Time is one factor, but also to avoid unexciting and unnecessary dialogue.
In real life we have a lot of conversations which are purely transactional and not very fun. Nobody needs to listen to characters on screen going back and forth like “See you tonight” “At the bar?” “Yeah, the bar, 6PM.” “I’ve gotta drop the kids off at 6, can we do 7…?” - It’s boring, and it doesn’t intrinsically advance the story.
Just cut the conversation short. The audience will quicky see the when and where immediately for themselves when the scene cuts to the bar and the guy walks in, “Sorry I’m late, had to drop off the kids.”
The exception of course is if the when and where is a juicy part of the plot. Like setting up a meeting where the subtext and subtlety of the telephone conversation suggest it’s going to be an ambush, and only one side knows about it. Exciting! That’s when we want to hear the details on the phone, and when the writer will include it.
I like all the bullshitting that goes on in Tarantino films, feels like real human dialog. Yeah, they’re more snappy than real life, but conversations takes weird turns like real life.
Right. It’s not always especially plot relevant, but the way Tarantino does it the dialog reveals a lot about the characters and their (conflicting) personalities, so it’s very interesting and worth having :)
it’s those asides that make the film feel alive though. fleshed out. can’t be the entire dialogue, but if your film is direct A→B→C ect ect ect the characters feel one dimensional.
Ironically a common writing technique is B->C dialog.
Basically cutting out the preamble and post dialog. Most times even in my writing I include “Hello” since that would stand out, but generally get right to the point.
You see this a lot in movies too, if done well it blends in since your scene is focusing on the action and not rambling on.
There are exceptions (teens talking may include a “no you hang up” trope for comedic effect) but that’s used sparingly.
Time is one factor, but also to avoid unexciting and unnecessary dialogue.
In real life we have a lot of conversations which are purely transactional and not very fun. Nobody needs to listen to characters on screen going back and forth like “See you tonight” “At the bar?” “Yeah, the bar, 6PM.” “I’ve gotta drop the kids off at 6, can we do 7…?” - It’s boring, and it doesn’t intrinsically advance the story.
Just cut the conversation short. The audience will quicky see the when and where immediately for themselves when the scene cuts to the bar and the guy walks in, “Sorry I’m late, had to drop off the kids.”
The exception of course is if the when and where is a juicy part of the plot. Like setting up a meeting where the subtext and subtlety of the telephone conversation suggest it’s going to be an ambush, and only one side knows about it. Exciting! That’s when we want to hear the details on the phone, and when the writer will include it.
Somehow DDG understood my search terms and gave me the correct link when I didn’t even remember the name of the show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtQNULEudss&t=4s
Oh look, there was a fire.
I like all the bullshitting that goes on in Tarantino films, feels like real human dialog. Yeah, they’re more snappy than real life, but conversations takes weird turns like real life.
Right. It’s not always especially plot relevant, but the way Tarantino does it the dialog reveals a lot about the characters and their (conflicting) personalities, so it’s very interesting and worth having :)
it’s those asides that make the film feel alive though. fleshed out. can’t be the entire dialogue, but if your film is direct A→B→C ect ect ect the characters feel one dimensional.
Ironically a common writing technique is B->C dialog.
Basically cutting out the preamble and post dialog. Most times even in my writing I include “Hello” since that would stand out, but generally get right to the point.
You see this a lot in movies too, if done well it blends in since your scene is focusing on the action and not rambling on.
There are exceptions (teens talking may include a “no you hang up” trope for comedic effect) but that’s used sparingly.
Fr this. Like do you people really want to have to sit through every ounce of tedium in your media? Let the writers have their shorthands, please.