You want a dramatic pause in your dialog?
It is very popular to add “beat”. Like:
PERSON
I love you.
Beat.
PERSON
You know I do.
This is a matter of taste, and I am not making any rules, but personally I think “beat” is not a good idea.
Why?
Two reasons.
One: I think it is up to the actors and directors to add the pauses.
Two: It does not read well.
When it comes to reason one, as a writer I, of course, hear the dialog in my head and I know there must be a beat, a pause, a catch of breath, to get it right. That is at least what I think. Only the way I hear the dialog could possibly work. But that is not very likely the truth.
I try to avoid any “yelling” and “whisper” as well, unless I am certain that it is needed. Like a situation where two people talk and a third does not hear what they say, a “whisper” might be in order.
My intention is to make the story come alive with as small means as possible, no dictations how to do things. I believe that a script is a blueprint that should sparkle the reader’s imagination, not limit it.
The second reason, that it does not read well, is a result of an advice from Julie Gray. Every script that caught interests is sooner or later apt to be read aloud at a table reading. A “beat” will then feel very awkward.
ACTOR
I love you.
NARRATOR
Beat.
ACTOR
You know I do.
How about writing the line:
PERSON
I love you… You know I do.
You may also like my article about Punctuation in dialog – a way to put emphasis
5 comments:
Firstly, I find it hard to believe that any good table read narrator would really say 'beat'. But we have to get past a script reader first and that should be the main consideration.
Secondly, I wouldn't use 'beat' in your example as it does seem something an actor might get. I wouldn't use ellipses as that is used for incomplete sentences which isn't the same thing really. ("Oh my..." or "You stupid b.......")
I don't use 'beat' a lot but sometimes it's necessary, like in this example:
STINA
I love you. (Beat) Do you love me?
Take the 'beat' away and it changes the scene. 'Beat' isn't simply another way to say 'pause', it's to show that the character is thinking. Stina isn't just waiting for a reply, she's wondering if Jens loves her back.
Thank you for an interesting reply.
I've seen several examples like mine, unfortunately. Not in (what I know of) sold scripts though.
I guess it is not likely that the narrator would read it, but it is an obstacle anyway I would say.
In my opinion "..." works fine as a pause. I use "--" for interrupted sentences.
For reasons I described I'm not a fan of "(beat)" either, but as I said, it is a matter of taste.
Thank you for sharing.
This is a timely post as I'm replacing a (beat) with an (action).
The script I'm getting ready to shoot is too much talk and not enough action but I hope to fix all that in the rewrite I'm doing now.
Hum... I know you're gonna direct it yourself, but "(action)" kind of doesn't say much about the action intended.
This blog entry is among other things a result of one of Julie Gray's blog entries where she persisted on creating an image and then dialog in as much one piece as possible.
Completely agree with you. As writers, we need to make it as easy as possible for people to read our story. I think it can kill the flow at times to make the reader's eyes bounce around the page. Would much rather use the "..." technique that you suggested.
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