovers his true self and shuts out the noise.

Creature Comforts (2003)

Shot like a documentary, the monologues in these short clips are banal and conversational rather than dramatic and filled with complex revelations but the character is derived from how the characters wax nonchalantly about the mundane. Plenty is revealed from their tone of voice.

I would love to write and animate two types of monologue for my practical. One will be an inner monologue and the other will be an address to a crowd. I want to experiment with how it feels different to write each one.

Tchaikovsky: An Elegy (2011)

Dissertation Proposal

The role of dialogue and on-screen monologues in constructing complex characters - deconstructing the principle of "show, don’t tell" filmmaking in fiction.

I'm researching the role dialogue plays in constructing important characters and will apply my findings to animation, a medium which ordinarily undercuts the importance of speech in favour of exaggerated visuals. I'll examine the ways in which dialogue is most impactfully used and the extent to which it can impart character development that a silent performance doesn't allow. My essay will scrutinise the theory that cinema is a "show, don't tell" art form by addressing questions like; if a filmmaker is made to remove large amounts of dialogue from their film, is it handicapping them or does it force them to be more visually inventive? Does removing exposition, such as in the case of Mad Max, rob them of some character?

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

In researching this, I will touch on how the absence of dialogue is used creatively in films where characters communicate non-verbally and more subtly. I hypothesise that a tone of voice can communicate as much as a detailed facial performance. I'll also touch on narration as an example of how adding another voice, be it an omniscient narrator, a subjective or first person perspective, completely changes our relationship and perception of the characters onscreen.

I'll develop my own scriptwriting skills as I have previously shied away from using dialogue out of fear of writing clichés. By gaining a broad understanding of the impact of dialogue and physicality, I'll be more of a well-rounded filmmaker. I've always enjoyed dramatic monologues, so to be able to write my own would be an important string to add to my bow. I also hope to carve out my own writing style and not simply mimic existing filmmakers.

As a culmination of my research, I'll animate a short conversation between two people that conveys their characters, relationship, tone and general disposition. I'll keep the character designs and background minimal so the animation is the focus of the scene.

In Bruges (2008)

It's definitely worth exploring Tarantino's films as he uses dialogue not just to advance the plot but to provide detailed context about the characters in a social setting. I'll examine also Martin McDonaugh's work and "Anomalisa", in which every character besides the leads have exactly the same voice which lends it a detached, uncanny feeling.

Anomalisa (2016)

I'll also turn to Orson Welles, whose monologues were far more theatrical than those in many contemporary films. Drawing from a diverse range of filmmakers is crucial for understanding the kind of dialogue I want to write myself. I'll attend some events at Leeds International Film Festival to try and discover smaller scale filmmakers who use dialogue creatively. Then I'll contact the scriptwriters for insight.

Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight (1965)

Here's my bibliography so far:

·      Cavna, M (2012) ‘PIXAR TIPS: ‘Brave’ artist Emma Coats shares her storytelling wit and wisdom on Twitter (#Followher)

·      Corliss, R. (1970) ‘The Limitations of Kracaucer’s Reality’, Cinema Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1 pp. 15-22

faces-in-objects? Accessed (20/10/18)

·      Gibbs, J (2002) Mise-en-scène: Film Style and Interpretation, U.S.A, Columbia University Press p.43

·      Hayes, D. Webster, C (2013) Acting and Performance for Animation. U.S.A, Focal Press 

·      Hooks, E (2000) Acting for Animators, 3^rd Edition, U.S.A, Routledge 

·      Hospers, J (1980) Truth and Fictional Characters, The Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 14, No.3, p. 

·      Jaeckle, J (2013) Film Dialogue, U.S.A, Columbia University Press, p.58 (and the preface and intro)

·      Kozloff, S (2000) Overhearing Film Dialogue, U.S.A, University of California Press, pp. 43-48 

·      Kracauer, S (1960) Theory of Film, London; New York, Oxford University Press 

·      Mackendrick, A (2004), On Filmmaking – An Introduction to the Craft of the Director, London, Bloomsbury, p.160-164

·      McKee, R. (1999), Story – Substance, structure, style, and the principles of screenwriting, USA, Methuen, p.344 

·      Robson, D (2014) Neuroscience: why do we see faces in everyday objects? Available at: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140730-why-do-we-see-

·      Sampson, R (2015) ‘Quintissential Quentin Tarantino Template’, Film Inquiry:  Available at: https://www.filminquiry.com/quintessential-quentin-tarantino-template/ Accessed: 8/10/18 

·      Storrier, K. ‘The use of Narration in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’, Shorescripts, Available at: https://www.shorescripts.com/the-use-of-narration-in-the-shawshank-redemption/. Accessed: 25/09/18

·      Thomas, F, Johnston, O (1981) The Illusion of Life, U.S.A, Disney Editions