Naration
Narration
What is Narration?
Narration is the act of telling a story which is usually in a chronological order therefore making up a scary ghost story and relating it around a camp fire is an act of narration. Places where you can find narration are generally in songs where the singer is telling a story on how something has happened like how he lost his guitar which will be played over a video that has been created. Another way of seeing narration is in kids TV programs where there will be a narrator telling the story like their reading it out loud rather than having character talk and using dialogue.
There are three types of narration that can be used which are:
First person - narrator is an "I" or "we" who speaks from her/his subject position. That narrator is usually a character in the story who interacts with other characters. We see these things from the narrators perspective therefore we know everything the narrator knows as the film goes on.
What is Narration?
Narration is the act of telling a story which is usually in a chronological order therefore making up a scary ghost story and relating it around a camp fire is an act of narration. Places where you can find narration are generally in songs where the singer is telling a story on how something has happened like how he lost his guitar which will be played over a video that has been created. Another way of seeing narration is in kids TV programs where there will be a narrator telling the story like their reading it out loud rather than having character talk and using dialogue.
There are three types of narration that can be used which are:
First person - narrator is an "I" or "we" who speaks from her/his subject position. That narrator is usually a character in the story who interacts with other characters. We see these things from the narrators perspective therefore we know everything the narrator knows as the film goes on.
Second person - narrator speaks in "you" therefore they try to make you feel like you are the character they are talking about to make you feel the emotions of the character. This is an extremely rare case in American literature,
Third person - is where the narrator is not a figure in the story, but an "observer" who is outside the action being described. A third-person narrator might be able to tell what all the characters are thinking but that is not always the case. Third-person narration may also be focused through a particular character meaning that the narrator tells us how that character sees the world but can't read the mind of all the characters this way.
The following definitions are used when narrating:
Narrative point of view: the perspective (or type of personal or non-personal "lens") through which a story is communicated
Narrative voice: the format (or type presentational form) through which a story is communicated
Narrative time: the grammatical placement of the story's time-frame in the past, the present, or the future
Give one example of the use of narration in each of the following genres;
Comedy - one film that you can watch to see that narration is used and in an effective way is Forest Gump, in the opening scene the narrator sets the story clearly and they basically sum up what has happened therefore it can avoid confusion in what is happening so far therefore the viewer will instantly know whats happening and who the characters are. Voice overs in comedy are very effective because if a viewer doesn't understand the whole meaning of the humor then the narrator can make sure everything is clear which is basically done through a summary so it doesn't take up to much time but is effective.
Action - one film that you can watch to see that narration is used and in an effective way is Skyfall which is because they use it in a fast and quick way to build up suspension therefore it makes the audience ask questions with what is going to happen next so they are constantly on the edge of their seat due to the narrator hinting stuff but letting them fins out the full story by watching the whole film. Voice overs in action films are effective because they explain the reasons to why the action is happening and it keeps the audience entertained even more.
Horror - the narration used in horror films is completely different compared the other genres because the narration needs to be spooky and scary but also use the other facts like keeping the audience up to date with whats happening. Therefore it generally has a mature tone to create the scare factor so it fits well with the rest of the film. Voice overs in horror are effective because they can give the film a more scary aspect almost as if they were a ghost so they can create more horror and make it more entertain-able for the audience and viewers.
Drama - the narration that is used in drama can vary a lot due to the story line being able to have such a wide variety therefore the narration can include any sort of emotion like a mature, funny or even sad tone dependent on the drama. One film that uses narration is Annie Hall which is used to explain and show the relationships that have been made in the film therefore once again it is effective because it prevents confusion and sums things up to the audience just in case they misunderstood part of the film.
Romance - one example of film that has included narration is the fault in our stars which uses narration in an effective way because the narrator explains the emotions in the film between the couples. An emotional effect will be created on the audience because the narrator sums up the romance but in this particular film it ends up in a sad way. Narration in a romance film is effective because the narrator expresses the emotions of the couple making it easier for the audience if they didn't realize how the character was feeling.
What is required for a good piece of film narration?
To have a good piece of film narration what you need is firstly plan what you are going to do therefore the narration needs to fit in with the genre of the film so if its a horror film you aren't going to want to create humour, it needs to be specific to your film. Secondly you need to listen to the tone of voice your using, for example if your doing a horror film you need to have a spooky and scary tone so it fits to the film and works well. After that you need to find out your target audience so you know the word structure you can use because the audience need to understand it so if its a child's book you need to use basic words to prevent confusion. Another thing is timing it needs to fit in time with the actual film so what the nature says needs to be in time with the film not two minutes after it happened. The speed of your voice needs to be natural paced and not fast so they audience can hear everything clearly and finally no back round noise makes it more professional and makes the narrators voice more clear.
Is narration something our contemplating on using in your work?
Personally I think narration can only be used in specific films therefore I wont be using it in my coursework because in the film we have planned to do suspension needs to be created and music in the background suits that more than although it is a very effective technique to use we will not be using it for our opening two minutes.
Third person - is where the narrator is not a figure in the story, but an "observer" who is outside the action being described. A third-person narrator might be able to tell what all the characters are thinking but that is not always the case. Third-person narration may also be focused through a particular character meaning that the narrator tells us how that character sees the world but can't read the mind of all the characters this way.
The following definitions are used when narrating:
Narrative point of view: the perspective (or type of personal or non-personal "lens") through which a story is communicated
Narrative voice: the format (or type presentational form) through which a story is communicated
Narrative time: the grammatical placement of the story's time-frame in the past, the present, or the future
Give one example of the use of narration in each of the following genres;
Comedy - one film that you can watch to see that narration is used and in an effective way is Forest Gump, in the opening scene the narrator sets the story clearly and they basically sum up what has happened therefore it can avoid confusion in what is happening so far therefore the viewer will instantly know whats happening and who the characters are. Voice overs in comedy are very effective because if a viewer doesn't understand the whole meaning of the humor then the narrator can make sure everything is clear which is basically done through a summary so it doesn't take up to much time but is effective.
Action - one film that you can watch to see that narration is used and in an effective way is Skyfall which is because they use it in a fast and quick way to build up suspension therefore it makes the audience ask questions with what is going to happen next so they are constantly on the edge of their seat due to the narrator hinting stuff but letting them fins out the full story by watching the whole film. Voice overs in action films are effective because they explain the reasons to why the action is happening and it keeps the audience entertained even more.
Horror - the narration used in horror films is completely different compared the other genres because the narration needs to be spooky and scary but also use the other facts like keeping the audience up to date with whats happening. Therefore it generally has a mature tone to create the scare factor so it fits well with the rest of the film. Voice overs in horror are effective because they can give the film a more scary aspect almost as if they were a ghost so they can create more horror and make it more entertain-able for the audience and viewers.
Drama - the narration that is used in drama can vary a lot due to the story line being able to have such a wide variety therefore the narration can include any sort of emotion like a mature, funny or even sad tone dependent on the drama. One film that uses narration is Annie Hall which is used to explain and show the relationships that have been made in the film therefore once again it is effective because it prevents confusion and sums things up to the audience just in case they misunderstood part of the film.
Romance - one example of film that has included narration is the fault in our stars which uses narration in an effective way because the narrator explains the emotions in the film between the couples. An emotional effect will be created on the audience because the narrator sums up the romance but in this particular film it ends up in a sad way. Narration in a romance film is effective because the narrator expresses the emotions of the couple making it easier for the audience if they didn't realize how the character was feeling.
What is required for a good piece of film narration?
To have a good piece of film narration what you need is firstly plan what you are going to do therefore the narration needs to fit in with the genre of the film so if its a horror film you aren't going to want to create humour, it needs to be specific to your film. Secondly you need to listen to the tone of voice your using, for example if your doing a horror film you need to have a spooky and scary tone so it fits to the film and works well. After that you need to find out your target audience so you know the word structure you can use because the audience need to understand it so if its a child's book you need to use basic words to prevent confusion. Another thing is timing it needs to fit in time with the actual film so what the nature says needs to be in time with the film not two minutes after it happened. The speed of your voice needs to be natural paced and not fast so they audience can hear everything clearly and finally no back round noise makes it more professional and makes the narrators voice more clear.
Is narration something our contemplating on using in your work?
Personally I think narration can only be used in specific films therefore I wont be using it in my coursework because in the film we have planned to do suspension needs to be created and music in the background suits that more than although it is a very effective technique to use we will not be using it for our opening two minutes.
Comments
Post a Comment