Practice dialogue scenes

These short screenplays and shot lists are a great way for students to start developing their ability to shoot and edit dialogue.

By providing a structured framework, these exercises allow students to focus on key aspects of filmmaking, such as composition, camera movement, and editing. By filming and editing these tasks, students have the opportunity to capture performances, block out scenes and frame shots. Moreover, can use these practice tasks to understand the importance of pacing, rhythm, and continuity editing

Feel free to use these exercises to provide your students with a hands-on experience that hones technical and creative skills, fostering their ability to shoot and edit dialogue scenes effectively in future film projects.

Click on the link to download a PDF of the script, shot list and dialogue coverage for each film.

• Mindful. Riley explores mindfulness as a way to navigate the pressures of teenage life, but Quinn is getting in the way.
• Talking to Fish. Kara and Jason have a profound disagreement about the abilities of their favourite superheroes.
• That’s How I Scroll. Kylie and Lucy reflect on the pressures of consumerism and social media and ponder whether it would be cool to have a beard like Henry David Thoreau.
• Frankenstein. Jessica and Will have a profound disagreement over who Frankenstein is. Maybe he’s the doctor who created the monster. Maybe he’s the green guy with bolts in his neck. Maybe The Ring is actually a romantic comedy!
• Plot Twist. Have you seen the latest Shyamalan movie? Sara sure has…and she’s ready to spoil the whole thing for Jim.
• Heads or Tails. Casey is about to learn that you don’t antagonise the school’s biggest nerd by acing your maths test.
• Bin Scabs. Parker has a very specific set of skills honed over years of protecting the environment and Austin has made the mistake of getting in her way.
• Clouds. Morgan and Riley gaze up at the sky and ponder the part they’re going to play in the world.
• Twitchy. Quinn stayed up all night cramming for this exam, downed a whole bunch of energy drinks and has a thing or two to say about Bill Shakespeare.
• Giant Robot. Jesse and Riley are watching the cool kids having fun and ponder the type of super powers they’d like to have.

Photo by Ron Lach.