Are there anymore well-functioning dream sequences that you would recommend for further studying? If you can show us a million bad ones why not show some of the good ones? I do want to avoid them but I feel like they can be powerful if handled correctly. 8:30
Reminds me of Fleabag’s exposition! Whenever there is an impending conflict, Fleabag breaks the 4th wall and she either gives context to worsen the conflict or reveal some secrets to us - attacking with exposition!
When you were talking about dream sequences, I got an ad for David Lynch’s masterclass... 😂 While I do agree with you on dream sequences being mostly bad, I think there is more to them than you let on. Sometimes it can foreshadow necessary information that the dreaming character has repressed (IF DONE WELL), convey/establish tone, or provide a change in cinematic language. For example Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me has a dream sequence that doesn’t really exposit any necessary information but does change the course of the film from something mysterious to horror moving forward. Then again, David Lynch is David Lynch.
Thanks for mentioning the grossly underappreciated "Wind River" again. That & "Sicario" I feel are the two best films from the 2010's. Taylor Sheridan is an amazing writer.
Although I disagree with some of the examples that you've chosen, I really learned a lot from this video and other videos that you make. Thank you and best of luck.
I remember thinking the dream sequences of Will in Hannibal (the show) were really well done. Now I get why, they served to show, rather than tell, the mental state of Will. As the story furthers and Wills mental state declines, the border between what's real and a dream fades and the stakes rise by the audience not knowing how much of the sequence is a dream. I never thought of it that way, Thanks Tyler!
In Age of Ultron, Thor's dream sequence motivated him to find out more, which led directly to Vision's birth. Natasha's dream played into her decision to open up to Banner, setting up her heartbreak when he leaves at the end. Cap's dream revealed he feels purposeless without a war to fight, leading to his argument with Stark and widening the rift Ultron was trying to create within the Avengers. Moreover, the purpose of the whole sequence in terms of plot was to incapacitate them while the Vibranium was stolen.
I also disagree with these being bad dream sequences. In light of the franchise it massively sets up these character's arcs but in the film itself it's also instrumental for how they react to things. Cap is wary of another war and going down the same path, Ironman is led to create Ultron, Hulk and Black Widow's relationship is massively affected and it does a lot for their characters, and yes, Thor is led to believe in Vision. It also assists in introducing the Twins. Unlike the Star Wars Sequels examples, these feel like worthy additions to the script.
The flashback you mentioned in Suicide Squad was one of my favorite moments in the film. All of your examples are from American productions. Would be nice to see your analysis of European or Asian films.
You don't need a dream sequence in a story; Adam Skelter defines story itself as the act of dreaming while you're awake. Tell a compelling, deeply emotional story and the audience will already feel as if they've dreamed or lived out a fantasy
This is very well done and extremely helpful. I did want to point out that at 8:34 you reference the dream sequence in Apollo 13 as a dream had by one of the astronauts, however it was actually the wife of one of the astronauts having that dream. The purpose of that sequence was to attack the audience with the information on the mental state of the wife, so, in that particular case, I thought that it was a very strong scene in the film.
This is actually true to most dream sequence and hence why there are used so much. Unless we start hearing their thoughts (like in comic book or few movies) this is a good way as we can understand being stressed about something and having nightmares about it. I think only horror movies make hollow dream scenes as they only want to scare you, have jump scare, without actually going for a certain path of a story (like killing the protagonist but not really), and even then it may be forshadowing something or stating a decay in the sanity of the character.
Ever since I started making silly RUclips videos with my friends I've wanted to tell stories through film. That being said the idea of writing a script always felt so daunting! I've been watching your videos for roughly a year now, and I've written 2 scripts for short films (one of which is finished and on RUclips), and I'm working on the script for a medium length documentary! Thank you for making these videos and helping people like me learn how to tell good stories!
I’m a great believer in “show, don’t tell”, which is basically exposition through flashbacks. At least that’s how I do it. Thanks Tyler! Great video as always 👍
MAN art yep. Hate when movies or even video games just boringly tell you something someone already knows. I think the flashbacks are a great way of learning things without being explicitly told.
I wouldn’t say “despite”. The exposition is enjoyable. The exposition in movies isn’t bad at all. The idea is making it enjoyable, but that can be said for all the dialogue in all movies. If you like the story or topic you want to know more.
@@manart6506 I used that word because most who I've showed this movie has said the info dumping was alot for them, some even fell asleep. Due in large part to the subject matter not being for them. But I think they did a great job in making the subject matter, which I wasn't into at first very compelling.
Daz BonesTV yeah but I don’t like to reinforce the idea people get bored for having too much exposition. As you say, it was the topic. Old people like my dad will get bored in an action movie or superhero movie if they don’t like the topic. But maybe a slow burning historical drama will keep him awake until late in the night.
You have to show the exposition instead of telling it... For example Star Wars shows you all the exposition at the beginning of the movie as it's scrolling up the screen.
Besides the obvious exposition as a text floating in space, it is a good way to put you in the mood of the space opera before seeing any peculiar character , ship or effect. It work very well with Williams’ music.
So Revolutionary Girl Utena is campy and ridiculous (and I love it with every piece of my heart), but the use of flashback in it is kind of interesting. Granted this is a show not a movie so the format is obviously different - and uh sort of spoilers if anyone happens to read this who wants to watch that show lol. It uses the flashback as its opening sequence, an opening that is ground into the repeatable footage format that anime is so very well known for. It builds our understanding of what and who this show is about. Because the audience has built this strong connection with this sequence, and because we consider it such an integral part of the canon of the show, when a crucial piece of information is added to that flashback late in the story it's absolutely gut-wrenching. The reveal not only matches the changing tone as we near the end, but completely changes and solidifies our idea of what and who the story was about. On a more random note, Jurassic Park has to be my favorite exposition with style because it allowed a 7 year old with a land before time obsession to understand the science of the movie without alienating its adult audience XD XD (I actually think that the first movie's ability to call to our inner child while simultaneously engaging us with more complex concepts is part of what made the first movie so unique and amazing.) Actually Dr. Grant's inner child is pretty important to the movie as a whole. He gets to meet that side of himself again before everything goes crazy, and maybe that was an important set up to him starting to relate to the kids he didn't want to deal with and then was forced to protect. (Sorry for rambling I usually watch film analysis and rarely think about these things myself so if I sound like a kid talking movies for the first time in some ways I kind of am hahaha)
I think the quiet place newspaper stuff after the opening scene is less about telling the audience what they already know about the monsters and more about the headspace the father is in after the time jump. He's obsessed with finding a way to stop the monsters, to the detriment of his relationships with his family. It also gives info as to how many are in their immediate area, so when they start showing up, the audience has a sense of the threat's size.
Personally...I felt the dream sequence in Age of Ultron was fine and required...especially when I watched Marvel sequels...Just my personal opinion... By the way, thank you for teaching screenwriting for free :) I'm so grateful to you!
Inception is a great example where the characters come to know of a limbo when they are expecting, exactly opposite of what the exposition is about, thus, increasing the stakes!
I’m wanting to become a writer myself and I’m already done with the writers mindset course! This really helped a lot and after going through all four conflict videos, the character arcs video, and now both exposition videos, now I’m already half way through my first draft. Thanks!
I'm also conflcted with Man Of Steel vision scene. Although I myself m not sure as to which category of exposition to put it in, I still thing that it makes Zod's intentions pretty clear to Superman and makes him aware of the threat which Zod and his people are to Earth prompting Supes to go full on to save the world.
It’s the moment Superman is presented with info we don’t know either. About Zod’s intention to Earth. Before that no one knows what they want after getting Kal-El. In that moment Zod is presented as a threat to Earth... it was obvious as he was the villain in the intro but nevertheless necessary to confirm what he was exactly going to do next. This could have been said and that would be it but it was a more enjoyable presentation of a an unstoppable fiery doom. Interestingly contrasting to history lesson by Jor-El where the presentation (though visually beautiful) is cold and metallic rigid.
I personally think a phenomenal example of a dream sequence/vision is from Twilight Breaking Dawn Pt. 2. I was never an avid fan so I’m not sure of the actual character names, but when the psychic sister played the vision as to what would happen if they actually fought, and we the audience thought we were watching the real fight scene, only to learn that it was a vision I was sooooooooooo shook! It was brilliant. (At least in my opinion.)
It was fun to watch the crazy action but it's a bit of a cop out because fans think that the characters died when "oh It was only a vision/dream" same with the buffy the vampire slayer thing
Leah Stone That’s fair. Like I said, I wasn’t a big fan of the series - I had just gone to see it with family. But when he snatched the patriarch’s head off, I immediately sat up in my seat. Lol!
Dude your videos (and course) helped guide me for this year's 48 hour film contest.. and I gotta say it's one of my best writing works that I've ever done. The whole thing about finding philosophical conflicts, setting view point v. view point conflicts and these expositions videos. All of it. Just wanted to share my joy in this process along with you. Keep it up dude!
Came across your channel recently and now can't stop watching your videos. With reference to The Godfather montage; that sequence is a parallel edit between a straight forward scene (the baptism) and a montage (the killing). What makes it great (imo) is that one influences our perception of the other, giving us information on Michael's character and pushes the story forward. Just pure masterclass.
Tbh the whole "Avoid dream sequences at all costs" makes sense but at the same time I had to laugh and say "yeah right" because it's like "adaption" when Robert McKee said "God save you for Narration, god help you" no matter what, it will happen for the reason you give or not. We are human, we like to just be told something straight half the time.
I think it doesn’t work in many cases is the more reason to try it make it work... it’s like if they tell you “don’t make horror movies” because most of them are bad. I think the more reason to make them and (try) make quality content in that genre.
@@manart6506 See I saw the line of Good horror and Bad horror, but then it's like the line of Good Comedy and Bad comedy get me. Like "Game Night" and "Girls Trip" I think it's more you write the story to meet the Theme and such then you go in and you see how the comedy and be filtered organically than say improve.
Stylishing the exposition is what Blake Snyder calls The Pope in The Pool in the Save the Cat! book, that's literally making it interesting with an additional detail instead of just boring exposition. Great video!
I'd like to point out, as the foremost example of excellent expository skills, J.R.R. Tolkien created an entire universe from scratch which had never existed before, and he didn't need a preface or a prologue and we have a hard time identifying any exposition because he couched it so well within the narrative.
One of my favorite bits of exposition, which was a montage, showed the passage of time in Notting Hill. In less than three minutes to Bill Withers' haunting song of loss, "Ain't no Sunshine", you see an entire year pass. More than showing time pass, it shows important events like Honey's breakup with her boyfriend and the birth of a friend's child. It also shows William's loneliness. It gives the audience just enough information without being a massive dump and works to move the story along in the process.
If you think Tony Stark's dream vision is alright, then BvS dream sequence also works because there, Batman sees the danger of superman which also affects his actions which makes him wanting to kill superman. That dream sequence encourages him to prepare to kill superman for which he steals the kryptonite and convert that large chunk into a spear and smoke grenades.
I don’t remember Ultron that much but I remember the dream came out of nowhere (?). Batman’s “dream” has multiple levels: a nightmare about what is going in his head, his motivation; also, a true vision of the future presented by Flash traveling through time to the batcave (tie to Zack Snyder’s JL).
Great info, Tyler! Now I've got to revise my first three chapters! :D One thing: Star Wars' crawl at the beginning fits with its style of the 1930s movie serials. I think Lucas was capable of feeding us the info in a better way but for that nod to the source of the style he chose. Love your graphics.
Actually children and teenagers will often attack from exposing emotional pain. And when something is important it will be reinforced explicitly through retelling, think about stories that are told over and over again. It becomes important through reinforcement. Sometimes it's even used to reinforce a traumatic bond with the person saying something with the subtext of 'please feel my pain'. This is what the dialogue is saying in bighero.
I like how in Independence Day the father tells the exposition to his son David. The difference to other scenes where it may sound false is that is how fathers are, David hears this from his dad all the time. Even the dialogue tells us they don’t see each other so much and one might think “well, probably because he keeps telling him this over and over again every time they seen each other”.
Damn, the criticism on dream sequences shocked me - I’ve always found them interesting but I see where you’re coming from and I now understand how they’re generally pointless. However it’s a bit ironic that my favourite movie of the year (Fear street 1666) is almost entirely just a dream sequence
Thank you very much for making this video. I knew exposition was important, but these techniques are very helpful in being aware of how to use them in the story.
In The Social Network setup, they could have had trees at the entrance with coloured leaves and on the wall when he walks in, Class of 03 at the top of the Harvard crest.
What about the dream sequence in shutter island- it is using exposition, but in a very subtle way, so the audience doesn’t realise it’s exposition until the end of the movie, once everything has become clear
I am not entirely sure that the Wind River flashback is so great. It is good in the sense that it reveals to us what really happened, but, unless my memory deceives me, we get that flashback only after all the characters who knew what had happened and all those who could puzzle it all together were already dead. What I mean is, we spend the entire film watching some people desperately trying to figure the crimes out, they fail, but then the film simply decides to deliver us the truth. To me, it doesn't feel earned. To use an analogy, that would be like getting the flashback of the crime being perpetrated in an Agatha Christie story even though Poirot has definitively failed to solve it. See the problem? Again, provided that I am right about the moment when the film decides to give us the flashback and I think I am right since I remember thinking about this upon watching it.
I just saw Wind River. I don't find the flashback that well done either, but for different reasons. When the flashback comes, the (experienced) viewer basically already knows what happened. They know that her boyfriend was murdered. From this, one can conclude that he was not one of the criminals. One of the security guards has injuries on his face, supposedly from a branch. Of course, a branch, wink, wink. Then they are still surrounded by the security guards, another clear indication. It also shows how the ranger follows the trail of the snowmobile exactly to the trailers of the security guards. He still warns the policemen. So the viewers and also the protagonists could guess what happened. If I had written that, I would have left out the flashback. Then the scene in which the ranger exposes the last criminal on the mountain and forces him to confess his crime would also have more meaning. As it is in the movie, he only repeats what every viewer already knows anyway. Without the flashback, he could have told what happened instead. Maybe parts of the flashback could have been included here. He tells what happened and at the same time you see individual snippets of what happened.
I have to disagree about the dream sequence in Apollo 13. The dream sequence does two important things: it provides an emotional context for Lovell and it provides a visual recognition of what they're trying to do (land on the Moon), which, since they didn't, isn't easy to show.
I disagree basically with every “bad” example provided by this video. This one is an example of why. Not unsurprising as the “bad examples” come from mostly successful movies.
The only instance I can stand dream sequences, is in the Harry potter Novels and books, due to the connection with Voldemort. Harry doesn't just see them as he sleeps, but while he's awake as well. That's why it is alright for me
I can’t stand people going to “oh, it was a dream, that’s nothing”... but that’s (almost) never the case. At the very minimum dream are a peek into characters subconscious and personality, sometimes it explores some themes in the film and much more in other better films.
But what if the dream sequence motif is written as a character ability as to learn new info from his adversary and/or his dreams are being invaded by an outward force that wants to screw with him? In my favorite book series, _"Percy Jackson & The Olympians",_ it's a common motif for Percy and other demigods that their dreams are usually visions of events of the past that tie into one of his quests, him spying on the bad guys to recieve vital, or surreal visions composed by Kronos for the purpose of trying to manipulating him. Realistically, the whole purpose of this is because the books are told from a first-person perspective and this is a way of having it cut to other things to expand the story. And I'm not gonna act like every single one of these dream sequences in the books are vitally important, but there are a few examples I can think of that fit your description of how they display exposition in a not-so-forced way. In the 2nd book, _The Sea of Monsters,_ Percy has a dream conversation with his friend Grover (because Grover created an empathy link between them). And in this conversation, it establishes a goal, a ticking clock, and an ultimatum. The goal being that Grover had found the one thing that can save the poisoned tree of Camp Half-Blood before it dies and the barrier it generates disappears. But Percy and Annabeth have to come get it and save Grover because both he and the object of interest are being held by Polyphemus, who will eventually figure out what Grover is and eat him. And Grover warns that because of the empathy link between, there is a good chance Percy could die if he gets eaten. Would you say that _"attacks with exposition"?_
If the information in the story changes the character in some way or affects the narrative. It's good exposition. But if it's just there for the sake of sound cool (Like pointless cameos) it's trash
Amazing video! Your channel is helping me a lot! My first screenplay would have a dream scene right int tje beginning, I changed it, because it was very bad and was not moving the story foward.
I’m a big fan of this channel. I have one minor gripe with your analysis of these techniques. The “For every good version of X I can show you 100 bad versions of X” argument isn’t actually useful here. The same things could be said about literally anything (Voice Over). A more helpful way to think of flashbacks, montages etc is to only use them if a story truly calls for it. If it’s called for m, make sure your story is constructed in such a way that it feels natural and necessary.
Certainly unnecessary. Mostly an homage to some Old Hollywood movies and aside from that, it tells us something about the Dude's unconscious and what is on his mind.
Big Lebowski really isnt plot motivated, it's more about creating a mood, and the dream sequence does an incredible job at it. Honestly one of the funniest scenes in one of the funniest movies
There isn’t anything wrong about dream sequences. Just some filmmakers or tv shows abuse them and many times confuse the audience. But is ain’t something to avoid.
I think the dream sequence of Thor in Age of Ultron is an exemption. His vision forced him to know more about the stone, pointing him to actually help Tony complete Vision.
My screenplay originally started with a dream sequence. However, after watching this video, I deleted it and now the story opens with my second scene, and that makes it a lot stronger.
In Age of Ultron, Thor's dream is also usefull, because it tells him about Ragnarok. In the same way, they don't show us Banner's dream, but we assume it has to do with the dangers of the Hulk, which makes him depart from the group and don't come back.
Even if the Harley/Joker/acid flashback is useless for storytelling, it's satisfying for the viewer. I wasn't a DC fan or Harley/Joker fan when I was watching Suicide Squad at the theatre, but I really enjoyed this scene and then rewatched it a couple of times on RUclips. Maybe sometimes it is worth putting satisfying for the viewer's interest flashback into a movie? Or maybe that's an exception just for me and nobody really liked it
I've been thinking particularly about the 7 min intro sequences for Final Fantasy 10 and FF12. Though the rest of the narrative in FF12 dragged as I recall. I do remember these intro feeling engaging and wonder if they are good examples of exposition in grand speculative fiction.
Oh wow ok imma have to fight you on the star wars crawl. But first I do admit that when other movies do something similar like a paragraph of exposition thrown on screen or a voice over explaining the setup then that is exposition done wrong and is an immediate sign that you're about to watch a bad film. However. The crawl wasn't included out of laziness but a nod to the sci-fi weekly serials that inspired the movie itself. The serials knew that people could miss a few episodes and be completely lost the next time they watched. They couldn't go back and watch the episodes like today; they couldn't even watch re-runs because re-runs hadn't been invented yet. The crawl at the beginning of each show was a way to quickly establish what the viewer might have missed. Another reason for these crawls was that the shows were designed for children who have short attention spans and might not remember what happened in last week's episode; the crawl refreshed their memory. The shows found a simple, cost effective, way to address the needs of their audience without having to write in clunky exposition in the story itself which would slow the episode down. It's almost elegant in its efficacy. Star Wars is a love letter to these serials and so the crawl is an homage. The crawl acted as a signal to older viewers that they were about to watch a serial like what they grew up watching. It is necessary for star wars to be what it is, and say what it says, and has become an essential element of a star wars movie. I will die on this hill.
With the big hero 6 example; I commented on the last video as well, I think you are missing a very important aspect of the exposition being there for the audience too. It might have been served to tell it differently, but we also get the contrast of the two characters and how they internalize this imformation. I've had conversations with people on series stuff like that, and those kinda words sometimes come up, not as a statement to knowledge that both parties might not be aware of, but as a statement of subtext, lining the different and conflicting reactions to said information. I think subtext is something you are very much not considering? I dunno, I think all the other videos so far have been great, but your missing some of the fun and understanding of exposition. Montages are often served to build the fun behind the character, or build it up. You could look at the montage in Hercules and Captain America as basically the same thing, the Hercules one could just be arguably more fun, but it still serves to put the character in the position of rising past challenges as to not burden the film with them, while also showing everything up to the present so the exposition can continue. While the captain America one may be less memorable, it does serve a very good purpose to getting him from being a rookie hero to be an established force leading into the next point of conflict, again without burdening the film with a lot of time to just explain that. Dream sequences; another misunderstanding my opinion. You are lacking the understanding of the emotion behind the CHARACTER, which aids the story. The astronaut having a dream and then waking up isn't to tell you something different going to happen in the story, its to tell you that he holds subconscious fears of the thing happening. The point is to see the SUBCONSIOUS of the character. Both these things aren't standalone components, and treating them as something with lack of stakes feels incorrect. They serve the greater narrative of the story, and help our understanding, or quickly further the point TO THE NEXT POINT OF EXPOSITION in an entertaining fashion.
Captain America fighting Hydra montage was one of the best parts of the film bro! 😂 It was necessary to worldwide audience. Don't take it personal, I disagree with loads of YT creators.
I have a question about the flashbacks part. So in the haunting of hill house we are given a lot of flashbacks for the characters. However they are very vague and only add on to the hunger of the audience to find out what really happened on the final night of their stay at hill house. However I’m not sure how much of the flashbacks in the show actually are not necessary and shows what not to do with flashbacks in a story/screenplay.
2 questions from a beginner writer What if you are writing a series instead of a short film and one exposition point doesn't become as relevant until future seasons? The exposition is there and uses for it is used in a practical sense and you hint at that future plot point, but it doesn't' become very plot-relevant until a season after its initial reveal, would that still work? Next, would an exception to the try no-newspaper rule be to "spice" up a dialogue scene? If a character experienced what happened in the newspapers first hand and uses them to further explain what happened and/or why they do a certain thing or why they feel a certain way about someone, would that still work?
Make your first season arc as complete as it can be. As in, make it so it's possible that the story can end there. You can be prepared to take it further, but never assume you'll get to. If something you have now won't become important until a hypothetical later season, use it in some capacity in the first. Make it seem less relevant, but do use it, as you might not get another chance. Approach every story like it's the last one you'll ever write.
Thank you so much for all of this helpful information! Does anyone know if flashbacks in the prologue of a story (not for a screenplay but for a game) are equally or more risky than flashbacks during the course of a story? I understand it's very common to do this and somewhat uninspired but I found this to be the easiest and clearest way to deliver the backstory of the world, especially since I'm still a beginner.
Now you know the choices you can take your pick. Exposition is great when done well but is a banana skin just waiting for you to step on it. Thanks for the warning!
About dream sequences: THE REBOOT OF HELLBOY FUCKIN "CLICKBAITED" WITH THE COOLEST SCENES IN THE TRAILER, AND IT TURNED OUT THAT THOSE ENTIRE SHOTS IN THE TRAILER WEREN'T EVEN EXPANDED UPON IN THE MOVIE. THAT WAS ALL THAT WAS. I'M STILL MAD
Ehh I'm not tooooo much in agreement with the dream sequence bit. Take the example of the dream/vision sequence in Final Destination. Although there are technically no stakes in the actual vision, there are stakes for the real world because they are premonitions. So these visions actually affect the character's choices which is why they are able to avoid the disaster. You could argue that it's actually the most important kind of dream sequence there is lol.
What about flashback chapter "The Four Passengers" in the Hateful Eight? Was it done correctly? I've always felt that it was unnecessary and would be better if it was placed at the beginning of the movie to create some suspense.
I don’t think it is bad. Having plenty or not having at all is just different ways of telling a story. Like having color or not in a movie. Just a particular way of doing a film.
2001: space odyssey has minimum exposition. Pretty weird at any time but that’s the choice. The Big shirt. A lot of exposition but a very entertaining film.
Youssef HEGAZY 2 in “the big short” the characters literally stop to talk to the audience about definitions and backstory. Also narrations. It works pretty well.
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Are there anymore well-functioning dream sequences that you would recommend for further studying? If you can show us a million bad ones why not show some of the good ones? I do want to avoid them but I feel like they can be powerful if handled correctly. 8:30
I'm not a writer, but your channel has changed the way I look and understand series and movies I see. Thanks mate.
Glad to hear it!
I wish my brother would do this because he is fucking annoying when he rates something like the karate kid on the same level as The Godfather
1:42 Write an essay quickly
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☝🏽this! I can now explain why I love certain movies and dislike others thanks to this channel
@@Mateoarredondo I don't have a brother but I have a cousin who does that so I can kinda understand that.
Reminds me of Fleabag’s exposition! Whenever there is an impending conflict, Fleabag breaks the 4th wall and she either gives context to worsen the conflict or reveal some secrets to us - attacking with exposition!
When you were talking about dream sequences, I got an ad for David Lynch’s masterclass... 😂
While I do agree with you on dream sequences being mostly bad, I think there is more to them than you let on. Sometimes it can foreshadow necessary information that the dreaming character has repressed (IF DONE WELL), convey/establish tone, or provide a change in cinematic language.
For example Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me has a dream sequence that doesn’t really exposit any necessary information but does change the course of the film from something mysterious to horror moving forward. Then again, David Lynch is David Lynch.
The dream sequence in game of thrones from daenarys was executed well, but not so much for the ending.
Sopranos dream sequences are phenomenal
Inception is the one movie where every dream sequence works perfectly. Guess why
I am continuing to learn so much, now I know about how to appropriate a suitable amount of exposition that makes a scene work. You're amazing Tyler.
Thanks for the kind words!
0:54 Write a thesis cheap
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Thanks for mentioning the grossly underappreciated "Wind River" again. That & "Sicario" I feel are the two best films from the 2010's. Taylor Sheridan is an amazing writer.
I want to watch wind river, but there’s just some events in it I know I would be really uncomfortable watching.
The visuals help so much
Glad to hear it!
Although I disagree with some of the examples that you've chosen, I really learned a lot from this video and other videos that you make. Thank you and best of luck.
I remember thinking the dream sequences of Will in Hannibal (the show) were really well done. Now I get why, they served to show, rather than tell, the mental state of Will. As the story furthers and Wills mental state declines, the border between what's real and a dream fades and the stakes rise by the audience not knowing how much of the sequence is a dream. I never thought of it that way, Thanks Tyler!
In Age of Ultron, Thor's dream sequence motivated him to find out more, which led directly to Vision's birth. Natasha's dream played into her decision to open up to Banner, setting up her heartbreak when he leaves at the end. Cap's dream revealed he feels purposeless without a war to fight, leading to his argument with Stark and widening the rift Ultron was trying to create within the Avengers. Moreover, the purpose of the whole sequence in terms of plot was to incapacitate them while the Vibranium was stolen.
I was thinking the same...you understand it more when you watch the prequels and sequels...
yeah I think he's missing understanding of the subconscious exposition of the character being told to us.
I also disagree with these being bad dream sequences. In light of the franchise it massively sets up these character's arcs but in the film itself it's also instrumental for how they react to things. Cap is wary of another war and going down the same path, Ironman is led to create Ultron, Hulk and Black Widow's relationship is massively affected and it does a lot for their characters, and yes, Thor is led to believe in Vision. It also assists in introducing the Twins.
Unlike the Star Wars Sequels examples, these feel like worthy additions to the script.
The flashback you mentioned in Suicide Squad was one of my favorite moments in the film. All of your examples are from American productions. Would be nice to see your analysis of European or Asian films.
Why was it one of your favorites?
You don't need a dream sequence in a story; Adam Skelter defines story itself as the act of dreaming while you're awake. Tell a compelling, deeply emotional story and the audience will already feel as if they've dreamed or lived out a fantasy
I don't know if us beginning screenwriters are your target audience, but they are fantastic for us!
This is very well done and extremely helpful. I did want to point out that at 8:34 you reference the dream sequence in Apollo 13 as a dream had by one of the astronauts, however it was actually the wife of one of the astronauts having that dream. The purpose of that sequence was to attack the audience with the information on the mental state of the wife, so, in that particular case, I thought that it was a very strong scene in the film.
This is actually true to most dream sequence and hence why there are used so much. Unless we start hearing their thoughts (like in comic book or few movies) this is a good way as we can understand being stressed about something and having nightmares about it. I think only horror movies make hollow dream scenes as they only want to scare you, have jump scare, without actually going for a certain path of a story (like killing the protagonist but not really), and even then it may be forshadowing something or stating a decay in the sanity of the character.
Ever since I started making silly RUclips videos with my friends I've wanted to tell stories through film. That being said the idea of writing a script always felt so daunting! I've been watching your videos for roughly a year now, and I've written 2 scripts for short films (one of which is finished and on RUclips), and I'm working on the script for a medium length documentary! Thank you for making these videos and helping people like me learn how to tell good stories!
I’m a great believer in “show, don’t tell”, which is basically exposition through flashbacks. At least that’s how I do it. Thanks Tyler! Great video as always 👍
2:05 Write a thesis cheap
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It just makes sense that cinema shows more that just telling you. Visual storytelling.
MAN art yep. Hate when movies or even video games just boringly tell you something someone already knows. I think the flashbacks are a great way of learning things without being explicitly told.
So glad you used The Big Short! A thoroughly enjoyable movie despite MASSIVE amounts of info and exposition.
I wouldn’t say “despite”. The exposition is enjoyable. The exposition in movies isn’t bad at all. The idea is making it enjoyable, but that can be said for all the dialogue in all movies. If you like the story or topic you want to know more.
@@manart6506 I used that word because most who I've showed this movie has said the info dumping was alot for them, some even fell asleep. Due in large part to the subject matter not being for them. But I think they did a great job in making the subject matter, which I wasn't into at first very compelling.
Daz BonesTV yeah but I don’t like to reinforce the idea people get bored for having too much exposition. As you say, it was the topic. Old people like my dad will get bored in an action movie or superhero movie if they don’t like the topic. But maybe a slow burning historical drama will keep him awake until late in the night.
You have to show the exposition instead of telling it...
For example Star Wars shows you all the exposition at the beginning of the movie as it's scrolling up the screen.
Besides the obvious exposition as a text floating in space, it is a good way to put you in the mood of the space opera before seeing any peculiar character , ship or effect. It work very well with Williams’ music.
Lol
You do know that Tyler directly said that the yellow text in the beginning of every Star Wars movie is bad exposition, right?
@@darryl0745 yeah. And I strongly disagree.
@@manart6506 I strongly agree with him in plenty of ways, honestly.
So Revolutionary Girl Utena is campy and ridiculous (and I love it with every piece of my heart), but the use of flashback in it is kind of interesting. Granted this is a show not a movie so the format is obviously different - and uh sort of spoilers if anyone happens to read this who wants to watch that show lol. It uses the flashback as its opening sequence, an opening that is ground into the repeatable footage format that anime is so very well known for. It builds our understanding of what and who this show is about. Because the audience has built this strong connection with this sequence, and because we consider it such an integral part of the canon of the show, when a crucial piece of information is added to that flashback late in the story it's absolutely gut-wrenching. The reveal not only matches the changing tone as we near the end, but completely changes and solidifies our idea of what and who the story was about.
On a more random note, Jurassic Park has to be my favorite exposition with style because it allowed a 7 year old with a land before time obsession to understand the science of the movie without alienating its adult audience XD XD (I actually think that the first movie's ability to call to our inner child while simultaneously engaging us with more complex concepts is part of what made the first movie so unique and amazing.) Actually Dr. Grant's inner child is pretty important to the movie as a whole. He gets to meet that side of himself again before everything goes crazy, and maybe that was an important set up to him starting to relate to the kids he didn't want to deal with and then was forced to protect. (Sorry for rambling I usually watch film analysis and rarely think about these things myself so if I sound like a kid talking movies for the first time in some ways I kind of am hahaha)
I think the quiet place newspaper stuff after the opening scene is less about telling the audience what they already know about the monsters and more about the headspace the father is in after the time jump. He's obsessed with finding a way to stop the monsters, to the detriment of his relationships with his family. It also gives info as to how many are in their immediate area, so when they start showing up, the audience has a sense of the threat's size.
How to get clicks: Margot Robbie bathtub thumbnail
"I watch Tyler Mowrey for the plot"
Well, it works
0:53 Writing an essay is easy
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What an incredible playlist. Holy crap dude. Im applying all this info to my graphic novel I'm working on
Personally...I felt the dream sequence in Age of Ultron was fine and required...especially when I watched Marvel sequels...Just my personal opinion...
By the way, thank you for teaching screenwriting for free :) I'm so grateful to you!
Inception is a great example where the characters come to know of a limbo when they are expecting, exactly opposite of what the exposition is about, thus, increasing the stakes!
I’m wanting to become a writer myself and I’m already done with the writers mindset course! This really helped a lot and after going through all four conflict videos, the character arcs video, and now both exposition videos, now I’m already half way through my first draft. Thanks!
I'm also conflcted with Man Of Steel vision scene. Although I myself m not sure as to which category of exposition to put it in, I still thing that it makes Zod's intentions pretty clear to Superman and makes him aware of the threat which Zod and his people are to Earth prompting Supes to go full on to save the world.
0:43 Write an essay quickly
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It’s the moment Superman is presented with info we don’t know either. About Zod’s intention to Earth. Before that no one knows what they want after getting Kal-El. In that moment Zod is presented as a threat to Earth... it was obvious as he was the villain in the intro but nevertheless necessary to confirm what he was exactly going to do next. This could have been said and that would be it but it was a more enjoyable presentation of a an unstoppable fiery doom. Interestingly contrasting to history lesson by Jor-El where the presentation (though visually beautiful) is cold and metallic rigid.
@@manart6506 Agreed sir
I personally think a phenomenal example of a dream sequence/vision is from Twilight Breaking Dawn Pt. 2. I was never an avid fan so I’m not sure of the actual character names, but when the psychic sister played the vision as to what would happen if they actually fought, and we the audience thought we were watching the real fight scene, only to learn that it was a vision I was sooooooooooo shook! It was brilliant. (At least in my opinion.)
It was fun to watch the crazy action but it's a bit of a cop out because fans think that the characters died when "oh It was only a vision/dream" same with the buffy the vampire slayer thing
Leah Stone That’s fair. Like I said, I wasn’t a big fan of the series - I had just gone to see it with family. But when he snatched the patriarch’s head off, I immediately sat up in my seat. Lol!
Dude your videos (and course) helped guide me for this year's 48 hour film contest.. and I gotta say it's one of my best writing works that I've ever done. The whole thing about finding philosophical conflicts, setting view point v. view point conflicts and these expositions videos. All of it. Just wanted to share my joy in this process along with you. Keep it up dude!
14:08 that narration-and-film sync tho
Wow! Didn't notice that before. Good eye!
Came across your channel recently and now can't stop watching your videos.
With reference to The Godfather montage; that sequence is a parallel edit between a straight forward scene (the baptism) and a montage (the killing). What makes it great (imo) is that one influences our perception of the other, giving us information on Michael's character and pushes the story forward. Just pure masterclass.
Tbh the whole "Avoid dream sequences at all costs" makes sense but at the same time I had to laugh and say "yeah right" because it's like "adaption" when Robert McKee said "God save you for Narration, god help you" no matter what, it will happen for the reason you give or not. We are human, we like to just be told something straight half the time.
I think it doesn’t work in many cases is the more reason to try it make it work... it’s like if they tell you “don’t make horror movies” because most of them are bad. I think the more reason to make them and (try) make quality content in that genre.
@@manart6506 See I saw the line of Good horror and Bad horror, but then it's like the line of Good Comedy and Bad comedy get me. Like "Game Night" and "Girls Trip"
I think it's more you write the story to meet the Theme and such then you go in and you see how the comedy and be filtered organically than say improve.
Stylishing the exposition is what Blake Snyder calls The Pope in The Pool in the Save the Cat! book, that's literally making it interesting with an additional detail instead of just boring exposition. Great video!
I'd like to point out, as the foremost example of excellent expository skills, J.R.R. Tolkien created an entire universe from scratch which had never existed before, and he didn't need a preface or a prologue and we have a hard time identifying any exposition because he couched it so well within the narrative.
Giving information when the audience craves for it is a great advice 👍 Great channel and content as always.
EVERYTIME YOU POST, I get excited to learn more about film making!!!
I've learned more from this video, than my 3 years of film school!!!
One of my favorite bits of exposition, which was a montage, showed the passage of time in Notting Hill. In less than three minutes to Bill Withers' haunting song of loss, "Ain't no Sunshine", you see an entire year pass. More than showing time pass, it shows important events like Honey's breakup with her boyfriend and the birth of a friend's child. It also shows William's loneliness. It gives the audience just enough information without being a massive dump and works to move the story along in the process.
I never thought of it in terms of the exposition having to change something for the characters!! That is very well put, thank you!!
If you think Tony Stark's dream vision is alright, then BvS dream sequence also works because there, Batman sees the danger of superman which also affects his actions which makes him wanting to kill superman. That dream sequence encourages him to prepare to kill superman for which he steals the kryptonite and convert that large chunk into a spear and smoke grenades.
I don’t remember Ultron that much but I remember the dream came out of nowhere (?). Batman’s “dream” has multiple levels: a nightmare about what is going in his head, his motivation; also, a true vision of the future presented by Flash traveling through time to the batcave (tie to Zack Snyder’s JL).
Great advice. And different than what else is out there.
Great info, Tyler! Now I've got to revise my first three chapters! :D
One thing: Star Wars' crawl at the beginning fits with its style of the 1930s movie serials. I think Lucas was capable of feeding us the info in a better way but for that nod to the source of the style he chose.
Love your graphics.
Actually children and teenagers will often attack from exposing emotional pain. And when something is important it will be reinforced explicitly through retelling, think about stories that are told over and over again. It becomes important through reinforcement. Sometimes it's even used to reinforce a traumatic bond with the person saying something with the subtext of 'please feel my pain'. This is what the dialogue is saying in bighero.
I like how in Independence Day the father tells the exposition to his son David. The difference to other scenes where it may sound false is that is how fathers are, David hears this from his dad all the time. Even the dialogue tells us they don’t see each other so much and one might think “well, probably because he keeps telling him this over and over again every time they seen each other”.
Damn, the criticism on dream sequences shocked me - I’ve always found them interesting but I see where you’re coming from and I now understand how they’re generally pointless. However it’s a bit ironic that my favourite movie of the year (Fear street 1666) is almost entirely just a dream sequence
That's a bit different haha
I'm so happy for this. All these resources truly help a lot
Thank you!
Thank you! This was one of the things I struggled with the most!
Thank you very much for making this video.
I knew exposition was important, but these techniques are very helpful in being aware of how to use them in the story.
In The Social Network setup, they could have had trees at the entrance with coloured leaves and on the wall when he walks in, Class of 03 at the top of the Harvard crest.
Dude, these are amazing. Thank you.
What about the dream sequence in shutter island- it is using exposition, but in a very subtle way, so the audience doesn’t realise it’s exposition until the end of the movie, once everything has become clear
I am not entirely sure that the Wind River flashback is so great. It is good in the sense that it reveals to us what really happened, but, unless my memory deceives me, we get that flashback only after all the characters who knew what had happened and all those who could puzzle it all together were already dead. What I mean is, we spend the entire film watching some people desperately trying to figure the crimes out, they fail, but then the film simply decides to deliver us the truth. To me, it doesn't feel earned. To use an analogy, that would be like getting the flashback of the crime being perpetrated in an Agatha Christie story even though Poirot has definitively failed to solve it. See the problem? Again, provided that I am right about the moment when the film decides to give us the flashback and I think I am right since I remember thinking about this upon watching it.
I just saw Wind River. I don't find the flashback that well done either, but for different reasons. When the flashback comes, the (experienced) viewer basically already knows what happened.
They know that her boyfriend was murdered. From this, one can conclude that he was not one of the criminals. One of the security guards has injuries on his face, supposedly from a branch. Of course, a branch, wink, wink.
Then they are still surrounded by the security guards, another clear indication. It also shows how the ranger follows the trail of the snowmobile exactly to the trailers of the security guards. He still warns the policemen. So the viewers and also the protagonists could guess what happened.
If I had written that, I would have left out the flashback. Then the scene in which the ranger exposes the last criminal on the mountain and forces him to confess his crime would also have more meaning. As it is in the movie, he only repeats what every viewer already knows anyway. Without the flashback, he could have told what happened instead. Maybe parts of the flashback could have been included here. He tells what happened and at the same time you see individual snippets of what happened.
Great deconstruction. Thanks
I have to disagree about the dream sequence in Apollo 13. The dream sequence does two important things: it provides an emotional context for Lovell and it provides a visual recognition of what they're trying to do (land on the Moon), which, since they didn't, isn't easy to show.
I disagree basically with every “bad” example provided by this video. This one is an example of why. Not unsurprising as the “bad examples” come from mostly successful movies.
I like they show this. The visual of what he is thinking, what he is losing. It’s great filmmaking.
The only instance I can stand dream sequences, is in the Harry potter Novels and books, due to the connection with Voldemort. Harry doesn't just see them as he sleeps, but while he's awake as well. That's why it is alright for me
I can’t stand people going to “oh, it was a dream, that’s nothing”... but that’s (almost) never the case. At the very minimum dream are a peek into characters subconscious and personality, sometimes it explores some themes in the film and much more in other better films.
Seriously how do channels like these and amazing content have only a few hundred-k subs
But what if the dream sequence motif is written as a character ability as to learn new info from his adversary and/or his dreams are being invaded by an outward force that wants to screw with him?
In my favorite book series, _"Percy Jackson & The Olympians",_ it's a common motif for Percy and other demigods that their dreams are usually visions of events of the past that tie into one of his quests, him spying on the bad guys to recieve vital, or surreal visions composed by Kronos for the purpose of trying to manipulating him.
Realistically, the whole purpose of this is because the books are told from a first-person perspective and this is a way of having it cut to other things to expand the story. And I'm not gonna act like every single one of these dream sequences in the books are vitally important, but there are a few examples I can think of that fit your description of how they display exposition in a not-so-forced way.
In the 2nd book, _The Sea of Monsters,_ Percy has a dream conversation with his friend Grover (because Grover created an empathy link between them). And in this conversation, it establishes a goal, a ticking clock, and an ultimatum.
The goal being that Grover had found the one thing that can save the poisoned tree of Camp Half-Blood before it dies and the barrier it generates disappears.
But Percy and Annabeth have to come get it and save Grover because both he and the object of interest are being held by Polyphemus, who will eventually figure out what Grover is and eat him.
And Grover warns that because of the empathy link between, there is a good chance Percy could die if he gets eaten.
Would you say that _"attacks with exposition"?_
If the information in the story changes the character in some way or affects the narrative. It's good exposition. But if it's just there for the sake of sound cool (Like pointless cameos) it's trash
Thanks dude. Your videos are very helpful and reliable tools to refine my stories
Amazing video! Your channel is helping me a lot! My first screenplay would have a dream scene right int tje beginning, I changed it, because it was very bad and was not moving the story foward.
I’m a big fan of this channel. I have one minor gripe with your analysis of these techniques. The “For every good version of X I can show you 100 bad versions of X” argument isn’t actually useful here. The same things could be said about literally anything (Voice Over). A more helpful way to think of flashbacks, montages etc is to only use them if a story truly calls for it. If it’s called for m, make sure your story is constructed in such a way that it feels natural and necessary.
Great video! Very informative!
I agree with all points, except the dreams sequence. Great video and channel though
Tyler what about the dream sequence in The Big Lebowski?
Certainly unnecessary. Mostly an homage to some Old Hollywood movies and aside from that, it tells us something about the Dude's unconscious and what is on his mind.
Big Lebowski really isnt plot motivated, it's more about creating a mood, and the dream sequence does an incredible job at it. Honestly one of the funniest scenes in one of the funniest movies
There isn’t anything wrong about dream sequences. Just some filmmakers or tv shows abuse them and many times confuse the audience. But is ain’t something to avoid.
I think the dream sequence of Thor in Age of Ultron is an exemption. His vision forced him to know more about the stone, pointing him to actually help Tony complete Vision.
My screenplay originally started with a dream sequence. However, after watching this video, I deleted it and now the story opens with my second scene, and that makes it a lot stronger.
I'm a big fan. Thanks a lot for all your amazing content.
In Age of Ultron, Thor's dream is also usefull, because it tells him about Ragnarok. In the same way, they don't show us Banner's dream, but we assume it has to do with the dangers of the Hulk, which makes him depart from the group and don't come back.
I liked Big Hero 6! Watched it a million times with my kids, but always felt like that part was a little awkward or unwarranted!
Always dropping excellent content. 👏👏👏👏
MadMax 1 intro had the greatest montage of all time.
Disney needs to watch this.
Absolutely
I have a quick question, how many videos will be in this series? I really like it
Love your channel but don’t totally agree regarding montages but I couldn’t agree more re: dream sequences
This was very useful information.
Thanks
Even if the Harley/Joker/acid flashback is useless for storytelling, it's satisfying for the viewer. I wasn't a DC fan or Harley/Joker fan when I was watching Suicide Squad at the theatre, but I really enjoyed this scene and then rewatched it a couple of times on RUclips. Maybe sometimes it is worth putting satisfying for the viewer's interest flashback into a movie? Or maybe that's an exception just for me and nobody really liked it
I've been thinking particularly about the 7 min intro sequences for Final Fantasy 10 and FF12. Though the rest of the narrative in FF12 dragged as I recall.
I do remember these intro feeling engaging and wonder if they are good examples of exposition in grand speculative fiction.
Oh wow ok imma have to fight you on the star wars crawl. But first I do admit that when other movies do something similar like a paragraph of exposition thrown on screen or a voice over explaining the setup then that is exposition done wrong and is an immediate sign that you're about to watch a bad film. However. The crawl wasn't included out of laziness but a nod to the sci-fi weekly serials that inspired the movie itself. The serials knew that people could miss a few episodes and be completely lost the next time they watched. They couldn't go back and watch the episodes like today; they couldn't even watch re-runs because re-runs hadn't been invented yet. The crawl at the beginning of each show was a way to quickly establish what the viewer might have missed. Another reason for these crawls was that the shows were designed for children who have short attention spans and might not remember what happened in last week's episode; the crawl refreshed their memory. The shows found a simple, cost effective, way to address the needs of their audience without having to write in clunky exposition in the story itself which would slow the episode down. It's almost elegant in its efficacy. Star Wars is a love letter to these serials and so the crawl is an homage. The crawl acted as a signal to older viewers that they were about to watch a serial like what they grew up watching. It is necessary for star wars to be what it is, and say what it says, and has become an essential element of a star wars movie. I will die on this hill.
Thank you! That was really helpful.
With the big hero 6 example;
I commented on the last video as well, I think you are missing a very important aspect of the exposition being there for the audience too.
It might have been served to tell it differently, but we also get the contrast of the two characters and how they internalize this imformation.
I've had conversations with people on series stuff like that, and those kinda words sometimes come up, not as a statement to knowledge that both parties might not be aware of, but as a statement of subtext, lining the different and conflicting reactions to said information.
I think subtext is something you are very much not considering?
I dunno, I think all the other videos so far have been great, but your missing some of the fun and understanding of exposition.
Montages are often served to build the fun behind the character, or build it up.
You could look at the montage in Hercules and Captain America as basically the same thing, the Hercules one could just be arguably more fun, but it still serves to put the character in the position of rising past challenges as to not burden the film with them, while also showing everything up to the present so the exposition can continue.
While the captain America one may be less memorable, it does serve a very good purpose to getting him from being a rookie hero to be an established force leading into the next point of conflict, again without burdening the film with a lot of time to just explain that.
Dream sequences; another misunderstanding my opinion.
You are lacking the understanding of the emotion behind the CHARACTER, which aids the story.
The astronaut having a dream and then waking up isn't to tell you something different going to happen in the story, its to tell you that he holds subconscious fears of the thing happening.
The point is to see the SUBCONSIOUS of the character.
Both these things aren't standalone components, and treating them as something with lack of stakes feels incorrect. They serve the greater narrative of the story, and help our understanding, or quickly further the point TO THE NEXT POINT OF EXPOSITION in an entertaining fashion.
I agree, he's laying down the rules very strictly without making examples of justified use as you described.
Captain America fighting Hydra montage was one of the best parts of the film bro! 😂 It was necessary to worldwide audience.
Don't take it personal, I disagree with loads of YT creators.
another great video tyler!
Dream sequences should only be used if the dreams are a part of the story. The best example of this is *TAKE SHELTER.*
I have a question about the flashbacks part. So in the haunting of hill house we are given a lot of flashbacks for the characters. However they are very vague and only add on to the hunger of the audience to find out what really happened on the final night of their stay at hill house. However I’m not sure how much of the flashbacks in the show actually are not necessary and shows what not to do with flashbacks in a story/screenplay.
I wish you could read my short film script. You really helped me 🙌🏻.
Submit it to a short film fest, they see thousands.
What about La La Land's dream sequence? It's theatrical, but is it unnecessary?
I have a sudden and inexplicable need to attack with exposition.
2 questions from a beginner writer
What if you are writing a series instead of a short film and one exposition point doesn't become as relevant until future seasons? The exposition is there and uses for it is used in a practical sense and you hint at that future plot point, but it doesn't' become very plot-relevant until a season after its initial reveal, would that still work?
Next, would an exception to the try no-newspaper rule be to "spice" up a dialogue scene? If a character experienced what happened in the newspapers first hand and uses them to further explain what happened and/or why they do a certain thing or why they feel a certain way about someone, would that still work?
Make your first season arc as complete as it can be. As in, make it so it's possible that the story can end there. You can be prepared to take it further, but never assume you'll get to. If something you have now won't become important until a hypothetical later season, use it in some capacity in the first. Make it seem less relevant, but do use it, as you might not get another chance. Approach every story like it's the last one you'll ever write.
Thank you so much for all of this helpful information!
Does anyone know if flashbacks in the prologue of a story (not for a screenplay but for a game) are equally or more risky than flashbacks during the course of a story? I understand it's very common to do this and somewhat uninspired but I found this to be the easiest and clearest way to deliver the backstory of the world, especially since I'm still a beginner.
Now you know the choices you can take your pick. Exposition is great when done well but is a banana skin just waiting for you to step on it. Thanks for the warning!
I’m here taking seriously notes and suddenly Selena Gomez✨☺️ Love
I'm still confused what you mean by "Attack with Exposition" - is it characters engaged in an argument whilst the info is hidden within it?
Exposition, it's one of things Ive struggled with.
2:01 Writing a thesis is easy
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How do i make a flashback if it is really connected to villains motivations? Tyler, please answer if you can.
About dream sequences: THE REBOOT OF HELLBOY FUCKIN "CLICKBAITED" WITH THE COOLEST SCENES IN THE TRAILER, AND IT TURNED OUT THAT THOSE ENTIRE SHOTS IN THE TRAILER WEREN'T EVEN EXPANDED UPON IN THE MOVIE. THAT WAS ALL THAT WAS. I'M STILL MAD
Ehh I'm not tooooo much in agreement with the dream sequence bit. Take the example of the dream/vision sequence in Final Destination. Although there are technically no stakes in the actual vision, there are stakes for the real world because they are premonitions. So these visions actually affect the character's choices which is why they are able to avoid the disaster. You could argue that it's actually the most important kind of dream sequence there is lol.
thx
14:09 " and two", Nice ahah
Would the scenes in The Black Panther about meeting the ancestors in a spiritual plane count as dream sequence, and if so is it done well?
Woulda liked to see the sopranos when he was talking about dream sequences
What about flashback chapter "The Four Passengers" in the Hateful Eight? Was it done correctly? I've always felt that it was unnecessary and would be better if it was placed at the beginning of the movie to create some suspense.
Vanilla Sky: Exists
Tyler Mowery: Never use dream sequences
Couldn't agree more!!!!
this channel is basically the exposition that attacks me and changes my life.
I loved your livestreams! Hope you could make one about story beats, but I don't think exposition is good, after all, cinema is a visual media
I don’t think it is bad. Having plenty or not having at all is just different ways of telling a story. Like having color or not in a movie. Just a particular way of doing a film.
@@manart6506 maybe
2001: space odyssey has minimum exposition. Pretty weird at any time but that’s the choice. The Big shirt. A lot of exposition but a very entertaining film.
@@manart6506 I am talking about characters saying pure written info instead of it being put together by the audience through scenes and dialogue
Youssef HEGAZY 2 in “the big short” the characters literally stop to talk to the audience about definitions and backstory. Also narrations. It works pretty well.