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screenwriting technical question....

In one of my screenplays, there is a character who has a few clones. There is a scene where they all(the character+the clones) will have dialogue lines. How can I write this? I think on screen, the same actor will also play the clones, so this is the problem.. Should I make the character say all the lines, including the clone's? Or should I make a new character(clone#1, clone#2, etc.) everytime a clone speaks? Thanks for helping me!:)
 
You should definitely separate each instant of the character. Say his name is Victor, so Victor Clone 1, Victor Clone 2, Victor Clone 3... should work.

The reader needs to be able to understand what's going on.
 
What are the clones doing? You could also identify them by that.

Clone 1 was knitting a sweater, Clone 2 was cleaning his gun. Clone 3 was obsessively doing one arm pushups while Clone 4 watched nervously out the window, fearing the cops would show.

CLONE 1
(to Clone 4)
What are ya doing? You're making me nervous, sit down.

CLONE 2
(to Clone 1)
Let him alone. I told him to.

Clone 3
(to 2)
Wrong. You told me to! I told you to get stuffed.

Clone 4 pulled the drapes to and SHUSHED them all. A dark car was coming up the street.

------------------------
It's easy enough to read. Plus; it would be easier to shoot this way instead of having them all in one spot.
 
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IMO... CLONE 1, CLONE 2, etc. is way too confusing. I mean, using the same first letter and gender non-specific names confuse readers, of course this will as well.

There has to be something that distinguishes these close that could help with identification.

In one of my scripts, about a film crew, I named the people playing crew using the first letter of what their job was - Steve for Sound, Derrick for DP, etc.
 
IMO... CLONE 1, CLONE 2, etc. is way too confusing. I mean, using the same first letter and gender non-specific names confuse readers, of course this will as well.

There has to be something that distinguishes these close that could help with identification.

In one of my scripts, about a film crew, I named the people playing crew using the first letter of what their job was - Steve for Sound, Derrick for DP, etc.

Way too confusing ...? We're not talking about employee 1, employee 2, etc .... We're talking about clones. You understand what a clone is, right?

Read "The Matrix Revolutions." They didn't have a unique name for the hundreds of Agent Smiths and I'm guessing anyone who read it understood it just fine.
 
Way too confusing ...? We're not talking about employee 1, employee 2, etc .... We're talking about clones. You understand what a clone is, right?

Read "The Matrix Revolutions." They didn't have a unique name for the hundreds of Agent Smiths and I'm guessing anyone who read it understood it just fine.

Ok buddy.

"AGENT SMITH, AGENT BROWN, and AGENT
JONES get out of the car.
They wear dark suits and sunglasses even at night. They
are also always hardwired; small Secret Service earphones
in one ear, the cord coiling back into their shirt
collars."

http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/the_matrix.pdf

How many scripts have you sold?
 
Ok buddy.

"AGENT SMITH, AGENT BROWN, and AGENT
JONES get out of the car.
They wear dark suits and sunglasses even at night. They
are also always hardwired; small Secret Service earphones
in one ear, the cord coiling back into their shirt
collars."

http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/the_matrix.pdf

How many scripts have you sold?



...Agent smith was identically cloned probably 10,000 times in one of the Matrix movies. I don't think they had a special script reference for "Agent Smith Clone #3,412" somewhere in there?

BTW: Brown and Jones were completely different agents. ....Didn't look like Agent Smith.

I do see your point, though. With a small number of clones a number identifier would probably work.

-Birdman
 
...Agent smith was identically cloned probably 10,000 times in one of the Matrix movies. I don't think they had a special script reference for "Agent Smith Clone #3,412" somewhere in there?

BYW: Brown and Jones were different agents.

I do see your point, though. With a small number of clones a number identifier would probably work.

-Birdman

Yes... but it sounds like the OP use of clones is much different than the use of clones in the Matrix.

There is seldom a one solution for all.

Hell... in this example I get confused...

CLONE 1
(to Clone 4)
What are ya doing? You're making me nervous, sit down.

CLONE 2
(to Clone 1)
Let him alone. I told him to.

Clone 3
(to 2)
Wrong. You told me to! I told you to get stuffed.


and this is 3 lines of dialogue... now imagine 4 clones truly interacting...

the last thing you want is someone reading your script to be confused about characters... giving them identifier names to make it easier for the reader to follow is SMART move
 
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LaughingCrow's suggestion is spot on. Every clone is a unique representation of the original. The directing aspect is not a consideration. In writing, you are making a distinction in identity. The clones could be in the same room or in separate areas. Acting is the director and actor's responsibility. As a writer, you shouldn't be thinking about the actor or directing but the story.

It's easy to just label them: CLONE #1, CLONE #2, etc.
If you're going to have frequent interactions, you could add a descriptor:
KNIT CLONE, JOCK CLONE, GUN CLONE, NERVOUS CLONE
If your clone takes on a name at some point, you can make that transition.
CLONE #2 --> CLONE #2 (LOUISE) --> LOUISE
in the case of multiple identities where the viewer sees the transition
CLARK KENT --> CLARK KENT (SUPERMAN) --> SUPERMAN or CLARK KENT
Even though these are the identically appearing persons, the name is an anchor for the identity. The label is used for the viewed identity.

As a reader, I've never found it easier or more difficult to follow a name versus a numbered name. When you introduce too many characters, even with names, it's bad form and requires thumbing back to figure out who is who. I appreciate TWB's comment. If you have several pages of going back and forth between the clones, it might get confusing. Their actions and dialogue (voice) should help distinguish them.

It's very dependent on the scene. The audience isn't going to see the name, so it's really just an artifice for the director and actor. Using CLONE 1, CLONE 2, etc. is perfectly fine. If it helps to give them names or descriptors, that's fine as long as you're consistent. This even happens with different characters with the same name: 9TH DOCTOR, 10TH DOCTOR and 11TH DOCTOR. They are all Dr. Who's so a distinction is made by their chronology. Using the actors' names would have been inappropriate.

As to the OP's original question, there are in the scene: PERSON, CLONE #1, CLONE #2 , etc. for as many as speak uniquely as dictated by the story. How it's realized on screen is not the writer's first concern. Script mods come later once the story is completed. If this is not the first time we've met the clones, or we'll see more of them later, then they may acquire names or descriptors as needed to distinguish them down the road. Good luck!
 
Another consideration is what you intend to do with the script. Do you plan on shooting it yourself? Or have a team close to you shoot it? If that is the case, names won't matter as much as if you plan on submitting it elsewhere.
 
Look at the film Multiplicity - each clone had a defining personality trait or traits that allowed you to know which clone was which. I haven't read the screenplay for that movie but maybe just simply stating what their character type they are for example "Surfer dude Clone", "Science geek clone" etc.
 
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