Tone vs. Mood

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  • Tone vs. Mood

    Alright, my brain hurts. I'm going into a meeting today at 3 and we're going to discuss the tone of a particular script. So I decided to do a little research on the word itself and come to find out literary tone is not to be mistaken with mood, which I completely thought were the same thing. Anyone want to chime in on the difference between the two and how the tone of a script actually sets up the mood itself? Examples would be great.

    I'd rather leave this to the smart ones out there and not guess at it myself

    Thanks!

  • #2
    Re: Tone vs. Mood

    tone is consistent throughout the scriipt if you're good at the craft.

    mood is something you play with during each scene, to either play off, or play against the tone.

    v-ugly
    You only get one chance to rewrite it 100 times.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Tone vs. Mood

      Copy/Pasted from some website:

      Tone
      The author’s attitude, stated or implied, toward a subject. Some possible attitudes are pessimism, optimism, earnestness, seriousness, bitterness, humorous, and joyful. An author’s tone can be revealed through choice of words and details.

      Mood
      The climate of feeling in a literary work. The choice of setting, objects, details, images, and words all contribute towards creating a specific mood. For example, an author may create a mood of mystery around a character or setting but may treat that character or setting in an ironic, serious, or humorous tone.
      Is it me, or do both very much sound like the same thing... Kind of.

      INT. PINEAPPLE - DAY


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      • #4
        Re: Tone vs. Mood

        Originally posted by 12916studios View Post
        Copy/Pasted from some website:
        Is it me, or do both very much sound like the same thing... Kind of.
        No kidding. I'd love some examples from someone to clarify. Like from films. I need to wrap my head around this.

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        • #5
          Re: Tone vs. Mood

          tone is like how bruce willis 'felt in diehard'. it's his unique tone that blew that script up. he set the tone, the underpinnings of the entire movie. then you set the mood, this guy moving around within the script. TONE THEN MOOD.

          John Wayne in the SEARCHERS, he set the tone, in fact he sets the tone in all his movies, he's JOHN WAYNE, a tone all in himself, so is john mclaine. Mood is the way you manipulate your characters inside the movie, it changes with each scene depending on what the character is involved in, but he ALWAYS keeps his tone.
          You only get one chance to rewrite it 100 times.

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          • #6
            Re: Tone vs. Mood

            Originally posted by THEUGLYDUCKLING View Post
            tone is like how bruce willis 'felt in diehard'. it's his unique tone that blew that script up. he set the tone, the underpinnings of the entire movie.

            then you set the mood, this guy moving around withing the script. TONE THEN MOOD.

            that's all i got in 40 words or less.
            Damn. I have no idea what any of this means. What do you mean, "felt"? How do we know how he felt in the movie? You then say, he set the tone, but how? Then you say he was "moving around" setting the mood. Again, what? Moving around sets mood? I'm not trying to be facetious, I truly don't get it. Thanks.

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            • #7
              Re: Tone vs. Mood

              okay, think of it like this, if someone asked you what the tone of the conference was, you'd say it was ...?
              If someone asked you what the mood was of the conference how would you explain that?

              tone explains the buzz, or feeling of the entire group as a whole, while mood is more of a characteristic of individuals, more in the lines of what each person felt of the conference, not the overall ;feeling' of the conference. it is a nuance that is pretty clear when it is framed inside screenwriting.

              tone is a genre, there are tones that explain genre.

              while mood is character, and set pieces.

              i think i make this perfectly clear.
              You only get one chance to rewrite it 100 times.

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              • #8
                Re: Tone vs. Mood

                Fauck it -- nobody knows anything
                You only get one chance to rewrite it 100 times.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Tone vs. Mood

                  I think Duckling's version is enough to get you through this meeting, Telly.

                  TONE is basically like genres, or genre-like elements:

                  Comedy (humorous), Drama (melodramtaic), action (exciting; over-the-top), etc.

                  MOOD is something within the genre that can be manipulated via the construction of the story itself e.g. setpieces; what is revealed to the audience, what is not; the setting of the movie e.g. A foreboding castle versus a fun house; Day versus Night; Summer vs. Winter; etc.

                  BTW... I am not claiming these are academic definitions by any means.

                  ------------------------------------------------------

                  What I would do for this meeting is basically clue in on what they are asking you. Don't try and pretend to know something you don't... But just LISTEN to what THEY think is wrong, or needs changing in the script and go from there.

                  Don't get to bogged down in the actual definitions of tone and mood, IMO.

                  Chances are during the course of your meeting you'll use the terms interchangeably, but you will both know what you're talking about more or less, hopefully?

                  Sorry, if this isn't much help...
                  Positive outcomes. Only.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Tone vs. Mood

                    Originally posted by WritersBlock2010 View Post
                    I think Duckling's version is enough to get you through this meeting, Telly.

                    TONE are basically like genres, or genre-like.

                    Comedy (humorous), Drama (melodramtaic), action (exciting; over-the-top), etc.

                    MOOD is something within the genre that can be manipulated via the construction of the physical story e.g. setpieces, what is revealed to the audience, what is not, the actual setting of the movie e.g. A forboding castle versus a fun house; etc.

                    I am not claiming these are academic definitions by any means.

                    What I would do for this meeting is basically clue in on what they are asking you. Don't try and pretend to know something you don't. But just LISTEN to what THEY think is wrong, or needs changing in the script and go from there.

                    Don't get too bogged down in the actual definitions of tone and mood. Chances are during the course of your meeting you'll use the terms interchangably, but you will both know what you're talking about, hopefully?

                    Sorry, if this isn't much help...
                    It's cool, I've taken dozens of meetings, I'll survive. I get the general idea and not sweating it. Just wanted some clarity on the two, as one leads to the other.

                    Thanks!

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                    • #11
                      Re: Tone vs. Mood

                      When someone asks what the tone of your movie is, they're asking for more specificity on the voice of the movie. The easiest answer is to tell them what movies it's like in that genre.

                      For example, if you're writing a teen comedy and they ask what the tone is, you'd say "tonally, it's like Election. A smart, dark comedy." Or "it's like American Pie, a raunchy sex comedy." Or "it's like Rushmore - a quirky indie vibe."

                      If they say "tonally, it's all over the place," what they're saying is that in some parts it feels like one kind of movie, and in other parts it feels like a different one.

                      Really, bottom line, they want the tone to be consistent, and they want to know what movie it's like.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Tone vs. Mood

                        i have one tone, i'm VIG, vigorish.

                        as vig, my mood changes as i ease into my alias's... and i've never taken a meeting and i'm looking forward to taking at least 150 someday.

                        v-ugly
                        You only get one chance to rewrite it 100 times.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Tone vs. Mood

                          Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                          When someone asks what the tone of your movie is, they're asking for more specificity on the voice of the movie. The easiest answer is to tell them what movies it's like in that genre.

                          For example, if you're writing a teen comedy and they ask what the tone is, you'd say "tonally, it's like Election. A smart, dark comedy." Or "it's like American Pie, a raunchy sex comedy." Or "it's like Rushmore - a quirky indie vibe."

                          If they say "tonally, it's all over the place," what they're saying is that in some parts it feels like one kind of movie, and in other parts it feels like a different one.

                          Really, bottom line, they want the tone to be consistent, and they want to know what movie it's like.
                          PERFECT answer and exactly what I thought going in. I guess the "mood" tripped me up a little but this verifies my initial assumption. Thanks Jeff.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Tone vs. Mood

                            So, you could have different tones within the same genre? For example, a western that is serious like, Unforgiven, versus a western that is comedic like, Blazing saddles.

                            For some reason I see mood and think of color. Films seem to have a color to them, the Matrix had a greenish cast, then you have technicolor, or grey, or browns. I see mood and I think of the color palette of the movie.
                            826dk

                            ARTicles: Kick Your Creative A** Into Gear

                            DK - Script Revolution

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                            • #15
                              Re: Tone vs. Mood

                              I don't know if "color" is how I'd describe it, but I tend to think that tone is something which is apparent in the script, where mood can be a product of production design, cinematography, and so on.

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