Dialogue

Meaning

Dialogue is what a character says aloud. In Korean scripts it is written YURI: I didn't open it. or with a tab after the name, and delivery notes go in parentheses: YURI: (smiling) I didn't open it. It differs from fiction dialogue in having no quotation marks and no surrounding narration ("she said"). Dialogue and action lines are the two ingredients of a script, and in television dialogue is usually more than half the page count.

Why it matters

Dialogue is the actor's material and the viewer's basis for judging a character. The measure of good dialogue is subtext: tension appears when what a character says and what they want are different. When someone says "I'm fine" and is not, the viewer reads the gap. Bad dialogue carries information. "As you know, we were partners three years ago and that's when Taesu died" is not dialogue; it is an explanation aimed at the audience. The easiest way to drain information from dialogue is the rule do not say what both characters already know. Lines shorten by themselves, and action and performance fill the space.

Example

Explaining dialogue: YURI: Detective, I know you've worked alone since your partner died three years ago. But this time I have to come with you. DOYUN: No. It'll end up like last time.

Dialogue with subtext: YURI: Give me the car keys. DOYUN: Why. YURI: If you go alone I'll walk there behind you. That's more dangerous. DOYUN: ... YURI: Keys. Doyun tosses them. Yuri catches. DOYUN: You only drive.

The second version never mentions three years ago. Instead of "like last time", the conditional concession "you only drive" shows Doyun's fear and his change at once.

Common mistakes

• Saying what both know. Delete every line that begins "as you know."
• Everyone speaks the same way. Line length, formality and how sentences end should differ per character.
• Complete sentences. People interrupt, ask back and dodge. Do not fear "..." and broken lines.