DM24B   Dialogue notes from "The Illusion of Life"

"Until the viewer feels the emotions he is not impressed with the words."

"There are four major rules to writing dialogue.

Rule 1:  Do not write dialogue that describes what you are seeing. If a character is panting and sweating from the heat,
the last thing he needs is a line that says, "Boy am I hot!"

Rule 2:  The words and the though behind them should be special to this one character. No one else would say things quite this way.

Rule 3:  Dialogue must be written so there is something to animate. It has to reflect an attitude that can be drawn or
an emotion that can be shown.

Rule 4:  Dialogue must be written so the actor doing the voice can contribute something. Often a chuckle, a sigh, a stutter,
swallow, or gulp will reveal more of the personality than the words themselves. Without changing the meaning of the line,
it is usually possible to give it more life."

"When we tell a story in cinema, we should resort to dialogue only when it's impossible to do otherwise."  Alfred Hitchcock

"Walt usually left out the dialogue until a sequence had been developed to the point where he could see just how little was really needed."

"The cartoon communicates better through expression than words."

Quotations from The Illusion of Life  Disney Animation by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston


In the Blink of an Ear    by Jay Rose
When editing dialog, little things can mean a lot.
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