I am SO sorry for the crazy subject line. I had NO idea how to explain it. I am a new member, and absolutely 100% not a writer. I have worked in the entertainment industry learning video production and lighting at a young age from my father and have used those skills for the next 4.5+ decades. I have been a HUGE Steven Spielberg fan since I was 11 in 1975 and Robert Zemeckis followed a few years later. After Back to the Future Part III was released in 1990 (part of my favorite trilogy of all time,) I had an idea for a screenplay, but had absolutely NO idea where to start. I jotted down 28 pages worth of notes, storyboards, sketches, etc. It was wasn't until almost 20 years later that I actually thought of a plot that (I think) hasn't been done to death before. There are two terms I am quite unfamiliar with and I am hoping someone can help. 1. I am going to use the 1996 film Twister and Jamie Gertz' character Melissa as an example. She was the inexperienced one of the group. Her questions and and other comments enabled the others to give her some exposition and knowledge so the average person in the audience could understand. Can someone tell me the name for that type of character? 2. I am going to use 1987's Planes, Trains & Automobiles. During Steve Martin's F-bomb tirade at the auto rental counter, obviously there'd be lots of laughter when he all finished. There is a noticeable pause before Edie McClurg's next line. I called it a "laugh delay." But of course that's wrong. Can someone tell me what that type of delay is called, while waiting for the audience to stop laughing? Thanks for any help that can be offered! Mike the non-writer.
That's an expository character. I'm not sure what that pause is called. I think onstage it's called a laugh break. In writing, I always want to call it a caesura. Maybe a dramatic caesura would be a good term for it. I'm not sure if any bigwig has really defined it, though I wouldn't be surprised if someone did. Welcome to the board! Excellent first post.
I usually just go with the newbie. Or noob works too. It's good to have one if you need a lot of things explained. I had never heard of a name for it, but if there is one @Seven Crowns would know it, so I'll accept Expository character.
I'm pretty sure it's right, expository character, that is. I know that's what you call the guy who just keeps explaining the world like he's some sort of Yoda. In this case he's more of a everyman sidekick and makes the main character explain everything for his benefit (and the reader's). More of a Watson sidekick role, because Sherlock Holmes wouldn't be rattling off facts for his own deranged ears. He needs to have a reason to speak. I think it still counts even though this character's causing others to explain it. I mean, it's not like there's one definition for these type of things. There are many theories and labels. Sometimes they contradict each other. But maybe someone here has heard of another term that's a better fit.
This is closely related to having a character your MC can talk to and can reveal their thoughts and feelings, rather than having to do it all through inner monologue. As an example, in the original Coraline (written by Neil Gaiman) there was no Wybie character (friend/neighbor to Coraline), but he was added in the movie version so she could verbalize some of her inner thoughts/feelings, otherwise there would have been no way to get them across in a movie.
I would suggest grabbing Robert McKee's books on Character, Story, and action. These deal with writing in general and screen writing.
