7 Ways To Do Bad Exposition

[@One.Zero.One101]

Best use of exposition: 1. The Truman Show - They hide the exposition under the Christof interview. The info dump about the show, fake actors, brand placement feels very natural because the interview format is a logical place for questions and answers. 2. Inglorious Basterds- It's very natural for Hans Landa to announce who he is and what his mission is to the Frenchman. The exposition is further intensified with the reveal that the Jewish family is hiding under the floor. The shakedown is also a natural place for questions and answers. 3. Back To The Future - The exposition is very tense because it happens right after Marty finds out George McFly is dead. So the audience WANTS exposition at that moment. Doc using the blackboard to explain it is very natural and it really helps the audience understand it. 4. The Matrix - Morpheus using the Loader Program to explain the Matrix also feels natural because Neo just got extracted and he has a lot of questions at that point, so the audience WANTS exposition just as much as Neo. The stylish visuals also help understanding the explanation..

[@Leon-zu1wp]

Funnily enough I came here after watching Truman Show. Not only is the exposition naturally but it also provides visuals. More importantly it happens halfway through the film yet we understand the plot fine it only adds onto what we already know.

[@ssssssstssssssss]

Those are good examples, but most of the best use "show don't tell".

[@paints_his_shirt_red]

“Dammit Martin, this is compressed air”………. “You screw around with these tanks and they’re going to blow up.”

[@Georgieastra]

That's more like fore shadowing.

[@DaxxTV]

@@Georgieastrathats more like shit

[@NmpK24]

7. Surely the whole point of a lot of these convenient nightmares is they are caused by some past traumatic event(s) and how a character processes that? As most of us would probably never experience something so terrible we would have more 'normal' dreams instead.

[@bingbang9643]

I found the channel on reddit yesterday. I subscribed to it, and I swear it had only like 266 subs... It seems like the algorithm has started to pick it up. I hope it grows to your expectations.

[@RaisingtheStakes]

Yes, I've been toiling in obscurity making these videos. It's nice to see some folks from r/screenwriting finding their way here. Thank you for checking out my videos!

[@peterkovic2241]

All of these videos are amazing. I'm surprised they don't have more views!

[@RaisingtheStakes]

Thank you, Peter! I'm horrendous at marketing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I just enjoy making the videos; I don't really know how to promote : ) I should be releasing more videos by June. Thanks for watching!

[@peterkovic2241]

@@RaisingtheStakes Yeah, marketing and promotion can be tricky. Glad you're making more videos, though! I'll definitely be watching. They're super helpful.

[@JoshEckerman]

@@RaisingtheStakes Great content! Hope all is well.

[@winterknight4307]

This was informative, thanks for making such a great video on the subject. I'm trying to become a fictional story writer and often times i watch videos on storytelling, i never fully understood the term "exposition dump" but after watching your video I've found it most helpful. Thank you

[@tysonbiornstad2205]

This was so good! Thank you for calling out all this awful exposition. Movies are audiobooks now.

[@RaisingtheStakes]

Ha! "Movies are audiobooks now." That should be a bumper sticker!

[@artman40]

As for entire story told in flashback. How many of those stories would have suffered if they were not told in a flashbacks at all? Though the same could be said to storybook opening/closing trope.

[@blimy01maynard30]

You didn't mention the opening to the first Dune movie. Where Virginia Madsen talks for 5 minutes then fades away but then comes back almost like she forgot to say something.

[@patricklemire9278]

“Midichloreans are an awful idea that undercuts the majesty of the force, that unfortunately Marcia Lucas was no longer around to edit out of this film, let us speak of it no more”

[@Georgieastra]

Homer: _Well here we are at the Brad Goodman lecture_ Lisa: We know Dad. Homer: _I just thought that I'd remind everybody...after all we did agree to attend his self-help seminar!_ Bart: *What an odd thing to say*

[@Seriously_Unserious]

For characters overlapping their dialogues to explain something to the audience in any form of film is a bad example for writing, as in film you can't convey a character's thoughts through any means other then speech, so they NEED to speak their thoughts to each other to get that message across to the audience. In written works, such as books or comics, the writer can get the message across by directly narrating someone's thoughts and conclusions, with no need for dialogue. Still, using this mechanic needlessly when you can just convey what the character who's eyes we're perceiving the scene through is thinking, there's no need for the overlapping dialogues. Also, even in film were dialogue is the ONLY way to convey a character's thoughts, having each reveal different info, indicating they've each observed or concluded different things can be a way to both convey what they're thinking to the audience, and that each has different pieces of the puzzle and only by talking it out will they get the full picture.

[@lukaskendall]

Where did you get Star Wars without the "Episode IV - A New Hope"?

[@RaisingtheStakes]

Hi Lukas! The internet!

[@danielcardona2714]

About the voice over exposition I was curious about your thoughts on the LOTR beginning. Does that work better because it’s sort of reminiscent of the book opening or what would you say about that? Out of pure curiosity, I love learning about this stuff

[@RaisingtheStakes]

Yes, LOTR is a great example. Personally, I would delete the entire LOTR opening! 7 minutes of V.O. exposition has to be some sort of record. The books are limited to the four Hobbits' POV, with no omniscient narrator. In the books, Gandalf spends years of detective work figuring out the backstory of the ring, creating a wonderful sense of mystery. J.R.R. Tolkein does not simply force-feed this exposition to the audience in the Cold Open..he withholds it as a reveal once the audience is leaning in. Granted, LOTR is a beautiful film, so I hope I am not offending with my opinion here! But I would cut the first 7 minutes entirely. Flatter the audience's intelligence : )

[@danielcardona2714]

@@RaisingtheStakes very interesting, normally I’d agree with a better writer but the Intro to LOTR is too epic lol

[@RaisingtheStakes]

@@danielcardona2714 Haha, fair enough! It is pretty epic. Granted, I am deeply biased here because I love the books so much. I read them through three times before I ever saw the movies, so any departure from the books feels like sacrilege to me.

[@TheAlexSchmidt]

I feel like being able to play anything at any time on demand from the Internet should allow for expository broadcasts to be a bit more believable.

[@RaisingtheStakes]

That's a fair point!

[@realspainparaguay]

Amazing tips!

[@brendsen]

„Remember when our parents died?” - Mortal Kombat

[@bobdown9092]

how would you have set the plot and story, in oblivion? what is the right way to set the world up, like they have done?

[@RaisingtheStakes]

In my opinion: 1) Show us in the world, but don't yet explain it. 2) Let us ask questions, lean in, grow curious. 3) Drop a few clues, let us form theories. 4) Sprinkle in answers only when absolutely necessary. Picture the pilot of "Lost." We're dropped right into a fascinating mystery. Now imagine if "Lost" began with 4 minutes of Voice Over explaining everything. No one would have kept watching! Just my two cents! : )

[@SVAFnemesis]

I really appreciate this almost well tailored video but please, next time let the clips run its full length. I would like to see them right here instead of painstakingly looking for them else where.

[@lifeinsaltlakecity4001]

There may be exceptions. Noire films with narrative VO, Scorsese, ect.

[@Staing017]

Sometimes actions speak louder than words

[@Dom-dr4pl]

I kinda like the star wars title cards because it condenses 45 minutes of back story into 2 minutes.

[@aamirmirza1108]

Go into the story brought me here.

[@jamesdavidian7717]

Movies are not real.. that is why names are repeated.. In real life, you'll go weeks or months talking with a new person and not know their name. Passing back papers or taking roll, students in my class in April or May will say "whose is that?" It is kind of mind boggling. As a teacher, today I called a boy the wrong name ( cause memorizing 200+ new names and faces each year is tough.. I will forget 75% of their name over the summer.

[@InformantNet]

You know what I hate? When a KZbinr makes a video essay and feels the need to repeatedly apologize for expressing their opinion and reminds us that an opinion is just an opinion. Yeah, I hate that. No offense, that's just my opinion. Maybe others like it. (See how that undermines my point?)

[@RaisingtheStakes]

Well, keep in mind, I don't make my living from KZbin, I make my living from screenwriting. So I can't sh*t where I eat. I am friends with many of the filmmakers I reference in these videos. It takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, even to make a terrible movie. I know - I've made some! So I do try to be sensitive about being critical of films or filmmakers. If this makes me sound mealy-mouthed, I apologize, I'm sorry, no offense, etc...

[@InformantNet]

​@@RaisingtheStakes it's not just you. Ryan at Film Riot does it all the time. It drives me crazy. (P.S. I work in the industry, too)

[@Something.Something]

I'm watching The Forbidden Kingdom... it's so bad

[@justinray6839]

Literally japanese anime is guilty of all this in excess. It is why I can barely stand watching it, and think it is pure garbage.

[@TheAlexSchmidt]

I am fine with anime in general but yeah it is majorly guilty of this.

[@Quintinu]

I agree. But I think it’s a product of the MASSIVE serialisation of the genre. They often start as a smaller thing and then authors find themselves in need of an explanation for something that can’t be achieved without flashbacks. I think about berserk, where the “flashback” was a massive ark four times longer than the opening act

[@dolsopolar]

basically suzumiya haruhi lmao. i expected the characters to just slowly figure out the clues but no, just 2 episodes in and they already data dumped an entire worldbuilding into my face.

[@ivmoon_gp]

Hate to say it but I totally agree. Most anime is very pulpy and made to show off the nice illustrations. Some anime avert this very well, such as Legend of the Galactic Heroes (an excellent anime), but yeah, you're totally right.