Coursework Research - Dialogue

RESEARCH: DIALOGUE

What is dialogue?

Dialogue is a conversation between two or more people as a feature of a play, book or film.

Is dialogue necessary in the opening two minutes of a feature film?

I don't think that dialogue is completely necessary in the opening two minutes of a feature film, as a lot of film trailers and the opening of films feature no sound at all, meaning obviously that there would be no dialogue at all. If you include dialogue you normally tend to give away more of the plot compared to if you weren't going to use it, this therefore keeps the plot of the film unknown and then makes the audience more intrigued and curious about the rest of the film. Dialogue which is used in the opening of films has to be used wisely and effectively as it sets the tone for the rest of the film, so it's best to only include dialogue in the opening of a film if it can be used in the way you wish it to be used.

Here are clips of examples for each of the following genres where dialogue is NOT used and one example for each where it IS used in the opening two minutes.

Comedy -

In comedy, it is often the case when dialogue is vital to carry the humour in the film, but it can be the case, especially in silent comedy films such as 'Mr. Bean', that dialogue is not necessarily needed to portray the comedy. Where dialogue is used: Borat / Where dialogue is not used: Hot Fuzz 

Horror -

Dialogue in Horror can be quite different to dialogue in comedy but also quite varied within this genre. Lots of typical famous and scary scenes have no dialogue to create the scary scenes where we are waiting for the sound to come in and scare us. Where dialogue is used: The Conjuring / Where dialogue is not used: The Babadook

Action - 

Action films can also be dependant on dialogue to get what the film is about and it is very rare to see complete no dialogue scenes unless, in the examples cases, Batman or James Bond have to be particularly quite to build suspense. Where dialogue is used: The Dark Knight /Where dialogue is not used: Casino Royale

Drama -

PLEASE LOOK AT 'DIALOGUE CONTINUED' TO SEE A MORE DETAILED EVALUATION ON DIALOGUE AND NO DIALOGUE IN DRAMA FILMS. 
Where dialogue is used: Boyhood /Where dialogue is not used: Schindler's List

Romance - 

In romance films, the dialogue can often be funny and typically romantic and its not often that no dialogue scenes are used, yet when they are it can be used to describe awkward moments. Where dialogue is used: Silver Linings the Playbook / Where dialogue is not used: Dear John  

LM