Voice-over narration

After releasing my initial sketch of my opening film sequence my teacher, Miss Hitchins, advised me to get rid of the dialogue in the interrogation part of the sequence because it was quiet and muffled. I have to say I agree with this comment because I know it was difficult to hear what was being said because the room we were filming in was quite echoey meaning the sound was muflled. I would like to replace the muffled ambient sound with a voice over narration of my own. In this post I will research existing texts containing voice-overs so I can apply the knowledge to my own work.

Voice-over is a production technique where a character is narrating over the clip. This technique is done in a lot of British dramas as it creates a different perspective and can make things more easy to understand. It makes viewers think about how the story has developed and what it is like to have this different view other than seeing it visually. The purpose is to understand the story and moods better and understand the thoughts or feelings of the narrator and how important the story is.

One example of a British film that contains a voice over narration is Trainspotting which was used really effectively as it helps the audience gain an insight into the characters mind so they know how he is feeling. One of the most famous voice-over sequences is the first scene of this film, Renton- the main character- begins and ends the monologue with' "Choose life," which appears as a sort of message or lesson to the audience. This is good because the audience imediately knows what the moral or lesson of this narrative will be and so therefore it will be a lot easier for them to understand the text.

 

 

Another British drama film that has a voiceover is, 'A Clockwork Orange' which is one of the most successful British Drama films ever to be made. All of Alex's Voice-overs have an expository function. A First-person Voice-over automatically focuses attention on the presence of the speaker. Even those Voice-overs that have other functions provide basic information about setting and action. Alex's voice is essential to his character. Through the voice over he reveals his mind- what he's thinking and feeling, his perceptions and judgments about what he experiences. His creative use of slang in this speach demonstrates his wit and imagination.  

When I come to recording my own voice-over I will now know what I must include in order for it to be effective. I will need to reveal the characters thoughts and opinions about the situation to assure that the audience know how he feels towards the criminals. I also found that when speaking over the action the tone of voice is very stern and consistant which is something I will try and use to connote the seriouse expression the character has for the situation.