# DZ-107: Establishing Tone through Character

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/draft-zero-a-screenwriting-podcast-770577/dz-107-establishing-tone-through-character
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/draft-zero-a-screenwriting-podcast-770577/dz-107-establishing-tone-through-character.md
Podcast: [Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/draft-zero-a-screenwriting-podcast-770577)
Published: 2024-02-29T12:28:00+00:00
Episode link: https://draft-zero.com/2024/dz-107/
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/a61eddc0/2a5d81dd.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/draft-zero-a-screenwriting-podcast-770577/episodes/dz-107-establishing-tone-through-character
Duration seconds: 6859

## Resource

Listen if you want to understand how character actions and reactions shape a film's 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, 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. LIKE THIS EPISODE? Watch and comment on YouTube . Send us feedback. Thanks to our Patrons, especially Lily, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis and Khrob. → Read the transcript for this episode. ——— "Emily feels a rush of blood to the head. And the blood, to me, kind of connects it to the feral thing, right? Like it's just got a little bit of an animalistic quality to it in terms of the kind of language system they're using it." — Stu Willis @ 00:42:31 ——— 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…

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## Transcript

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