The balance of pacing, character stakes, world-building exposition all moving the film forward in tandem is fucking beautiful and feels so natural it's amazing. The Terminator is still hot on their tail, hunting them in the parking garage while Reese attempts to jump-start a car, as he lays out this insanity of what is currently happening and the gravity of the future that may come to pass on Sarah Connor. Whereas the counterpoint to a complex world like Inception's -where the means of dolling out information feels much more organic, is the first Matrix film.īut for my money, there is absolutely no example better than the first Terminator film, where Reese is driving Sarah around after rescuing her from the Tech Noir club. There are some films that require heavy, heavy bouts of exposition to explain the rules and intricacies of its world.Īn example of where exposition badly hurts the pacing of a film by interrupting the organic flow of events to slow down and explain things to its audience is Inception. Exposition is one of the tougher parts of the script to nail, and the good Professor offers a tried-and-true strategy to deal with it in a way that goes down smooth.Delicate balancing act that often goes pear-shaped. The overall point being: Professor Exposition is a part of the screenwriting toolbox. The same could be said of Lin Shaye’s character Elise Rainier in the INSIDIOUS franchise. The CONJURING FILMS are from the POV of the Warrens two Professors of Exposition who go around explaining what’s going on to people who are being haunted. For example, at different times both Father Karras and Father Merrin act as Professor Exposition. However, there are films in which Professor Exposition is our protagonist.
Professor Exposition is often a supporting protagonist, and frequently only exists for a scene or two. We might call this take on exposition the “Telling of the Legend,” or more specifically “The Campfire Story.” For instance, in the FRIDAY THE 13 TH movies, we’ll often get a scene in which a character gives everyone the lowdown on Jason Voorhees and Camp Blood. There are examples of characters offering an exposition dump, though their main function is not to provide exposition. Note that Professor Exposition fits this trope because it’s his main function. The leads suffer through two acts of being haunted, and in trying to figure out what’s going on they turn to Professor Exposition for an explanation. This version seems to more often occur in ghost/demon-type movies, for instance Vincent D’Onofrio’s character in SINISTER, or J.K. We also see a model that saves Professor Exposition for act two. Ironically, this film also gives us a lecture hall scene, but the lecture’s pertinence is more tangential. Note this isn’t always a lecture, one excellent example being the unctuous Purcell in the original (1992) version of CANDYMAN. The lecture’s function is to a) show that our protagonist is a smarty-pants b) blast the audience with some exposition that will pay off later in the story. Only a third of people working in Exhibition agree with Disney’s decision to release Frozen 2 and Star Wars early on. Only 30 of filmmakers think the theatrical window should be longer than 60 days, compared with 84 of those in exhibition. For example, it’s a commonly used trope to give our protagonist a lecture to attend, at which Professor Exposition is speaking. The research reveals a deep divide between the makers of movies and those who screen them in cinemas. When delivering the exposition of a story. Use Exciting and Distracting Visuals Remember: Film is a visual medium. Build Excitement When done incorrectly, exposition in a story feels like a dull, artificial lecture. Sometimes, Professor Exposition shows up in act one. Mastering the Screenplay: Writing Exposition in Film 1. But Professor Exposition provides one of the rare examples of exposition that can play as organic simply because consulting with him is something we would buy doing ourselves under the same situations. Typically, exposition is a necessary evil, with an emphasis on evil, because exposition is boring, and it’s very hard to write and act this stuff in a way that’s organic. He’s called Professor Exposition because this is a character whose primary story function is to deliver a pure blast of exposition, straight no chaser.
#Exposition in film how to
This is the character who explains to the leads (and by extension the audience) what is doing the haunting, perhaps a bit of backstory, and how to potentially stop it. We often see Professor Exposition appear in horror movies. There is a trope character I like to call “Professor Exposition.”
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