What is a movie exposition? Or how to start a movie correctly?

The exposition is a part of the work that talks about the actors and actions. Simply put, this is the very beginning of any work in which we must understand who the hero is and what is his problem.

Eternal way

For example, we see a clumsy girl that is unwitting under modern fashion standards. This happens in the film “The Devil wears Prada”, where at the very beginning the viewer can understand the main conflict: the girl does not fit the specified standards of our time.

How do we show it?Answer: with the help of simple installation techniques known to each filmmaker. Still, Sergei Eisenstein claimed that during installation of personnel should be connected with each other. This is a jackstock or in a simple language Kuleshov’s effect, when the third meaning is connected when combining two frames.​So here: the creators mount the entry into such a way as to show the difference between the fashion world and the world of the character. For example, the heroine uses ordinary hygienic lipstick, while others paint her lips bright and expensive; They eat dietary food, it only eats fast food.

Cartoons are also movies

Do not forget about the reference, scenario, cartoons of the Pixar studio. For example, at the beginning of the m/f “Cars”, the hero’s conversation with himself reveals his character: we understand that he is an egocentric careerist who wants only victory.

In this cartoon, the creators https://piratespinscasino.net/ perfectly retain the irresponsible rule of cinema: Better to show than tell.

Perfect in everything

The standard of ideal exposition, in my opinion, is the film of Mike Nichols “Graduate”. The first scene of the film was written like this (hereinafter the free translation of the final draft script):

“Hard -free frame, flight through the clouds, they are parted and in the distance we see a large amphitheater. No sound, only wind. Approaching the amphitheater, we can hear scraps of words and phrases, as if from a loudspeaker. Ben stands in front of a microphone. Thousands of students are sitting in this room. Ben says: “And now we must ask ourselves the most important question – what was the goal of all this hard work, those sacrifices that the people who love us made?” – during the time of speech, large plans of students who are calmly looking at the hero are taken. Ben continues: “The goal, my classmates, the goal is …” –

He stops, trying to remember the right word, looking for him in the papers. They fly apart due to gusts of wind. “The goal, my friends, the goal …”. Ben in a panic, he looks into the hall, but he turns out to be empty. The sound of the wind develops into the buzz of the engine of the aircraft “

Strong enough and metaphorical scene. The catch here is that it is not in the film itself. After all, the director’s task is to fill out every second of the work of any artistic value. Therefore, at the beginning of the film, the hero simply sits on an airplane, and he looks in the other direction, unlike all passengers. So Mike Nichols emphasizes the detachment of the hero.

Then we see how Ben does not go, but as if floating on an escalator against the background of an empty white wall. We immediately understand that the hero is alone, and is so cut off from this world that even his suitcase moves separately, he does not understand and does not know what to do. All this is reinforced by the soundtrack “Sound of Silence”, enhancing the effect of each scene.

The film “Graduate” is a vivid example of an ideal exposition, when in less than a few minutes, without words, we are told about the position of the hero, his character and about the upcoming conflict.

We exist in a society where the first impression plays a crucial role. The exposition is the first step in the involvement of the viewer and one of the fundamental structural elements of the script. And perhaps almost the most important.