How Aaron Sorkin Creates Musical Dialogue In ‘The Social Network’ | 10 Minutes Of Perfection
The dialogue of screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is often described as "rhythmic" or "musical." But those descriptors are vague, and so to find out exactly why Sorkin's writing sounds so distinctive, we analyzed some of the literary devices that Sorkin uses in his writing. The opening scene of "The Social Network" is a stellar example of how Sorkin layers his dialogue with rhythms and melodies by using repetition, long lines of dialogue, and iambic meter.
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How Aaron Sorkin Creates Musical Dialogue In ‘The Social Network’ | 10 Minutes Of Perfection
side note but Jesse Eisenberg legit has the voice of someone where you're concerned if he's being sarcastic or not
Yup ....just like my 25 yo son since he was 16😂😂😂👍
Doesn't Mark as well
Jessie eisenberg has a punchable face
Reminds of the narrator of this video.
He's perfect for the role
That movie was so well-written I couldn't even understand a single word
I fell asleep during this opening scene. I do that when a writer expects me to react a certain way....
I don't think this is how Zuckerberg himself speaks and behaves, he pays more attention to his audiences and he probably wouldn't treat his friends like they're IQ's can never match his
@August Canaille Where's your screenplay?
I’ve experienced writing screenplays myself and realised that half the time you’re kinda just writing a bunch of random words in a single dialogue that’s completely random and doesn’t make sense 😂 I’ve also read so many screenplays and in my opinion dialogue‘s are just stupid...
@@cheechee6473 Really? I must know more.
Sorkin doesn’t treat the viewer like an idiot. I don’t understand half the shit his characters say, especially in The West Wing, but I keep watching because I know I’m not being patronized.
sorkin is actually kind of preachy and likes to have his characters give lengthy speeches where they are very, *_very_* convinced of their moral and/or intellectual superiority. the newsroom a prime example...
@@jwl00066 preachy, yeah. dumbed down, not usually. unless it’s characters like Donna Moss asking what’s going on. and I love the newsroom.
Bruh wtf sorkin does treat the viewer like an idiot. Donna Moss is put in to ask questions about stuff she should already understand. Donna is suppose to be the viewer
@@Ahfuric Donna is a college dropout (who didn’t even study one specific thing before dropping out) who hired herself to the campaign and wound up assistant to the third most important person in the building. It makes sense she has questions. It was dumb when CJ didn’t understand the census, and yes Donna is the audience surrogate, but it does make sense from a character standpoint.
Except sorkins dialogue is all flair wit and no character development don't believe me look at the films Steve jobs Molly's game and can come off as pretentious with no emotional context in the characters further move the story at all
I really hate the opening scene in this movie. Not because it's bad, but because Mark really pisses me off here - says a lot about the brilliant dialogue and his characterization.
Me too! He is infuriating
Shows his view of the world...
Always loved the film starts with him having a face to face convo with her and ends with him refreshing her Facebook profile
He's on Anti-hero. According to Sorkin, an anti-hero is making their case to God about why they should get into heaven. Which means they need to redeem themselves to the audience. But in order to redeem yourself, you need to be flawed in the beginning
@@TheWalz15 Somebody has watched behind the script
Even after 10 years, The film looks like it was shot recently.
Gap hoodie is dated though, ;/
Yes, the film is really good.
It’s only been ten years what are you talking about?
You do realize that most of the movies from the late 2000 to 2010 looked like this as well right?
@@arsyadr8570 Not so much. There's actually a great documentary by Keanu Reeves (of all people) on the subject called "Side by Side", that discusses the leap from film to digital. The Social Network was the very first major Hollywood film to be shot in 4K digital on the RED Dragon, something that's now standard but was revolutionary for the time. If you think any movies from 2000-2010 looked like this one did, that's because they were shot on film. Nothing came close to this quality digitally until this movie.
You know it’s a good movie when people keep talking about it 10 years later
Ya, great movie.
Well people talk about The Room too...
You could say: You know it's a cult movie when people keep talking about it ten years later. Much like Princess Bride or Dirty Dancing ("nobody puts baby in a corner")
Dennis Lee Well, cult classics are often good, aren’t they?
Not necessarily. You can apply that logic to anything. The Last Airbender live-action film from 2010 is considered one of the worst movies ever made, and is still talked about to this day, especially considering their other installments in the franchise. The Room is additionally considered one of the worst movies ever made, and is still talked about today, as well as getting an adaptational biopic in the form of The Disaster Artist.
For anyone that wants to know, scripts are written in a font called Courier
The amazing thing is that I just had an exam 2 days ago in which they asked what font was used for the script writing had I read your comment before I would have answered that one right
100,000 Subs With No Videos Like UPS?
Yea I had to learn that a year ago smh
@@sometimesidontunderstand0029 what class
Courier New
Dude, this was legitimately interesting, and geniunely makes me want to learn more about dialogue writing.
did he just say he counted every syllable of every line
of that one scene
This is the most perfect script even written. Amazing acting, directing, editing, score and everything. I will say that Sorkin writes its characters like complete assholes, and it's not a bad thing.
the music wasnt good. it was too loud that at times i found it difficult to listen to what the actors were saying. i have rewatched the movie several times and come to the conclusion
It’s just a shame it’s about faceache
sandwit ht Yeah, that’s why Trent Reznor won an Oscar for it.
@@sandwitht6264 yeah, but did you watch it on the same device? The device you watched it on may have had bad audio, or not good for this movie.
@@sandwitht6264 That has more to do with editing that anything, and I'm sorry but the editing is perfect. The editors control the volume of the score (as far as I'm aware) and it doesn't miss a beat. Each to their own I guess
The amount of analysis gone into this video is really awesome
This movie looks much better in today’s context
Cool channel name
Couldn't understand it the first time I saw it. Got back to it a couple of years later after I finished uni, became my instant favorite movie of all time. Absolutely intelligent piece of film making in every form, paired with a immortal soundtrack and scoring by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross made it a masterpiece.
Definitely relate to this. I was 13 when i watched it for the first time. Had no idea what was going on, but for some reason i felt like the coolest kid ever walking out of the theater
I agree that Sorkin's writing is musical. The problem I have with it is that all the characters sound the same. It's like an orchestra where all the instruments are violins. This is particularly noticeable in his TV shows that feature lots of characters.
I think the West Wing and Newsroom are most guilty of this. We call them the, "talk fast, sound smart" scenes. Still some of my favorites.
i agree. you have to pay extra attention to tell the difference between characters by listening more to what they say but because he writes fast talkers, its so hard. i love his writing but hot damn do I need to turn on subtitles.
@Trvp Visuals for sure, his writing is beautiful
And lacking emotions at all
@@alcadu "Words when spoken out loud for the sake of performance are music. They have rhythm and pitch and timbre and volume. These are the properties of music. And music has the ability to find us, and move us, and lift us up in ways that literal meaning can’t. Do you see?" - President Bartlet
Jesse Eisenberg is chaotic enough to keep the world spinning on its axis
I love how this actually seems like something Sorkin wrote.
This movie is 90% Jesse's work. His performance was OUTSTANDING and immediately became my fav. Delivering dialogues with poker face with fast speech....incredible! Two of my fav scenes of the movie: 1) When Mark breaches the security on campus network and is called. _Mark Zuckerberg: As for any charges stemming from the breach of security, I believe I deserve some recognition from this board._ _Ad Board Chairwoman: I'm sorry?_ _Mark Zuckerberg: Yes?_ _Ad Board Chairwoman: I don't understand._ _Mark Zuckerberg: Which part?_ 2) When he is being interrogate _" I think if your clients want to sit on my shoulders and call themselves tall, they have the right to give it a try - but there's no requirement that I enjoy sitting here listening to people lie. You have part of my attention - you have the minimum amount. The rest of my attention is back at the offices of Facebook, where my colleagues and I are doing things that no one in this room, including and especially your clients, are intellectually or creatively capable of doing."_
For all of that, the essence of this scene, and of Zuckerberg as presented by Fincher, is captured in a single cinematic unit - the word “Gap” written across Zuckerberg’s heart. That’s really all you need to know, and it’s a purely visual cue.
Jeez.
Bellarmino xxx
No, that’s just what people wore at the time.
@@Zaz5y do u find enjoyment in this hating?
The rhythm in the dialogue paired with the musical genius of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails) is what makes this movie so pleasing to watch on the surface. It's almost like a music video, isn't it?
And David Fincher started out directing music videos...
@@idontgetlaidbut Yes David Fincher started out with music video. Social Network is a good collaboration between David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin.
Yes, David Fincher started out with music video. Social Network is a good collaboration between David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin.
I just tried to scroll through the comments and then realized- wait this is not even a minute old
Same 😂
I’ve been watching a lot of Sorkin to sharpen my scripts, and I’ve been wondering how his dialogue assembled. And then today, boom! thank you for making this!
I loved this movie, it was so well done, and it was completely unassuming because usually biography films do not usually end up being this cinematically interesting.
I can't believe the research you had to go through doing this . Amazing!
This analysis was brilliant. Thank you!
Thank you, Insider, for doing SO much work to break this down. This helps.
Nice video! Everyone always talks about Sorkin's musical style with dialogue but you actually explained the phenomenon
"Words when spoken out loud for the sake of performance are music. They have rhythm and pitch and timbre and volume. These are the properties of music. And music has the ability to find us, and move us, and lift us up in ways that literal meaning can’t. Do you see?"
Characters also often talk about different things at the same time. Like in that scene. Mark starts talking about China, she starts responding about China, he’s deep into listing fraternity’s on campus.
This is SUCH an interesting take on Sorkin’s writing. Great observations (and editing)!
Wow, this was amazing to watch. Great review 🎉
In my opinion, one of the best character presentations in the history of cinema.
And this is why Aaron Sorkin is Aaron Sorkin, and everyone else is simply, everyone else.
Not really he just a famous person you'd literally have to go 7.5 billion people in the world to say this most people have other interest then writing movie scripts but anyway your argument is flawed because Aaron got an opportunity to write dialogue while most people may want nothing to do with the film industry outside of watching it probably more people are capable of writing movies then not
@@thomas-jy6bl lmao it's just an expression chill
Fun fact I now live in the house where he grew up as a child
Jusy want to say Wes Anderson..
@@thomas-jy6bl everyone else meant every other screenwriter probably not ever other human, period.
more More MORE of this stuff! Brilliant writing
This is one of the best movies made ! We need more like these!
Yeyy! Love an in-depth analysis like that. Don't get quality like this from a screenwriting book. Thank you!!!!!
This is so incredibly enlightening!
I loved this movie so much. I read the screenplay almost regularly.
Can you suggest Top 5 screenplay to read ?
@@saurabhjain3766 Inglorious basterds The social network Pulp fiction No country for old men God father
Sequel in talks if Fincher says yes to directing! Can't wait. Great video. I took a lot away from it. Thank you
This video is so well done btw
One of the best movies of last decade and also underrated as well
One of my favorite movies
Recently decided to rewatch this movie so I could have a cinematic experience again
YOU BETTER LAWYER UP
The thing that should be pointed out is that Sorkin’s dialogue paired with Jesse’s Eisenberg delivery is a match made in heaven.
I think a lot of good filmmaking has to do w/ rhythm in various aspects. It can be in music, dialogue, storytelling, editing, cinematography, sound, acting, improvisation, etc... Hell, Jackie Chan always talks about rhythm when it comes to action choreography & stunt work. He used to write down the beats for a fight scene so that the movements would be energizing for the audience. The progression of his style is summarized in Every Frame a Painting's "Jackie Chan - How to Do Action Comedy" video. Such meticulous detail is what separates a George Miller symphony from a Michael Bay noise barrage.
Love this!
yoooooooo... This is such a sweet analysis
Meter, repetition of certain words and phrases, and varying sentence length. Awesome.
Amazing collaboration between David Finch and Aaron Sorkin.
Very well Analysed!!!
GENIUS
A Few Good Men is written by him too! The dialogue in that is fantastic, the line “You can’t handle the truth” that Jack Nicholson yells at Tom Cruise in the movie is great!
love this
The scriptwriting was absolutely incredible and it was only so incredible because Jesse was able to bring so much of it to life
Nice
I watched it yesterday for the first time 😄✌🏻
FUN FACT: This movie had more CGI shots in it than the newest Godzilla
You watch Corridor?
How?
That's how you use CGI.
@@broggie123 I do
@Om Patel I think i haven't seen the episode of corridor crew where they tell this, but this definitley sounds something like a "fact" nicko would tell😂😂
brilliant
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
Screenplay of the decade for Sorkin. I’m still mad that this lost to The King’s Speech for Picture.
2:05 that's what I was about to say...he often has a geek-like character who will say a bunch of geeky things very fast, explaining something...his Molly Bloom in Molly's Game does that sometimes...now, haha, I didn't notice that myself, the long bits of dialogues/repliques...
3:21 haha...I was about to say that earlier...there's always a leitmotif throughout...in Molly's Game, one is the whole crucible-thing...things like that will just pop out in the middle of a conversation that doesn't seem to have anything to do with it...I suppose in that case it also betrays his love of literature/plays..."Because it is my name"...what happens in the Crucible is, I suppose, comparable to Molly's situation in there...
5:32 it does happen, though, haha, even in music, that deviating from the meter/time signature is the most natural/best thing to do...
I would looove to see a collaboration between him and Greta Gerwig. I think their styles have a lot in common!
Like what
Interesting. These elements are also important elements of speech writing
Sorkin is both great for this and broken for it. Sometimes, a scene sounds like music and the people have said nothing. Sometimes if the show isn't saying something worthwhile in macro, it doesn't matter what the characters say as long as it's melodic. And then the credits roll. And then we shrug and wonder if he thinks people talk like that...
lessons from a screenplay has a great video on this
This makes me want to watch the social network for the 5th time
Interesting! I'd be interested to see how you apply this analysis to David Mamet.
When you think out if the box about a dialogue more than the writer himself
Narrators voice was the last thing I expected. Great analysis tho.
The reference to "Annie get your gun" is referring to the style of dialogue that Sorkin writes. But he also gave a direct reference to this song on "The Newsroom" where one character confused Annie Oakley with Annie get your gun
Cool
Please make more videos about screenwriting
He says the makes dialogue like music
Wow.
Screenwriting is an art
the title says "10 minutes of perfection" but this is a 7 minute video
The speed of dialogue is also because they were trying to fit a 170 page script into 2 hours. Fincher stressed this from accounts of the process
Really..?
That's so great... Haven't understand a single thing.
Thanks for your video, how Aaron write the script first, tell us pls 😆
Dialogue length reminds me of Steinbeck. Terse sentences for speed, with long sentences for emphasis.
My favourite opening scene of any movie
Inglorious Basterds?
Everyone always praises Aaron Sorkin for writing amazing dialogue but I can't help always feeling like there's 1 big issue with it, depending on how you're viewing it and what your intention (and therefore definition of good is). Is the dialogue clever? Is it witty? Is it comedic when it needs to be? Is it enjoyable to listen to? On the whole yes, it's usually all these things. The 1 big problem with it I can't get past when watching anything written by Sorkin. Is it realistic? No, not even slightly. Nobody actually talks like that! 😂
You lost me at "hello"... but damn Aaron Sorkin is a genius!
You know you spend a lot of time in Microsoft Excel when you recognize the "Format as table..." color scheme at 4:13
Who got an Aaron Sorkin masterclass ad before this video?
😂 I did
"Rick fkn Dalton ,gun click",Quentin Tarantino,That was like rap lyrics
🔥
Anyone else get an Aaron Sorkin MasterClass ad before this video?
Aaron Sorkin Masterclass advertisement on this video
I call it: "Being a Gemini".😂 (He really IS a master of wit.)
Best comment!
It's so sad that one of the best works of Sorkin is in my opnion 'Newsroom'. I love that series to the core.
Sad because it's underrated.
Am I the only person who can't hear iambic meter? I've tried to understand what it SHOULD sound like but have never been able to nail it. What's up with me?
Maybe because it sounds good so it doesn’t stick out? Try imagine an iambic line but stressed the other way, like “BUT soft WHAT light THROUGH yonDER winDOW breaks”, does it sound more jerk-y or stilted?
You NE-EED to read carefully
in all honesty, you might just be a tad tone deaf (i’m not trying to be mean in any way btw!)- my old english teacher taught us shakespeare and understood rhythm and meter from a structural standpoint very , but was completely unable to hear iambic pentameter either!! so dont worry: you’re definitely not alone, and it’s nothing to worry about
chadthelimabean you have it backwards bud
Is it like how in Italian things are often pronounced like “CAR/ne” “GAT/to” but if it’s 3 syllables it’s “buon/GIOR/no” or “ca/VI/lo”. ?
That movie was so well-written I couldn't even understand a single word...
Can anyone recommend academic sources that talk about this topic? about rhythm and dialog?
Aristotle’s Poetics
What about amy sherman palladino? Seems that there is a similar method there and she writes the longest scripts around
Thank you for thinking about this
The add of the video was the masterclass of aaron sorkin haha :v
Sometimes when the content is dull speeding up the dialogue can be a good idea.
I'll give credits to Jesse as well, for his excellent acting as a quirky guy in every movie that has him in it.
I haven't seen any other of Sorkin's work, but I see people talking about how he only writes fast talking overly smart sounding dialogue and everyone ends up sounding the same. I think the "fast, smart dialogue" is okay in this scenario because most of the main characters in this film are supposed to be smart people, so it makes sense why they would all talk like that
"You, can't han-dle the truth!" Is pretty much iambic pentameter.
This is my favourite movie but i really dont understand why ppl make it seem like aaron invented musical dialogue, sitcoms have been doing it for ages! its just different with him cause he uses that style in a drama which is something that has never been seen b4 i guess