In Defense Of Voiceover Narration

In Defense Of Voiceover Narration

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Many of the most celebrated and highly acclaimed movies of all time make use of voiceover narration; however its use in any capacity is often seen as sloppy or lazy writing by today's movie critics and film executives. How can this be so, when all of these fantastic films most certainly would not be as fantastic without their adept use of voiceover work: Fight Club, A Christmas Story, Forrest Gump, Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Trainspotting, the list goes on and on.

Voiceover narration brings a unique element to almost every film in which it's used well. These elements include:

Enabling Time Ellipses

In The Shawshank Redemption, we follow Tim Robbins's character, Andy Dufresne, over his long imprisonment at Shawshank State Penitentiary. However, the narration is done by "Red", Morgan Freeman's character. The narration serves to smooth over the large gaps in the movie, as it takes place over many, many years. Without it, the movie would require viewers to make large, disorienting leaps on their own.Surely, this movie would not have been nearly as good without voiceover narration.

Conveying Experience and Knowledge

Another element that the voiceover work of The Shawshank Redemption brings to the table is the communication of experience and knowledge - the inner workings of Shawshank Penitentiary are essential to understanding most of the movie, and showing the viewers all of that knowledge simply lacks the elegance with which Red's narration delivers the required knowledge.

Getting Inside the Character's Mind

There are few things more intimate than knowing another person's thoughts. So in a film that thrives on the viewer really getting to know the character, what could be a better tool of acquainting the viewer with the character than revealing the character's thoughts. In Fight Club, you're told about the main character's disturbing and almost insane thoughts, which gives a sense of just how unstable he is. His dissatisfaction with his white collar job is something many people can empathize with, and seeing the main character depart from that life and descend into an underground of crime and violence is a very surreal experience. Living inside the main character's head for the duration of the movie, and the kind of storytelling experience it enabled, absolutely made Fight Club the cult classic that it is.

Voiceover narration has made a number of films the successes they are, so dismissing a film or film maker on the basis of the use of voiceover work is foolish. Voiceover narration can work very well when used properly.


About the Author:
Julie Carruth (http://www.juliesvoiceover.com/) is a well experience voice over artist that offers various voice over services such as voice over narration and commercials as it adds flavor, appeal and depth to the product that is endorsed.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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