History Main / ProsceniumReveal

** "Goodbye Stranger" has a nasty one where a {{brainwashed}} Castiel is shown apparently killing Dean Winchester, which doesn't get any less shocking after the ProsceniumReveal when we see he's in a warehouse [[ExpendableClone full of murdered Dean simulations]].

** In the pre-title sequence of "Living Witness" Voyager's crew have turned evil, wearing black gloves and raining down destruction on helpless planets, before everything freezes and it's revealed we're watching a historical 'reconstruction' of events from 700 years in the future. This is {{Book End}}ed with another ProsceniumReveal showing that the events of the entire episode were being simulated by another group of historians even further in the future.

* ''Film/MoulinRouge'' begins with the Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox logo shown on a stage (with the {{Fanfare}} performed by the pit orchestra below), [[BookEnds and ends with the credits scrolling by on that same stage.]]

* Used as BookEnds in Creator/GeneWilder's ''Haunted Honeymoon'': once to reveal that its BatmanColdOpen is actually a radio mystery-theater show which the film's main characters are performing live, and again to reveal that the ''entire movie'' was one.

* In ''Film/{{Blackbird}}'', after Marshall offers to take Randy to the theatre audition, the scene cuts to him menacing and sexually assaulting Randy. A moment later it is revealed that this is a scene they are acting out on the stage.

* In VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony, it turns out that [[spoiler:everything was inside of a reality show, and all of the characters' personalities and backstories were changed to fit their fictional parts.]]

** Hale is driving a sailboat through the desert while acting as TheNarrator, only for a RevealShot to show he's being followed by camera cars filming his live report from Hagreb where he's going to interview King Awad.

* ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'': The final mission of the "Save Shaundi" ending has this happen, with the Boss and his homies going to Mars to take out Killbane turning out to be them filming a ''Gangstas in Space!'' movie. Given the utter insanity of the series, the fact the last mission takes place on Mars seems like it would have been completely possible, if everyone's BadBadActing didn't give it away.
* {{Creator/Sierra}} went through a phase in the late '80s where they did this.

* In VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony, it turns out that [[spoiler:everything was inside of a reality show, and all of the characters personalities and backstories were changed to fit their fictional parts.]]

* ''Webcomic/BronzeSkinInc'':The pilot episode begins with a flashback of how the company made a deal with the giantesses three years earlier. This is revealed to be a video shown to new employees.

[[folder: Visual Novels]]

* When Johnny Cage is introduced in ''Film/MortalKombat'', he's seen entering a warehouse, is approached by several sinister looking men, and they engage in a fight. He downs all of them and while fighting the last one, punches him several times. After being hit, the other man reacts as though nothing has happened. An irritated Cage looks at him and says "This is where you fall down." The man then falls back very unconvincingly. Cage turns around and yells "Where do you get these guys?" It's then revealed that he's on a movie set, and the fight was a scene being filmed.

* One ''Comicbook/{{Radioactive Man}}'' story opens with a splash panel of Radioactive Man fighting a giant mutated president. Turning the page shows [[{{Secret Identity}} Claude Kane]] reading that very thing in a comic and wondering where comic writers come up with their ideas - after all, the president didn't grow nearly that big in reality.

* ''Fanfic/TheDisneyLoops'': Loop 10.10, a Disney/MLP Loop (which was not compiled in the actual MLP compilation), appears to be featuring Disney characters against the Conversion Bureau... then the last scene break is followed by "And cut! Print! That's a wrap! Good job everyone!", revealing that it wasn't the real Bureau at all - Mickey and Celestia were just starring in a ''movie'' based on that setting.

* ''Film/CharliesAngels2000'' does this twice with Alex's boyfriend - once when he is rehearsing a scene from his latest movie with her, and once when he is actually filming it.

* ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'' actually starts out with a highly cryptic VillainOpeningScene, and the next scene is a heated dogfight between an X-Wing and a TIE fighter -

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' begins with a Maroon Cartoon called "Something's Cookin'," starring Roger Rabbit and Baby Herman. Just after a refrigerator is dropped on Roger's head, the door opens and Roger is shown with birds circling his head, prompting a human director to shout "Cut!" and chew out Roger because he's supposed to see stars, not birds. This establishes that Roger and Baby Herman are AnimatedActors and are working on a live-action soundstage, thus setting up the concept of humans and toons living in the same world.

* In VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony, it turns out that [[spoiler:everything was inside of a reality show, and all of the characters personalities and backstories were changed to fit their fictional parts. Needless to say, most of the fans weren't impressed.]]

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Issue 32 opens with Commander Uvo bombing the Empire State building and laughing maniacally as he flies over New York City, then on the next page the view of his ship zooms out to show that the burning New York city blocks are a scale model rather than the whole city with a chunk of model Paris and London visible while Uvo's second in command talks about what a smart way this is for practicing their attack on the real cities.

** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E23AWorldOfDifference A World of Difference]]", the Proscenium Reveal came as a surprise to the ''protagonist'' Arthur Curtis --he'd been going about his life, then suddenly found himself on a set as an actor named Gerald Raigan 'playing' himself. The episode dealt with his attempts to first understand what had happened to him, then to get back to a life he found preferable to the one he'd been thrust into.

** [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] by Foggy Nelson in "Regrets Only," when he, Matt and Karen are on the elevator while heading to Frank Castle's room at the hospital.

* The ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' episode "The San Dominick" opens with NaiveNewcomer Bishop searching through a ship for an escaped suspect. She corners him, but then another bad guy grabs her and puts a knife to her throat. . .at which point, the first one removes his mask to reveal that he's ''Gibbs'', and that this has been a training session.

* One of the film adaptations of the Spanish ballet ''El Amor Brujo'' opens with the camera panning from the ceiling of the studio down to the set. At the end, the camera pans up to the ceiling again. (Other than that, the movie never acknowledges its fictionality.)