Exposition is an important part of any screenplay but if badly handled it can drag down and dilute an otherwise strong story. Our Writing the Fact-Based Film 101 series takes a look at exposition and offers some examples of how to effectively convey important information about your story, characters, context and setting.
What is exposition?
In a screenplay, exposition means communicating essential information about the story, background, characters and setting. Exposition provides the audience (or reader) with what they need to understand the context of the narrative and plot developments.
The functions of exposition include establishing the foundations of the story, introducing key characters, and setting up the central conflict. It helps the audience to understand the world of the story, as well as characters’ motivations and relationships.
Exposition can be delivered in various ways, including:
- Dialogue
- Visuals
- Voiceover
- Newsreel footage
- Flashback
- On-screen text
A good script contains a mix of elements to keep the story interesting and dynamic.
What are the pitfalls of exposition?
The three main pitfalls of writing exposition are:
1. Presenting too much information
2. Slowing down the story
3. Falling into the “telling, not showing” trap
The challenge is to ensure important information is conveyed (at the right time), while maintaining engagement and interest. A good rule of thumb is that information should only be presented on a “need to know” basis. This prevents the audience/reader being overwhelmed by too much “stuff” and, by holding back certain facts, keeps them hooked.
Examples of exposition in fact-based film
Here are a few ways in which writers of fact-based films have tackled exposition (script sources where available):
Dark Waters (2019)
Dark Waters centres on environmental lawyer Rob Bilott, who fights the corporation responsible for contamination in a rural West Virginia community. While exposition in a complex legal drama can lapse into “talky”, writers Mario Correa and Matthew Michael Carnahan incorporate visuals, such as sickly cows, simple demonstrations of the science, and towering boxes of discovery to show us what we need to know to root for Bilott.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
Exposition is usually best drip-fed into a script but sometimes the audience needs to know a lot of information before the story really starts. In the opening 12-page prologue of The Trial of the Chicago 7, writer Aaron Sorkin takes us on an entertaining whistle-stop tour of the main characters, key events and historical context which led to the violence at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, at which point the main story begins. Script source: Deadline
The Big Short (2015)
Synthetic collateralized debt obligations (CDO), sub-prime mortgages and arrogant rich guys doing stuff which makes them even richer was always going to present a challenge when it came to developing a compelling screen story. However, The Big Short writers Charles Randolph and Adam McKay found emotive, inventive and highly entertaining ways of explaining the ‘boring financial stuff’, including the late Anthony Bourdain making us a fish stew to explain those tricky CDOs. Script source: Script Slug
The King’s Speech (2010)
Written by David Seidler, The King’s Speech tells of King George VI’s struggle with a speech impediment, and his relationship with unconventional speech therapist Lionel Logue. In order to engage with the story, the audience needs to understand why it is so important for George to overcome his problem. So, through dialogue, radio broadcasts and visuals, we learn that the country is about to go to war and will need the monarch (and his voice) to be a strong figurehead. Script source: Script Slug
Lincoln (2012)
Based a short portion of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s non-fiction book Team of Rivals, Lincoln focuses on the political manoeuvrings required to pass the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery. Writer Tony Kushner uses dialogue and historical context to provide insight into the challenges faced by President Abraham Lincoln. The opening scene, set on a Civil War battlefield, gives us an informal glimpse of Lincoln interacting with soldiers, providing insight into the man and setting the stage for his fight to get the amendment passed and end the war. Script source: Script Slug
JFK (1991)
As we noted, it’s usually not a good idea to present a big block of information but in JFK, writers Oliver Stone and Zachary Sklar do just that. In this case, the whole point is to overwhelm the audience with a blurring of fact and fiction, historical context and dramatic invention. The film uses speeches, newsreel footage, overlapping sounds and images, among other elements, to flood us with a meticulously constructed account of what Stone posits led to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Script source: Script Slug