Oliver Turner AS MEDIA: Narration

What is Narration?
Narration is a personal character or non-personal voice that helps develop the storyline and deliver information to the audience. The narrator may be the author as an anonymous voice or as a character seen within the actual film itself.

Narration is comprised of two sectors:
Unrestricted:
We know more, see and hear more, than a character.

Restricted:
We don't know, see or hear more than the main character.

Examples of Narration in film:

Comedy:


In this example narration is used well from the very beginning to attract the audiences attention. The voice heard is of good quality, and we can understand it well in relation to what's going on in the scene. The accent also gives us an insight into where this characters is from and hints upon the entire genre. This method also shows us the main characters perspectives and his outlook on what is wrong or right.
Horror:

Action:

The narration is used mainly towards the end of the clip here which has been used to summarize the scene that has just occurred and tell the audience more information about the characters themselves. The cockney accent is also used to give characters more depth and also to make them more believable as opposed to a foreign/outer London accent.
Drama:


In the Shaw shank redemption we hear the voice of Morgan Freeman. His voice is ideal for the style of film as his voice matches this rather colloquial and ordinary working mans voice and tells us he is of low class. The actor has obviously played up to the role which allows us to develop an understanding of what makes the voice-over so appealing in this clip. Perhaps one of the main things is the loudness and tempo of the narration over the video which isn't too distracting and fits in well with what's going on. In addition, through Narration we get a better understanding of what's going on instead of just being told indirectly which can be at times hard to follow.

Romance:

The narration we hear here is the sound of the main character who is using non diegetic narration to accompany the action on screen. This is used for effect as to give us an insight into what the character is actually saying; giving us a clear perspective of the character. His voice is somewhat upbeat and expressive but also seemingly melancholic which adds a certain theme or personality to Oliver Tate.

What is required for a good piece of film narration?
A film must consider the narration in advance before actually filming a scene. It is important that the voice we hear is actually relevant in terms of context and also things like accent which could make the film/characters more believable. The narration must also be clear and crisp to hear and must not be of poor quality as this wouldn't be as professional as audio that has been recorded in a studio or with audio equipment.

Is narration something that you are contemplating for your own coursework?
I actually might consider using narration in my own work as it can really help fill in the audience with what is actually happening, especially if the opening sequence is rather abstract or hard to understand on its own. However, I must remind myself that the people I am using for the opening sequence aren't real actors and to record audio could be a risk and jeopardise the entire sequence. Ultimately, it depends whether the video I have filmed would be relevant for the scene as I am planning to do a chase/action scene.