I was just wondering, if theres such a thing as too much dialog for a film script? - i know it sounds stupid, but i feel as though i am useing to much . I had this problem with my last script... were i felt as though i had to much direction, less dialog.

P.S: Sorry if this may be in the wrong topic, couldn't seem to find a correct one. If so can MOD/Admin move it please, thank you  .

Yes, there is a thing as too much dialogue in a film script.

A screenplay for a movie is about pictures and pictures of action so when you have too much dialogue between characters is gets in the way of action.

There is a fine balance between how much action you show and how much dialogue you have your characters speak.

Dialogue should only be used to drive the story forward and for the most part this can be done with pictures or moving pictures if you will. Dialogue is a means of providing story information which you cannot provide with pictures, or dialogue is provided to establish character, provide back story and through-lines between characters so this propels the story forward.

Anything not related to story is arbitrary and should not be in a script.

If on the other hand you examine closely a script from a TV series you'll find these kinds of scripts are dialogue heavy with the briefest descriptions of action on the page as possible. This is called economy and usually done this way for the director to fill in the gaps visually himself with his or her D.P.

Some people would argue that a movie screenplay should be equally as economical.

What you’re really after is telling a story with pictures but balanced with the right amount of dialogue. Some scenes will have no dialogue at all, these will be purely visual, or action of you will. Others will involve dialogue or a combination of both.

You as the writer have to find your own spine of a story and find that balance between using scenes which are action based and others which use both action and dialogue. Your story should dictate this.

If you write too much dialogue, your script won’t be a screenplay but resemble a one act play for the stage.

Read more screenplays available to download and look to gauge how a story is told using pictures or action for scenes and how a writer then moves to scenes with dialogue and how this in itself creates a beat or rhythm of the whole experience.

Thank you for taking your time, I understand what you mean. I've gone through a few action scripts and to be honest, they had the same amount of dialog etc. I guess I was just worryed it wouldn't be perfect, but then again... after a few drafts it should be perfect  .

Action scripts I would argue are a best example of what a screenplay should look like on the page and if you follow the examples set by writers within that genre I don't think you'll have a problem...


Kevan

Quoted from StevieBoy I was just wondering, if theres such a thing as too much dialog for a film script?

Not for me.   I guess it depends on your style and what you like. Lots of people say that you SHOULD have more description, or show and not tell, but I'd rather hear a lot of thoughtful dialogue or listen to people talk about interesting shit or in a good conversation rather than read through pages of descriptions. I'm more of a fan of the Kevin Smith and Tarantino type of writing.

Just try not to repeat the same things when you  write a lot of dialogue. That's a problem I usually have.

I'm trying to balance the directions and dialog as much as possible so that there isn't so much of the other. Even though everywhere I go/read they say that on average, most scripts have 70% or so more dialog (I can't remember the exact % but that is near it)

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For example (This is off the top of my head):

John
It's now or never.

John stands up weilding the gun, he tries reloading. The expression on his face is confident.
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That was done in a few seconds so I never did it perfect but thats how i'm doing it, so i'm hopeing it's going to be ok   - hope this post makes sense, it did when writing, but when i'm rereading it doesn't so much.

This would be a question that is completely dependant on the type of script you're writing. I've heard that there can be too much dialogue, but I've also had people complain when a page has no dialogue at all. It all depends on the message you're trying to convey.

If you can convey your message using only images, then you've found the ideal situation. But when it's necessary for characters to speak, ensure they say something worthwhile. Dialogue in a movie is filtered real life speech. No one in a movie stutters (unless it's part of their character) or says anything incorrect or off beat. It all comes out perfectly the first time around because anything less than that will slow down the picture.

You should examine every single line and ask yourself whether that line NEEDS to be there. What purpose does it serve? Does it show character or forward the plot or action of the scene? If not, you have extraneous dialogue that needs to go or be rewritten.

Can you have too much? If you've looked at every line and ensured that each line of dialogue is essential to telling the story and doesn't intrude on the visual, then the answer is no.

You're using too much dialogue when you are telliing a story, instead of showing it.


Phil