Exposition in film series#
Exposition in film tv#

This scene with Leo DiCaprio explaining dream espionage to Ellen Page was growing tired until the reveal that they were, in fact, in a dream. Inject Exposition into Compelling, Engaging, and Surprising Moments and RevealsĪs good as Inception was, it suffered from overextended scenes of exposition - with Ellen Page's character seemingly conceived as nothing more than a way for the characters to explain away the difficult science and rules of dream-sharing technology and dream espionage.īut the script made up for that by pairing necessary extended exposition dumps with big moments in the script. They know when to pick up on certain information and they'll appreciate a little trust with you spreading it thin and weaving it into the narrative, as opposed to you forcing it on them with big information dumps.

Exposition in film series#

You have to respect that they've been to movies and have watched series episodes before. You have to trust the audience or script reader. Too many screenwriters lay the exposition on thick through on-the-nose dialogue because they fear that the audience won't pick up on more subtle information.

It can be worked into the story and character arcs as turning points, reveals, plants, and payoffs. When it's brief, it's subtle and fits into the narrative better. There are certainly ways to utilize those expositional tools well, usually by keeping the usage of them - and the accompanying information - brief. When you use monologues, extended scenes and sequences, and undramatic moments of characters reading information aloud (including background characters like newscasters), that's laying it on thick. Spread Exposition Thin, Not Thick - Trust and Respect the AudienceĮxposition is better if spread out thin, as opposed to laying it on thick. If it's not partial to the story, plot, and character arcs, ditch it. The first step is to be aware of exposition - what it is and why you need it. So how can you avoid writing bad exposition? It's just an information dump that slows any narrative momentum down. There's no action, no suspense, no plant, no payoff, and no compelling beginning, middle, or end. The problem with exposition - good or bad - is that it is utterly boring and lacking in drama. Read ScreenCraft's A Simple Way to Make Dream Sequences and Flashbacks Work!

When screenwriters use dream sequences, flashbacks, and extended prologues to explain backstory and plot elements, that's often bad exposition.

Exposition in film tv#

When screenwriters use the crutch of TV and radio newscasts to share detailed information about plot elements, that's often bad exposition. When screenplays utilize a lot of incredibly detailed title cards (text that appears onscreen) to explain backstory and plot elements, that's often bad exposition. When characters are learning pivotal information by reading aloud to themselves from papers or computer screens, that's often bad exposition. When characters are talking about pivotal events and information rather than the screenwriter showing the audience through the live narrative, that's often bad exposition. And sometimes they don't even know that they're doing it. It's when screenwriters use expositional dialogue as a crutch to save on time, pages, and effort that there's a problem. The cinematic story is told through visuals and screenwriters are tasked to show rather than tell. So What Is Bad Exposition?įilm (and television) is a visual medium. These nuggets of information usually exist outside of the direct narrative and therefore are difficult to properly insert into the story and plot in a seamless fashion without halting all story and character momentum.īut that doesn't mean exposition is bad. Exposition is an essential tool for storytelling. Defining Expositionīelieve or not, the problem with exposition in screenplays is that many writers don't really know what it is.Įxposition is comprised of those pieces of vital information - often shared in dialogue - that are necessary for the audience to know and understand in order for character arcs and plot points to make sense. And unfortunately, most screenplays fall under the latter category. Make no mistake, exposition is necessary within a screenplay - but there's a good way to do it, and a bad way to do it. Do you know where your scripts stand when it comes to good or bad exposition?