Script Notes, Explained!: EXPOSITION

Conveying the history of your character or world can be a challenging task to get right. However, mastering this skill is a crucial step in creating a script that immerses the audience in your character's story.

​​SCRIPT NOTES, EXPLAINED!

​​With Script Notes, EXPLAINED!, The Professional Pen is here to guide you through the most common script notes and show you exactly how to make them work in your script. Whether it’s exploring conflict, tightening up pacing, or creating character arcs, we break down these notes into easy steps. Plus, we’ll take cues from some iconic movies and shows, giving you examples of how similar techniques come to life in top scripts.

THE NOTE

Have you ever received feedback like this?

🟢 The backstory is slowing down the pacing.
🟢 There is too much exposition in the dialogue.
🟢 The audience is getting lost in unnecessary details.
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WHAT IS EXPOSITION?

Exposition is how you introduce your character and world in a way that makes the story clear to the viewer. Similar to getting to know a friend, it has to come naturally. When you meet someone new, they don’t just spill their life story, guilt, and inner conflicts abruptly while sitting next to you on the bus. You discover these things naturally, at the right time.

Exposition brings comfort and closeness to the audience, creating a bond with the characters or subtly guiding them through the narrative without overwhelming them with unnecessary details. How do we achieve this in a way that feels both natural and clever, allowing the story to unfold organically without forcing the details? Where is the line between explaining the world you’ve built and keeping the audience intrigued?

QUICK DO’S AND ABSOLUTE DO NOT’S FOR EXPOSITION:

🟢DO: Use dialogue with purpose. Use natural conversations that feel as if there was a reason to bring things up. A common tool used by screenwriters is introducing a fish-out-of-water character to the environment, providing other characters an excuse to explain. 

🟢DO: Study real conversations and how they flow and deliver information. People don’t speak like a Ted Talk in regular conversation!

🟢DO: Rely on visual storytelling. You don’t need to tell the audience they are in a nuclear wasteland if they just watched the bombs drop!

🟢DO: Sprinkle it in. Use small, impactful details in scenes to reveal crucial backstory or context, allowing your viewer not to get overwhelmed with information.

🟢DON’T: Overload the first act or set-up of your story with exposition. Using the information distribution and the information hoarding technique, divulge information as we need it. How and when can we naturally learn backstory?

🟢DON’T:  Use “You know… or Did you know… or You do know…” in dialogue. Don’t tell a character information they should already know. It’s a telltale sign that a writer is giving the audience backstory!

🟢DON’T: Rely on long monologues or info-dumps to convey backstory. Instead, integrate exposition into natural dialogue and interactions to keep the pacing engaging and maintain audience interest.

SEE THE SCRIPT NOTE IN ACTION USING INCEPTION!

In this scene, Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is training Ariadne (Elliot Page), a new recruit to his team of dream “extractor”. They’re inside a shared dream where Ariadne is learning how to design and manipulate dreamscapes.

Click below to watch exposition within a conversation played out to explain the complex universe of INCEPTION.

​WHAT INCEPTION DID RIGHT

Why does this exposition feel so smooth even though it delivers a lot of information?
Notice how the dialogue feels natural. Similarly to the audience, the girl in the scene, Ariadne, is naive to the rules of the world, making her a fish out of water. Because of this, we are placed in her shoes as she interacts with Cobb. We are learning as she is learning. A detailed explanation is warranted within the context of the film because Ariadne is new to the company. This is information she must know for her story to progress and for her to be successful at her job. As the characters interact, they provide essential details about the dream-sharing technology in addition to the high stakes involved in their mission. 

The scene also moves quickly, which allows us to stay engaged and invested in the narrative. There is a fine line between organic and forced exposition. Inception treads that line by mixing exposition within dialogue and visuals. In addition to directly explaining the rules of the dream in a clear way, the scene introduces an effect: What happens when Ariadne panics? We learn the answer through the characters' interaction with the environment. When Ariadne becomes overwhelmed, the dream world distorts and boxes explodes, visually reflecting her inner panic. This clever use of visually manipulating the environment enhances our understanding of the dream-sharing technology.

By skillfully interlacing character backstories and world-building elements into natural dialogue, you can create an immersive experience that excites viewers. Remember to keep the pacing brisk and maintain an air of mystery to keep your audience engaged!
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YOUR TURN:

Now, give us your thoughts! Did our tips help? What are some of your favorite techniques? What examples come to mind when you think of great exposition? How do you approach your character's history?
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Good luck and Happy Writing!

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AUTHOR
​Matthew Jensen, originally from Massachusetts, is an undergraduate student at the University of Southern California. After transferring from Santa Monica College, where he studied film and music, he shifted to communications to align with his passion for storytelling and media strategy. Following his internship at Eastlake Studios, Matthew expanded his skills as a freelance composer and now works as a Sync musician independently in addition to working as a Marketing Intern for The Professional Pen, combining his creative and strategic talents.