Oliver Turner AS MEDIA: Dialogue

What is Dialogue?
Dialogue is the conversation between two or more people. The dialogue can add a focus to a particular scene and in turn allow the audience to gain a greater understanding of the story.

Is dialogue necessary in the opening 2 mins of a feature film?
No, dialogue is not necessary for an opening sequence, in fact, no dialogue can actually draw our attention to the film itself more than if there was dialogue there. This is often seen in drama or horror films at the very beginning where there is no conversation and the setting is introduced. In some cases, films are narrated in the opening scenes instead of dialogue (e.g. 500 days of summer) which is used for effect to give personal insight into what the character is thinking. However, other films use dialogue from the very beginning to build a sense of depth and reality to a scene; this makes it more believable and so more appealing to watch. Dialogue can hook us and place us straight into the action without the assistance of music or narration to guide it.

Examples of when dialogue is used and not used in opening 2 minutes: 

Comedy: 
Dialogue used- 



Dialogue not used- 




Horror:
Dialogue used- 

Dialogue not used- 
Action:

Dialogue used- 

Dialogue not used- 
Drama:
Dialogue used- 

Dialogue not used- 
Romance
Dialogue Used-

Dialogue not used- 



Continued:
What are the positive effects of dialogue in  the examples you have used? And what are the negatives?
The effects of dialogue found in each of these clips is that it catches our attention. The dialogue instantly gives a sense of narrative and also informs the audience of what's going on. The dialogue also makes the plot advance and almost places the audience within the scene. This essentially makes the audience more immersed and so more engrossed in the story itself. It can also be used instead of dialogue because it makes the plot more dynamic which is much more effective than going through a step-by-step

What are the positive effects of no-dialogue in the examples you have used? And what are the negatives?
One of the positive effects of not using any dialogue is that it can focus the audiences attention onto what is going on. This means that we have to work out what's happening instead of being directly told. Often, producers will employ the use of other features such as narration or music as opposed to any form of dialogue. This will only be used to progress the scene and explain events that may have an abstract narrative or backstory which we could not decipher otherwise. Almost always, music will be used which is non diegetic. The music will often slowly gradually fade into subtly and build up over any dialogue that may be present. In some cases, opening scenes will show people talking (e.g. love actually) but we cannot actually here what they are saying because the music is edited over the top. The effect of this is that it can create a sense of atmosphere but it also hints on the entire genre.

What issues do you think you would face in your own coursework by using dialogue?
The main issue I would face from using dialogue in my own coursework is that my cast are not professional actors so to speak in a film may be somewhat challenging. I think it would easier and actually more effective if I use little dialogue in my film because the main focus will be more on the action on scene which I do not want to distract from.

What issues do you think you would face in your own coursework by not using dialogue?
I don't think using no dialogue is a particular issue regarding my opening scene, especially when considering my genre is action. However, I understand that using little dialogue could potentially mean that my audience may not understand what is going on or at least get a sense of the atmosphere I intend to create. However, my opening scene should be fairly easy to understand because it is a chase scene so it is self-explanatory. Although, there will be small amount of dialogue at the beginning of the film in the interrogation room both at the beginning and the end.