srn2020oxford 26 Jul 2021 Characters, Dialogue, Panel 11, Structure, TV series

Robles – Playwriting-like dialogue: a boundary for character complexity in drama series?

Brenda Robles (Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland)

Panel 11 – CHARACTERS

Wednesday 8 September (Day 3), Session 2, 6.30 pm

READ ABSTRACT & BIOS

Robles OPEN/DOWNLOAD

WATCH PRE-RECORDED PRESENTATION

You can leave comments/questions in the box below to be used during the Live Q&A session.

ATTEND LIVE PANEL

3Comments

Add yours

1

Rosanne Welch on 22 Aug 2021 at 6:33 pm
Reply

Thanks for this – and for using script pages which I appreciate since we are working with (and teaching) screenwriting, not acting and directing which seems to take precedence when we show too many clips. As to your thoughts on self-expositional dialogue – one of the things I have often heard said in note-giving sessions (and often said myself) is that characters should not be able to too clearly self-diagnose themselves or the audience will wonder why, knowing their issues, they don’t move to the solution stage. How do you find the balance in those ideas?

Loading...
2

Luisa Cotta Ramosino on 2 Sep 2021 at 1:32 pm
Reply

Great analysis! this practice would be really useful also for writers better to build dialogues and characters

Loading...
3

Mike Gibas on 7 Sep 2021 at 7:52 pm
Reply

In regards to Rosanne’s question above, I did feel the examples you showed of self-expositional dialogue were very interesting inasmuch as they were predominantly about someone else — and then, consequently, revealing much about the speaker’s state of mind. Tyrion offers advice to Jon and, in effect, reveals his own weaknesses and challenges. As to how much this is ‘self-diagnosis’ is possibly up for debate, but even your own script deflects the self by focusing on a critique of another character. This does feel like a trope in characterisation where we the audience are given the greater insight compared to the character’s obliviousness, which surely aids in creating really satisfying character arcs.

Loading...

SRN 2021

Robles – Playwriting-like dialogue: a boundary for character complexity in drama series?

READ ABSTRACT & BIOS

WATCH PRE-RECORDED PRESENTATION

Like this: