"Tone is up for grabs in what we do - what's the tone of the scene"

The quote by James L. Brooks is describing the value of tone in any imaginative work. Tone is the attitude or environment that a piece of work communicates to the audience. It can be used to produce a specific mood or emotion, and can be utilized to affect how the audience perceives the work. In the context of a scene, the tone can be utilized to set the mood, produce tension, or perhaps to offer comedic relief. It depends on the creator to choose what tone they want to communicate in their work, and how they want to utilize it to influence the audience. Tone can be utilized to develop an effective impact on the audience, and it depends on the developer to choose how they wish to utilize it.