Writing Exposition in Film: Without Killing Your story
If you’ve ever written a short film and thought, “How do I explain what the audience needs to know?” — then you’ve already run into exposition.
Its the moment where backstory, context, or world-building needs to be revealed. In order for your audience to be hooked. Bad exposition can really make or break your film: If you just dump information into your script, your film starts sounding like a lecture. And if you are vague, your audience will wonder what the heck your film is about.
The number one train of an amateurish film. Is characters saying things they already know, just so the viewer can catch up.
So to save you from these mistakes. Let’s break down what exposition really is — and how to use it in a way that feels organic and smart.
What Is Exposition?
Exposition is the delivery of essential story information: who the characters are, where we are, what the stakes are. It answers questions like:
- Why is this person acting this way?
- Where is the story taking place?
- What relationship do these characters have with each other?
- What happened before the story began?
- What’s at risk if things go wrong?
Exposition is necessary. But it’s also invisible when done well — and painfully obvious when done badly.
Bad vs. Good Exposition
Let’s look at two examples:
Bad:
“As you know, Sarah, ever since Dad died and we moved to this house in 2003, things have been weird.”
Nobody talks like that. It’s robotic and clunky, and your audience feels like they’re being spoon-fed information. And even worse, your actors will feel stiff.
Good:
Sarah walks into a dusty room, stops, and quietly says: “Still smells like him.”
Her sister snaps: “That was twenty years ago. Get over it.”
In just two lines, we get:
– Dad is dead
– This is their childhood home
– One of them is still grieving
– There’s tension between them
And none of it feels forced. That’s good exposition.
An even better example:
Sarah walks into a dusty room. Quietly sits down in the couch, doing her best not to start crying.
Her sister snaps: “Come on. Its been twenty years, get over him.”
Sarah replies: “It still smells like him”
This example, will not only work for exposition. But also make your actors feel like they have direction.
3 Ways to Handle Exposition on a Small Budget
When you’re making film film with limited resources. You don’t have time for long monologues or expensive flashbacks. Here’s what to do instead:
1. Let the Environment Talk
Use production design as exposition. A framed newspaper headline, a cracked photograph, worn-out military boots by the door — these can tell entire backstories without a single word of dialogue.
In my short film “Swimmingpool“. I used one of the actors family photographs to communicate the relationship between the characters.
In that way, the audience can visually imagine and see the backstory of their relationship.
2. Use Visual Exposition
Above is a screenshot from the TV-series “Stenbeck”.
In this scene, the Swedish entrepreneur Jan Stenbeck. Is walking into the factory hw owns, after news broke about him closing the factory.
As you can imagine. The character is facing a lot of resistance from his surroundings. The workers see him as the enemy. Fearing they will lose their income.
The way this is framed in the sho,t is communicating this situation very clearly:
- He is alone
- The workers are going in another direction
- He doesn’t belong there (differentiated by his costume)
This kind of exposition is great. A perfect example of the old saying “Show, don’t tell.”
2. Bury the Info in Conflict
Let characters reveal information while they’re fighting. Negotiating, or trying to get something. Tension makes information feel earned, not dumped.
“If you hadn’t run off with my money five years ago, I wouldn’t be stuck in this shithole!”
Boom. History, motive, and current situation — all in one line of emotionally charged dialogue.
Because when people are angry, they tend to say things they wouldn’t otherwise. This can help you get away with a bit of exposition.
3. Trust the Audience
You don’t need to explain everything.
Let viewers fill in the blanks. People are smarter than we think.
Hint, suggest, then move on. What matters is that they feel the world is real — not that they understand every detail.
But make sure that the clues you leave. Are relevant, and progress the story forward. Thats how you keep the audience engaged.
Final Thoughts
Exposition isn’t something to avoid. It’s something to master. Especially when you only have a few pages to work with. The best short films trust the audience, reveal just enough, and let character and story do the heavy lifting.
So next time you’re stuck thinking “How do I explain this?”, ask instead: “How can I show this without saying it?”
That shift will take your screenwriting to the next level — no budget increase required.
