ABSTRACT
Having discovered how best to arrange a dialog scene, one is still left with the overriding concern of perfor-
mance. There are many decent actors, but a few are truly spectacular. Some are basically self-directed, while
others benefit from the determined and dedicated attention of the film’s director. A film consists of many
characters, and some are better realized or better performed than others. Once the scene is in the can, it
becomes up to the editor to make sure that the best performance is obtained. Some actors deliver their lines
with amazing consistency. They’ve studied their part and know exactly what they’re going for, beat by beat.
In that regard, they’ve mapped out the entire scene so they know what they’re feeling at each moment, from
the beginning through the middle and into a new realization by the scene’s conclusion. This, coupled with
the director’s choice of angles and camera movement, knit together to form the dialog scene. In I Am Sam
Richard Chew utilized erratic, disjointed cuts combined with handheld camera work and the intense perfor-
mances of Sean Penn as Sam Dawson, a developmentally disabled father of a smart daughter, and Michelle
Pfeiffer, his pro bono lawyer, to project an impression of their tumultuous but sympathetic relationship.
