Good and Bad Exposition in Films – How to Deal with It

Exposition… Oh, what number of feelings this phrase alone might evoke! Some hate it to the underside of their souls. Others overuse it in each script. There are even filmmakers who contemplate it an completely detrimental time period and a mistake solely rookies make. Nicely, let’s step again to details. A portion of exposition is critical in each movie. At its finest, it could possibly easily introduce the world, context, backstory, and a few plot factors with out the viewers even noticing it. At its worst, it feels clunky, unnatural, and painfully in-your-face. What can I say! Writing efficient exposition is an artwork type by itself. Let’s check out some examples and attempt to distill the dos and don’ts for our future initiatives.A fast disclaimer: “good” and “unhealthy” are subjective phrases. Your opinion may be totally different from mine, and that’s nice. Let’s change ideas! In any case, we’ve got a whole feedback part for it under. By way of truthful and well mannered dialogue, we would uncover hidden gems and acquire new views.What’s exposition, and why can we not keep away from it in movies?Exposition is a literary time period that refers back to the background data the viewers wants to grasp the story. It’s a approach that may present viewers with the character’s backstory, the world-building guidelines, context particulars, essential circumstances, or anything that may be essential to understanding the dramatic state of affairs. Most frequently, exposition exhibits up initially of a movie – however not all the time.Within the MZed course “Writing 201,” seasoned director and screenwriter Seth Worley explains {that a} frequent solution to convey some data to viewers is thru dialogue. That is known as “expositional dialogue,” and it signifies that two or extra characters change data important to the narrative. Whereas there are tips to make such a dialog seamless and pure, writers usually do it poorly, which may pull you out of the story.Picture supply: MZedSeth’s recommendation is to all the time ask your self, “Is what my characters are saying essential? Does the viewers really want to understand how they got here into this case?” If not, soar proper into the scene. You don’t must ease in or clarify every piece of context. (For extra tips about writing good dialogue, head over right here.)Conversely, if it’s important, there are different, higher methods to position exposition, and we’ll take a look at totally different varieties in a second. Simply bear in mind: In case your characters speak solely since you – the author – want them to, then you definately’re probably heading right into a harmful territory of poor, lazy writing.Direct and apparent exposition in filmsSometimes, filmmakers don’t hassle to cover exposition in any respect. Do you bear in mind the long-lasting Star Wars crawl: A very long time in the past in a galaxy far, far-off?That is direct exposition, and it could possibly additionally take many kinds. As an illustration, we might hear the story by way of the voice-over of the protagonist – a typical comedy method, however not the one one. Consider American Magnificence, which begins with Kevin Spacey’s character explaining his state of affairs on to us, after which planting a metaphorical bomb that sparks our curiosity. How, or how did he land on this?The narrator doesn’t must belong to the cinematic world. It may be an impartial voice, like within the basic fairy story opener, “As soon as upon a time…” We all know it from fairy tales, and movies of an analogous style use it as a standard device. For instance, right here is the opening scene from Maleficent:What unites these sorts of exposition? Honesty. The movie creators don’t attempt to conceal it. They put it on the market as if saying to the viewer: “Right here is the context. Get knowledgeable and accustomed. Our journey takes place below these circumstances.” In fact, that’s a stylistic alternative, which isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. Personally, I’m not the largest fan of lengthy voice-overs, however, say, in case your story takes place in a really uncommon world, a little bit of direct exposition is usually a completely legitimate possibility.Present, don’t inform approachMovies are a visible medium, which is why screenwriters like to repeat the mantra ‘Present, don’t inform.’ As an alternative of dumping data in dialogue, you’ll be able to reveal it by way of photographs, motion, or character habits.Let’s take Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” for example. It’s usually criticized for having an excessive amount of blatantly positioned exposition. Whereas the creators of the fantasy universe certainly want to elucidate a number of world guidelines and historical past, I discover their methods of doing so fairly elegant. Let’s rewatch the sparring scene between Paul Atreides and his mentor, Gurney Halleck:What do we’d like this scene for? Does it convey one thing new to the story? Is it essential to grasp the character of Timothée Chalamet? Frankly, not likely. We may even skip a few of the dialogue traces right here, and the scene wouldn’t lose something. What it does introduce us to is the idea of non-public shields. That little bit of worldbuilding will matter quite a bit later – and since it’s proven in motion, it doesn’t bore us and it sticks.Feelings by way of actionsWhile ‘present, don’t inform’ isn’t an absolute rule (some codecs rely extra on inform – particularly gentle TV exhibits that wish to hold issues quick and simple), there may be an space the place it positively blossoms. Feelings. Emotional moments nearly all the time work higher by way of actions than phrases.As an illustration, you in all probability can bear in mind this awkward scene from Star Wars: Assault of the Clones, the place younger Anakin Skywalker confesses his emotions to Padmé. This was outrageously painful. Why? Let’s rewatch it collectively:It’s not solely the stiff dialogue that makes it really feel unnatural. It’s as a result of folks hardly ever specific their feelings in such a direct means in actual life. Usually, in case your character feels one thing, allow us to see it. If they’re nervous, present their shaking arms. If they’re terrified of monsters, allow us to hear their uneven respiratory whereas they undergo the darkish corridor. If they’re in love, present their eyes, their smile, their tender makes an attempt to carry their lover’s hand. That is way more efficient and highly effective than making them expose their emotions in dialogue.Explaining the world by way of a personality’s eyesAnother basic exposition approach: Let the character (and viewers) be taught in regards to the world collectively. Take into consideration how Paul in “Dune” watches a video about Arrakis. We get to know one thing in regards to the planet, however on the similar time, the scene will not be for plain exposition. (To remind you: It raises the suspense by way of the assassination try on his life). The identical approach is utilized in Twilight, the place Bella Swan learns about vampires by researching the Web. Maybe not the perfect instance, but it surely works nonetheless, because it does in Inception, the place Cobb explains the idea of constructing desires inside desires to his new architect Ariadne:This works as a result of it feels genuine – the character wants the reason, and so will we. Nonetheless, beware: in genres like science fiction and fantasy, writers usually take issues too far. There’s a temptation to over-explain, layering exposition on high of exposition till it turns into a lecture. “Inception” largely will get away with it due to Christopher Nolan’s sharp pacing and visible storytelling, however even there, you’ll be able to really feel the pressure at instances.The best rule right here is: If it feels to the viewer like exposition, then it’s unhealthy exposition.Exposition in movies for the sake of expositionA large no to me, personally, is when characters clarify issues to one another that they already know, simply to ship data to the viewers. Sadly, you’ll discover loads of this type of dialogue in exhibits like The Witcher.For example, for no purpose in any respect, the characters race to a bridge, when considered one of them shouts: “Oh, look, the bridge!” They each see it. The viewers see it. What’s the purpose of claiming this line, then?A fair worse instance is when your character consists of details that nobody would ever embody in an actual dialog. Say, including to a greeting one thing like: “Hello, my finest good friend from faculty!”Compelled reminders for the audienceModern exhibits usually assume their viewers is half-distracted, scrolling by way of a social media feed on their smartphones whereas watching one thing. (And let’s be trustworthy, that absolutely occurs quite a bit!) That’s why some movies repeat themselves or replay scenes we’ve simply seen a couple of minutes earlier.A distinguished instance of a sequence responsible of that is Squid Sport. Generally, when a personality has a realization, the present cuts again to one thing that actually occurred moments in the past – as if we wouldn’t bear in mind. Why, oh why? To me, it’s merely annoying. Belief your viewers. They’re smarter than you assume.That mentioned, flashbacks will be helpful in the event that they introduce new data or add a layer of which means to one thing we’ve already seen.Speaking by way of frames and never dialogueAnd right here comes the visible subtext we speak quite a bit about in these articles! Particularly, creating photographs that talk for themselves with out requiring any dialogue. The legendary Alfred Hitchcock was a grasp of this. In Rear Window, for instance, he makes use of an extended shot of neighbors’ flats to disclose who they’re, what they do, and what their lives appear to be. Is it exposition? Sure. One of many good, efficient varieties? For positive.Utilizing mise-en-scène is one other approach for silent but impactful exposition. Props, settings, costumes, and framing can ship details about characters and the cinematic world simply as powerfully as phrases. Oftentimes, way more so.ConclusionOf course, this matter is limitless. There are additionally different particular sorts of exposition. As an illustration, characters ship it by way of breaking the fourth wall. We gained’t dive into these for now, however if you happen to’d like, we are able to talk about them within the feedback.All in all, exposition is commonly unavoidable. The trick is realizing methods to use it so it feels seamless, invisible, and even lovely. Bear in mind: Not all the pieces must be identified. Solely embody what’s actually crucial to grasp the story. Play with subtext. Use photographs. Let characters reveal issues by way of their actions, slightly than by way of lectures. Belief your viewers. And above all: hold the story shifting.We hope that this lengthy article was helpful. What about you? What’s the perfect instance of exposition you’ve ever seen in a movie or sequence – the one which simply labored with out feeling pressured? And which sorts of exposition do you favor in your personal initiatives? Tell us within the feedback under!Characteristic picture: movie stills from “Inception” by Christopher Nolan, 2010; “Dune: Half One” by Denis Villeneuve, 2021; overlayed with a basic intro crawl from “Star Wars.”Full disclosure: MZed is owned by CineD.