Exposition in film archive#
Exposition in film tv#

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. They’re still low-res, unfortunately, but at least the files haven’t been put through YouTube’s compression filters.Do you know where your scripts stand when it comes to good or bad exposition? You need to go to this page and use the search term “paris” to receive a list.

Exposition in film archive#

Update: The Edison shorts and some other Exposition clips not listed above can also be found in the Edison film archive at the Library of Congress. Panoramic view of the Place de la Concorde.Thomas Edison’s L’ Exposition Universelle de 1900 à Paris | A compilation of the shorts with intertitles.I’ve thought for some time that these vanished expositions could be resurrected using 3D modelling so it’s encouraging to find someone doing exactly that. In addition to the period footage, there’s also the channel of a 3D animator who’s been creating computer models of the buildings. According to Jullian, Paris was suffering from a heatwave at the time but you wouldn’t know it from the way everyone is dressed although most of the women (and some of the men) are carrying parasols. Most of the footage seems to have been filmed by the Edison Company and the filmmakers conveniently let us know that it was the month of August. Quality isn’t the point, however, what matters is the thrill of looking back 110 years to see these fleeting structures and their visitors. YouTube has the goods, of course, and those goods are unavoidably primitive given the age of the prints and the infancy of the medium. This week I’ve been reading Philippe Jullian’s book about the Exposition (more about the admirable Monsieur Jullian later) and it was only when he mentioned early cinema screenings as one of the entertainments that I realised I hadn’t looked for films of the Exposition itself. Yes, films of the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900. The Exposition entrance at the Place de la Concorde.