How do we solve the "exposition problem"?

Please explain

>>87609597

Fictional characters are often made to say things they would never say in order to inform the audience.

One possible solution is to convey this information through non-verbal story-telling, but this goes over most heads leaving many confused.

Leave brochures in each seat to provide exposition and back story. Have the lights nice and bright so that people can read easily and give people a good 30 minutes to understand the setup for the material. Then have a quick 15 minute test to make sure everyone is on the same page. If you get a failing mark you must wait until the next showtime to try and take the test again. Seats are then allocated based on test scores (if you barely passed then you have to sit in the very front row of to the corner)

>>87609597
some of the more well known ones are "villain explains his whole evil scheme to the good guy before killing him"

>>87609698
>>87609925
Fucking retards.

Stop watching mainstream movies for the lowest common denominator

>>87609698
>>87609925
LMAO

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I watched Terminator 2 recently and noticed th exposition the mental hospital guy gives to the visiting doctors about Sarah Connor's backstory was perfectly done.

Based Jim.

>Mom, why are all of the buildings in rubble and roaming rape gangs?
>Son, don't you remember the nuclear war last month
>Oh yeah, I forgot
Some of it is pretty cringe. Really hate the one sided phone call where the person you can hear repeats everything the other person 'said'. It's terribly unnatural.

>>87609414
Dune solved it by hearing what they are thinking.

>>87609597
The woman in the pic is balancing her feet on a bar.

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>Thieves are discussing their upcoming job
>"Uh, what's the plan again?"
>"Looks like I have to explain it again! Pay attention this time."

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Is there some middle ground between explicit and implicit? Can relevant information be passed along in a casual or offhanded fashion, or will this stuff be missed?

>>87610151
That's a clever way of doing it. I haven't seen the movie but in the books the thoughts of the characters are written in italic. So it comes off pretty naturally when reading.

>>87610256
And it's always just before the heist is about to begin. It happens in Fight Club when they are stealing the fat. Edward Norton's character doesn't ask what's the plan until just before they are stealing the fat.

>>87609986
>609986▶
>>>87609698
>>87610011
how am i wrong

>>87609414
voice over and nice power point presentations when needed: that's the only non-hack way to do it.

>>87609414
>virgin client vs stacy banking

>>87609414
>>87609698
Explanations shouldn't ever appear in entertainment media. The worst offense is the stupid character that needs everything explained to them. The film makers are equating the character with the audience, literally saying the audience is that stupid.

>>87610053
fuck how is he so based?

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Science fiction always needs an introduction in the beginning. Star Trek has "These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise.” Star Wars has the scroll. Verhoeven movies have news propaganda and commercials. Etc, etc. That’s basic world building.

Robocop Commercials

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LKQ3eX9pEg

>>87609414
>Hey buddy, I forget, what was the plan again?

>>87609597
FPBP

>>87609414
If you need your characters to say some exposition may as well make the exposition it's own scene.
>blah blah blah guy did thing blah blah
Why not instead just show guy doing thing instead saying he did.

>>87610317
That's more because he has no idea what the fuck is going on at any point of the movie.

He probably had no idea what they were even doing there.

4 or 5 paragraphs of scrolling text

>so, uh...why are we robbing this bank again?
>because our mom needs her chemo therapy!

two lines, and we already know
>they're robbing a bank
>they're brothers
>their mother has chemo
>their family is poor so they can't afford proper treatment
>which is why they're robbing the bank
>one brother is possibly very dumb

no time wasted. based exposition.

What films do exposition right?


I'm immediately drawn to movies with inner narration like Goodfellas. Fourth wall breaking isn't great but it's better than "IN ENGLISH, DOC"

>>87610285
>that's a clever way of doing it
Have we really regressed to a point where this is considered clever?

>>87613310
>Because our mom


Literally reads like incest porn


>hey brother, I see you staring at my ass

>>87613401
lay off the porn, bud

>>87613378
>Fourth wall breaking isn't great
Depends on how it's done but if you really need exposition in the sense most people would recognize it as such then you've probably fucked up and need to revise your script

>>87610120
I know, I always hate it when people repeat what the other person says too.

Imagine the exposition if LOTR didn't have the prologue

>>87609414
imagine fucking her pusy in that stance

>>87609414
Opening monologues... Easy and kino

You can come up with clever ways to feed exposition, but what really matters is how much you have per serving. A constant drip-feed of information is better than explaining everything all at once.

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>government operatives sitting around a table
>head guy starts talking
>"Now as we all know..."

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The only good answer is to assume your audience aren't braindead and will fill in the gaps themselves, cater to the best and force the worst to step up their game or do one
Modernism had it right the first time round

>>87613664
That's pretty reasonable, I'm certain they do stuff like that in real life, if it's anything important you want everyone in the room on exactly the same page, no time for confusion

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>>87613737
I've been part of office committees before and no, people don't do that. If you don't know, you check the minutes. They don't wait for you.

>>87613310
the dumbass brother no matter how dense he was, would know why they're robbing a bank, so those two lines wouldn't exist

>>87610053
watchbands always rip my arm hair out that's why i could never wear watches

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>Teacher talking to students
>"Worms are aggressive computer viruses"

>FBI walks in
>"Mr. Stevenson. We need your help now!"
>"A worm just took out all of our banks"

Is this ok?

>>87613664
>>87614028
It makes sense if they're discussing something recent, and people aren't too sure about the specific details yet.

HBO GoT style sexposition is best.

>>87614292
Wear a leather strap, autist.

>>87609698
Lets just kill the dummies or not let them see movies or just leave them behind

>>87615669
JIM CAMERON DOESNT AND HE HAS AS MUCH ARMHAIR AS ME WHAT MAKES HIM SO SPECIAL???

>>87609597

she's pissing, you can see the stain just up that bar

>>87609414
Is her thong exposed? Hot.

>>87613401
kek

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>>87615726
Does this answer your question?

>>87615726
His watch actually fits his wrist. Your watch only rips out arm hair if it moves around

>>87609414
the stacy squat

>>87615726
If you notice his watch actually fits. I'm a fucking gorilla and I wear a metal band watch, if you wear it every day eventually that patch of arm hair will start laying down flat

56 replies and still no one can tell me what the fuck is going on in this picture. I wrote the first post.

writers and directors trying to do too much in too short of time.

no one wants to leave gaps in the story to just skip ahead and let the audience fill in the gaps.

>>87609414
>the Chad transaction

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>>87609414
You introduce the dummy character who had to be explained everything so the audience also gets an explanation.

Pic related

>>87609698
>but this goes over most heads leaving many confused.
who cares

>>87609925
>>87609698
BvS suffered from this kind of audience. Most of the stuff was there and it wasnt until the extended cut made stuff obvious that most people understood the movie. But the theatrical version is more than enough.

Plebs really wanted a Lex Luthor info dump in the movie stating perfectly his motives. BvS tried but was punished for it. I doubt we will ever see another villain without the classic Bond speech

>>87613310
Let's try that again.

The crooks look at the bank from the car
>that should be the rest we need
>for mom?
>mom and us.

From this we lose the clunky exposition in your example, and streamline to the base of these characters. Their immediate goals, and feelings on the matter.

'Chemo' doesn't matter, neither does 'bank'. These words are placeholders for what you should be visually telling.

>>87616564

Now this is directoring

>>87616564
Why are they resting? How does his mom benefit from the kids resting? I guess they will have more energy to get a better job if they rest well but I dont think the bank is a proper place to rest

>>87616395
The people looking to make a profit from ticket sales.

>>87616714
>>>/lit/

>>87616564
It's better but if you think that isn't clunky you're pretty fucking stupid.

>>87616564
Or better:
>Scene with sons talking to frail mother in hospital
>It takes all her effort just to squeak out one "I love you," and then she falls asleep
>"We'll get you that treatment, mom. Whatever it takes."

>>87613567

Like a snake unhinging it's jaw.

>>87616812
It's clunky with no context. But the best I could come up with in 20 seconds.

I was just removing the two (as you know's) out of the dialogue.

>>87609597
I don't know if you did it intentionally, but it was funny.

>>87616564
>That should be enough
>Mom is a big gal
>for you

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>>87616744
>people

>>87616444
I was thinking the same thing. Downside of good movies is less money. It's so hard finding the perfect balance.

>>87616923
That implies that the two you removed were the only "As you know"s.

Paul Thomas Anderson is a master at giving you important info without having the characters literally talk about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvZ1YQCTWi8

ignore your bias against Tarantula and just listen to the facts

>>87617025
>so, uh... Steve, my brother, why are we robbing this bank again?
>because our mom needs her chemo therapy that costs 100,000 Americans dabloons!

>>87613310

>crooks parked outside bank
>one of them is visibly nervous
>the other notices and says "hey. this is for mom. we can't afford to fuck it up."
>the other nods and tries to compose himself

>>87614292
agree

>>87615858
Touché

>>87616898
>>87617225
>>87616564
Is this what the scriptwriting general is like?

If not there should be a "improve this scene" general

>>87616564
or they don't say anything during the robbery and you have a scene later where they visit their sick mom.
duh.

>>87609854
This. exactly what i had in mind OR don't explain anything.

>>87615105
I mean that's kind of a major convenience.
Why not just have him being brought in to the FBI where he doesn't know anything, and they start interrogating/briefing him and he has to explain to the stuffed suits why they're looking in the wrong direction
"This isn't just any computer virus, this is a worm, it's [quick rundown of what a virus is and what makes this one special]"

>>87616929
Thanks, it was intentional. I just wonder why no one ever talks about these fucking pics in threads. What was the context behind this? Why is she doing that? Just..... what?

>>87617121
explain Inherent Vice then...

>>87609597
Decent.

>>87617225
You could even take it a step further by excising the mention of their mother altogether, keep the rest of the line, and withhold that information until after the robbery unfolds.

>>87616265

Your post was unironically ironic, it is a masterpiece.

Your answer will be given when the general consensus of this thread is solved.

>>87615105
Also known as The Indiana Jones method

>>87619508
And if a consensus is not reached?

>>87609597
11/11

>>87609597
As you know exposition is often added to bad films in hamfisted ways that seem out of place in the story

>>87609414
Give every single character amnesia at the start

>>87620525

In English, doc! Explain it to me using Star Wars.