one picture is worth a thousand words

A single picture can express something more clearly, vividly, or succinctly than a large amount of words can. I know I'm doing a bad job of capturing the scene by describing it, so just look at this picture from their website—one picture is worth a thousand words, isn't it? You try to have characters give too much exposition. Remember, one picture is worth a thousand words, so use the images in your film to tell its story as much as possible.

A graphic illustration conveys a stronger message than words, as in The book jacket is a big selling point-one picture is worth a thousand words. This saying was invented by an advertising executive, Fred R. Barnard. To promote his agency's ads he took out an ad in Printer's Ink in 1921 with the headline "One Look Is Worth a Thousand Words" and attributed it to an ancient Japanese philosopher. Six years later he changed it to "Chinese Proverb: One Picture Is Worth Ten Thousand Words," illustrated with some Chinese characters. The attribution in both was invented; Barnard simply believed an Asian origin would give it more credibility.

A graphic illustration communicates more meaning than a verbal one. In the December 8, 1921, issue of Printers’ Ink Fred R. Barnard wrote, “One look is worth a thousand words.” Six years later (March 10, 1927) he changed it to “One picture is worth a thousand words,” and, so that it would be taken seriously, said it was an ancient Chinese proverb. Since then other writers have indeed cited a Chinese proverb that holds one picture to be worth ten thousand words, but the evidence for this origin (since none cites a source) is obscure. Nevertheless, the statement became a cliché.