DZ-107: Establishing Tone Through Character

How can we use dramatisation to create tone? In this episode, Chas and Stu continue their deep dive into how to write tone by examining films with “light” (we use the phrase loosely) tones: LADY BIRD, EMILY THE CRIMINAL, THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS, and SPONTANEOUS. We also talk a surprising amount about DUNE and CRAZY STUPID LOVE. We focus on the relationship between character & tone and how the writers of these films use dramatisation to create their unique tones. We talk minimalism vs maximalism, dialogue, character actions & reactions, emotional dynamic range, and rules of the world vs given circumstances. Stu proposes a new triangle to help us understand the dials we as writers have to affect tone: the given circumstances of the story, how that effects character actions & reactions, and how the audience are told about those elements. Thanks to Chris Walker for his excellent editing this episode. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. CHAPTERS: 00:00:00 - Cold Open 00:00:23 - Tone & Character 00:15:26 - Ladybird 00:33:20 - Emily The Criminal 00:57:43 - The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 01:17:28 - Spontaneous 01:39:38 - Key Learnings & Wrap Up 01:51:58 - Many thanks to our Patreons RELATED EPISODES: DZ-105: Establishing Tone - Dark DZ-82: Dramatising Given Circumstances in Watchmen RELATED LINKS: Tom Vaughan / Story and Plot: Controlling the tone in your screenwriting How can we forget our awesome Patreons, especially Lily,  Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, and Khrob. Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners. We are @stuwillis, and @chasffisher on twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. BUY DRAFT ZERO MERCH via TeePublic