Researching Tone and Dialogue

I wanted to dedicate an entire post to tone and dialogue. For dramedies, these often go hand in hand. Researching how to create tone is a more tedious process. It's not really something that can be described, good writing is usually the key in creating the dual-tone trait common among all good dramedies. The dual-tone often gives a sense of realism to a film (I explained this back in my dramedy research blog post). And getting a sense of the double-tone through dialogue will most likely be the hardest part of the entire project. Dialogue on its own is very hard to write. Some dialogue is incredibly realistic and is usually paced slower (to imitate real life). Other dialogue is purposefully witty, or fast paced, or more eccentric. It mostly depends on the genre, but there aren't necessarily set restrictions on what I could do. Directors like Quentin Tarantino come to mind when I think of, not necessarily realistic, but unique dialogue. The dialogue in his movies is especially memorable because of the certain ways characters speak and their consistency throughout the movie. One example I can think of off the top of my head is Captain Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds (mostly because of the way he can even make a joke sound menacing and off-putting). Edgar Wright is another director that writes memorable dialogue (his tends to be more fast-paced and on the eccentric side). Just name a character from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and they most likely have their own distinct style of speaking. 

There are many case studies in dramedies. The humorous tone needed in a dramedy is captured well by Taika Waititi, another director that has memorable dialogue and is really good at creating a smooth tonal balance between the humorous and the sad or anxious. 

This is a relatively simple scene on the surface. The edits cut back and forth across the table as JoJo is talking to his mother. There is a nice wide shot that represents how JoJo and his mother are on different sides of an argument and are at odds with one another. However, it is really the dialogue that reveals the most about the two. It does not necessarily spell anything out for the audience. Through the dialogue, we learn that JoJo is obsessed in the Nazi cult ideology and is not really aware of the situation for Germany at this point in the war. His mother is aware and you can really tell that she is against the war and the Nazi party in general. Her saying "the war is stupid" is her way of criticizing the leaders that started the war. She tries not to say it plainly for JoJo, but he realizes. This scene is only about a minute and twenty seconds but it reveals so much through the dialogue. It also creates that more humorous tone. The dialogue isn't on the nose and it is more realistic, but the mother's wit and determination not to get drawn into a heated argument create some funny moments. It is very representative of Waititi's brand of humor. There are even undertones of anxiety in this scene. The mother is almost on edge when JoJo asks why she isn't eating. This movie interwove the tones very well, some scenes evoking more sadness than I thought they would.

And now, what I'm taking away from this. Dialogue is very important in creating the tones needed for a dramedy. I might not have time to use more than one tone. I might have to slip in hints of a more melancholy tone, and mostly just use a more humorous one. I'll try to write dialogue that is similar to Waititi's style (I stress the word try) because it is something that I love. He is excellent at poking fun of the ordinary and adding humor where it makes the story better. His humor is more dry and off-kilter, something that I want to replicate myself.