The scene I selected came from episode 1 of The Walking dead, at 11:38-14:07. This scene was filled with suspense. At first police are shown, not taking the situation very seriously even though they are on the job. Suddenly a gunfight appears out of nowhere, the police are forced into action. When two of the outlaws are killed, they fall back into casual dialogue and it is shown that these cops are used to this kind of thing. Then out of nowhere one of them gets shot, and the situation suddenly becomes extremely serious. A birds eye view of the cop laying as his comrades surround him increased the tension and anxiety of this piece. The cop is then in the hospital with his friend talking to him from above, opposite the previous scene in a sense. The friend-cop looks extremely serious, as if his friend is going to die.
In the actual scene there was an absence of background music, only silence and the actions of the characters. This built the tension quite high. The words used by the men were stereotypical, however there was a silence a majority of the time. There were no words during the actual gunfight, until the first two men have died. Then the cops quickly fall back into their traditional discourse, one of them is talking about not telling his wife which turns out to be the least of his worries. It is a second later that he is shot, his partner begins yelling immediately, and then talks to him in a hushed voice. In the hospital, this same cop talks to him in a normal voice. Saying traditional things that would be said to a patient in a coma, with an apologetic and concerned tone.
There is little I would change, for the dialogue is used primarily to reinforce what is happening to the audience. This task is accomplished, but causes the dialogue to mostly be serious and straightforward. The only way to successfully alter the dialogue in this case would be approach it from a new angle, and enter a different genre of shows. For example if this were a comedy show about a zombie apocalypse, the dialogue would be much lighter and possibly sarcastic. I did my best to interpret what a possible corporate zombie-comedy might be like.
- Men approaching:
- Steady, steady
- I wanna be a firefighter!
- You gon learn today!
- Dibs!
- Aah!
- OWwww
- I got him im getting him
- I'm dying
- No, call an ambulance!
- Kidding! Still, don't tell Laura..
- Son of a biscuit Rick! Don't pull that shit.
- Still, I almost died. thT Qa xlose Are there any donuts left-oww!
- Rick! Rick!
- This doesn't hurt at all. Don't tell Laura I got shot, ok?
- Call for help! This is an emergency!
- How is that possilbe?
- 1. Tell her I cheated on her if you have to.
- I hope you;re joking. Rick...RIck!
