Voice Overs (Narration) - Things to Consider

Voice-Overs/Narration

What are they?
A EXPLANATORY NARRATION

What areas within media use voice-over?
ADVERTS, TRAILERS, NATURE SHOWS, NEWSREELS
Why use voice-over?
VOICE OF GOD

What type of documentary do you mainly uses voice-over?
EXPOSITORY MODE



Style?

Should your natural voice stay unaffected or affected with your delivery?
It should match the style and theme of your film
Avoid colloquialisms and slang
Don't be over-dramatic or theatrical
Emotion, character, pace, tone are all areas you need to be aware of and take into consideration when recording your voice-over. Are you trying to persuade your audience? Mentally or emotional?

http://vimeo.com/16206759


Points to Remember

• Avoid describing anything that is already evident on screen (name of people that might have already been displayed via a 'title')
• Voice-over content must only act as a driving mechanism for your narrative 
• Choose a style appropriate to your film (fast, slow, authoritative..)
• Timing - Try not to go over 140 words per minute

Voice-Over Task

In groups of 3, we were all given a script, audio track and video clip. The task was to record a voice over to the given video clip. 

First of all, we set up in the voice-over recording booths in Silverstone and created a shared media folder for our group so we all had access to the task. We gathered all the files we needed from the teaching drive into our group folder and set up a new audio track recording in Adobe Audition. Myself and Ben set up the microphone and we as well as Roshana played rock, paper, scissors to decide who voice was going to be used for the voice-over, which turned out to be Ben.

Once we had everything ready to record Ben's voice, me and Roshana left him in the booth alone to reduce noise within the voice-over booth. We all individually listened back to Ben's reading of the script and commented on his tone, pace and delivery. I thought he had a strong voice for the chosen clip but his delivery had a few pauses and mistakes. However, Ben rectified this situation by clicking his fingers after making a mistake, so when we looked back at the audio file to edit it whilst in waveform, it was much easier to notice where he had made his mistakes, thus making the edit an less complex task.

After we had finished recording we went back to the edit labs to edits our voice-over and footage using Audition to edit the footage, voice over and audio track (Subliminal - The path of the least existence) where we cut out all of Ben's pauses and mistakes.  We also added fades and pauses for effect in the voice-over delivery.

This task provided us insight into how to cut down an edit our own voice-over and interview pieces within our documentary and I found it a great way to introduce voice-over within documentary.

Screen Grammar & Composition

Screen Grammar & Composition

Having done A-level Film Studies, I was already familiar and confident with my use screen grammar and composition, but I thought I would make a blog of it as it's always useful to.

Different shot angles

A good video which shows you all the types of shot angles in practice can be found under this web link: 
https://youtu.be/TuGvRu5N9v4

For a more through understanding of when and why to use certain shot types, read this document:
http://adaptation391w.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/files/2012/08/Shot-Terminology-Reduced.pdf

These are other types of shots:

Pan 
This refers to when the camera pivots horizontally. In terms of human action, this can be use to take in the surroundings, or as a surveillance. People associate this camera movement subconsciously with discovering and revealing or assessing, escaping, fearing and also expectation. 

Tilt 
A tilt is a vertical pivot of the camera and holds different connotations to the pan. It can be likened to assessing depth or height and is a great way to establish power dynamics on film e.g. by looking up to or down on someone or something. 

Crane 
This is when the camera travels vertically in parallel with the subject. It gives the sense of traveling with the subject. It can be used when someone sits down or stands up for example. 

Dolly track 
You use a dolly to help your camera travel smoothly horizontally. It's allows the camera to follow the action, away from or towards someone or something without shaking the camera. It can include traveling in front of someone or following them. It can connote meanings such as being able to represent attraction or repulsion at the other end of the spectrum. By combining particular changes in direction you can change the meaning e.g. by advance towards a subject and then retreating from the same subject. Here is my favourite use of a dolly track.
Scorsese's Goodfellas (1990) -  Copacabana Shot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCYwcObxl78

More Screen Grammar

Zoom
Zoom is used to make objects grow bigger or smaller on the screen. Perspective doesn’t change during zooming in and out and so the main effect is that it gives the impression that you are looking more closely at something, or looking at it from a distance in the case of zooming out. 

Cut 
This is a term which refers to a switch between two images which involves a juxtaposition. If you are looking at one thing and are then immediately looking at something else, there are a range of different potential meanings, depending on the context. E.g. it could be that the cut causes the viewer to compare the two shots, or it could be that the cut represents a simple transition from one place to another. 

Montage 
A montage is a series of consecutive shots which suggest some sort of progression and meaning throughout. For the viewer, watching a montage is like taking in a sequence of impressions and drawing some meaning from them; literally building up a picture. See the montage below from filmmaker Brian DePalma in 1983. 

DePalma's ScarFace (1983) - Push It To The Limit (Montage)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqW_5vTBAXw

Punktured Piercing: Interview Transcript for Mouth Interview

Interview Transcript: Julie, Manager @ Punktured Piercing

Ben - Black Font

Julie - Pink Font

Transcript Writers: Roshana, Mariah

Edited by: George

Transcript DOESN'T involve time interval notes

__________________________________________________________________________

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:41:06 

[unnecessary/preparation]

00:53:09 

Ben: Just go over a couple things before we interview if I ask you ask a question is there any chance is there… for example like uhh one of the questions is can you introduce yourself? so if you go like my name is Julie. It will just be better when we’re cutting away you sort add the question in.

Julie: yeah

Ben: so you’d be like oh the mouth to me means blablablablabla

Julie: yeah ...yeah

Ben: is that okay?

Julie: yup

Ben: is that cool? excellent.. awesome. Now

You’re filming? Ready to go? Fantastic

Right, if you could just introduce yourself and what you do here in punktured

Julie: Hello my name is Julie and I am the owner and manager of Punktured body piercing

Ben: Fantastic and uhh how is the mouth involved in your field of work?

Julie: The mouth is very important in our field of work because not only do we use it to communicate to our customers on how to look after their piercing but we also pierce the tongue the lips and the upper lip frenulum and the tongue frenulum, which is the webbing. That was really awful, can I do that again?

Ben: Yeah 

[*George or Ben mumbles*]

Julie: HAHAHAHA… ummm… *sigh*

Ben: Do you want me to ask you the question again? or remind you?

Julie: Yeah…

Ben: yeah ok… so how is the mouth involved in your field of work?

Julie: The mouth is involved in our field of work because we pierce the tongue, and the lips and we can pierce the upper lip frenulum, which is the web of skin, and under ...the web of skin underneath the tongue as well and obviously we use our mouth to communicate to our clients on how to look after their new piercing

Ben: Fantastic. And uhhh what should people take into consideration when getting a mouth piercing?

Julie: When people have a mouth piercing, uhm, sorry can I.. I keep looking up there and you’re not up there. Sorry. Right.

When people consider having a oral piercing they should consider that they can’t smoke, drink alcohol, perform oral sex or kiss for at least 3 weeks after the initial piercing. They must also keep the area clean with salt water at least twice a day for at least 4 months.

Ben: Cool, uhhhh..What happens if you don’t keep it clean? at all?

Julie: Uhh if people don’t keep their fresh oral piercings clean, uhh, infections can occur and scarring, uhh, maybe rejection, uhh, mainly if they get bacteria in there, uhg from knocking it if they kiss or just from not being very clean with it, infection can occur and that’s awful sorry ahahah

I’ll do that once again, what’s the question?

Ben: uhhh it’s uh

Julie: that’s gonna be a lot of editing

Ben: [mumbles] Hahaha

Uh, what would happen if they didn’t keep it clean?

Julie: If people didn’t keep their fresh oral piercings clean, they could bacteria in the site and that could cause infections which could lead to, uhm, scarring, uhm and it would just look ..smelly and green and just horrible. huh

Ben: uhhhh and what does the mouth mean to you?

Julie: Ohhh.. personally the mouth means to me, uhm, lots of opportunities for piercings ahahha, uhh but mainly uhm eating. I like my food. Uhm and taste and things like that and communication. Talking.

Ben: Excellent!

And what are some of the good or bad points about the mouth.. in.. in relation to your work?

Julie: Uhh the positive points of piercing, uh, the mouth, is that there’s lots of, uhh, saliva present which contains lots of enzymes, which help to keep the area clean. And uh so it is self-cleansing cause it is moist, which is uhm a really big bonus cause it helps to keep the, uhm, the the piercing nice and clean and heal ahhh that’s awful.

Can I do that again ahhaha

Sorry

What was the question?

Ben: Good or bad points about the mouth in relation to your work?

Julie: Uh, the good points about having a mouth piercing is because of the saliva, uhh, it’s full of enzymes, which helps to neutralise anything nasty in the, uh, in the mouth. So, on that aspect the piercings tend to heal quickly, uhh also because it is in the middle of the face: people tend to look after it better. Uhh and they keep up with the cleaning so that’s.. good.

But on the negative side, people say they’re not going to smoke or kiss but they usually do and then they sometimes get problems.

Ben: What are the problems they usually get?

Julie: Uhhhh, if they kiss with their new, uh sorry, uhhh. The problems that can happen, sorry I, I was looking around. The problems that can occur when people kiss with a new oral piercing is they could introduce bacteria which could cause an infection and it could sort of move it around a little bit, so it might tear a little bit or just heal a little bit wonky.

Ben: And, uhhhhh, what what are the bad points about the mouth in relation to your field of work?

Julie: Uhh the bad points, it’s, uhh with piercing mouth is uhh some people do kiss and drink alcohol a little bit too early and then some problems occur. Such as if they, uh, if they kiss too early then it could move around the piercing so it might rip a little bit, uh or it might heal wonky or it might introduce bacteria. Uhh and if they drink alcohol, uhh, it causes scarring, which is quite lumpy and.. very unsightly.

Ben: Sorry, sorry for that. I forgot that I asked you that question

Julie: That’s alright *inaudible*

Julie: God I’m really staring at you cause I need to focus on something

ahahhahaha

Ben: And ohh is the mouth important to your profession?

Julie: The mouth is very important to our profession because there are so many oral piercings that you can get. So, uhm, I'd say that a vast majority of our piercings are done around the mouth.

Ben: Do you think we could survive without the mouth? Like in the field of work, for example like the other piercings people can get.

Julie: Uhh in this profession we could survive without oral piercings but they are very popular so it would make quite a dent in our profits uhh so we like piercing the mouth.

Ben: And uhh can you tell us something interesting you know about the mouth?

George: sounds like a personal story (inaudible)

Julie: I do remember years ago I was piercing a transvestite uhh thats irrelevant that sounds really mean. Right, lets start that again. Uh a few years ago I was piercing someones tongue and the tongue was sticking out and I had it in a clamp and then I was just about to put the jewellery in and he started biting me so I had to say you gotta open your mouth you gotta open your mouth you're biting me, it turns out that he wasn’t biting me his dentures had fallen out. haha

Ben: Woah, oh dear. Uhh so why do you think we have a mouth?

Julie: We have mouths so we can pierce them hahaha no I think I guess its just for eating and talking

Ben: Fantastic. And uhh how do you think life would be different if we didn’t have a mouth?

Julie: Oh, you know what sometimes I think it’d be easier if we didn’t have a mouth, cause people wouldn’t gossip uhh they wouldn't tell lies uhh and I think it could be quite interesting.

Ben: Do you personally decorate your mouth?

Julie: Yes I have done I've actually had three piercings along here and I have three in my tongue. but I took them out because i changed careers for a little while, and one day I think I'll put them back in, but theres plenty of time.

Ben: Do you decorate it in any other ways?

Julie: Uhh lipstick when I go out in the evenings but uhh I'm quite lazy so I don't wear it during the day haha.

Ben: Uhhh yea can you tell us any other intersting stories at all just some that pop through your mind?

Julie: Uhh

Ben: Or if you know any interesting facts about the mouth?

Julie: Uhh I’ll tell you some horrible stories. Uhh I have trained as an embalmer and one of the hardest things to do on an embalmed body is to fix the mouth uhh we you have to sew up the mouth so that it doesn't gape open on a dead body. uhh by hiding the stitches under here and going up through the nose uhh and sometimes if they haven't got any teeth you can put a little bit of plastic in to sort of so that the lips don't sink in. but more often than not uh because dead bodies dehydrate very quickly uh one of the first things that decays well it doesn't decay sorry shall i start again?

Do you want all that again? or is this really boring?

Ben: No, its fantastic

Julie: I have also trained as an embalmer and one of the hardest things to fix uh sorry that doesn't look good (inaudible)

Right uhh i have also trained as an embalmer and one of the most difficult things to do on a dead body is to make the mouth look aesthetically pleasing. Uhh because you need to sew up the mouth so that it doesn't gape open by sewing up through the through underneath the chin and up through the nose and trying to hide the stitches. Uhh also uhh if they haven't got any teeth you need to put a mouth formed ring, which is a little bit of uhh plastic to hold the lips out so they don't sink in. But very often as well cause dead bodies dec-um decompose quickly and dehydrate very often the lips will become mummified very quickly, so trying to hide that is quite difficult so sometimes you have to build them up with wax and paint them afterwards and stuff like that but thats quite difficult to do. Was that ok? hahaha

Ben: Absolutely fantastic.

Documentary Plan: 'Mouth' Presentation

HERE IS THE SLIDES & BRIEF SCRIPT ON THE PRESENTATION FOR OUR DOCUMENTARY PLAN ON THE MOUTH

Idea Development - Slide 2 - George

The idea of making a documentary on ‘the mouth’ wasn’t put forward by anyone in our group. But we’re all intrigued upon the idea of the subject because of its great potential and numerous approaches to it. Since the mouth is part of a person, or a place on a person, the idea meets the criteria of the project brief. Now that we had our initial idea, we then had to logistically plan our creative documentary project and develop upon our ideas in terms of how to structure our documentaries from its narrative structure to its and visual aesthetic.

Logistical Planning/Creative Development - Slide 3 - Ben

The first thing we did as a group to develop our ideas was to creating a mind map about the mouth. That way, everyone’s ideas could taken on board and associations could be made between peoples suggestions, sparking further ideas. Practicality of finding participants

Audience and Style - Slide 4 - Mariah

Hiring Crew & Equipment - Slide 5 - Roshana

Hiring crew and equipment is vital in the productions stages, so organization is key. Since our crew would consist of just our group, we have to share the roles between us and exchange them during the production process so everyone would get a chance to play a different role. Equipment we will be using shall be the Sony Z1 to film, shotgun mic with boompole attachment, if needed, for sound. One of the tripods in the Sony Z1 kit and Adobe software on the macs.

-       Difficulty in booking equipment SISO

-       Edit Location/Freedom

Schedule the Shoot - Slide 6 - George

Scheduling the shoot is another important area in the production stage that requires a lot of organization. Sometimes your crew, equipment and cast may not all be available at the same time, so finding a date, time and location that’s suitable for everyone is vital.

We worked out what days of the week each of us were free to work on to film and edit our documentary. We concluded that on Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons would be days we could commit to filming and also having the weekends to work with on things too. We aim to shoot all our footage we need in 3 weeks, but to start on our post-production edit as soon as we get recordings as different interviewees will have different availability. Once we gain consent from our interviewees that we can film them. Being organised with time keeping makes the filming a more efficient process. We must ensure once we’ve secured a date and time to record an interview is to book the equipment via SISO as soon as possible.

Budget/Finance - Slide 7 - Ben

Being students, none of us have much petty cash spare to fund a major production so we had to be realistic in terms of what impacts this could have upon our production. For instance, when choosing our interviewees or locations, they had to be people and places we could have access to at as little expense as possible. Therefore, we knew our locations and interviewees had to be people based on Campus, in Brighton or anywhere, which our group could sensibly reach.

-       Werner stealing equipment

Researching/Sourcing - Slide 8 - Mariah

From our mind map and creative planning, we knew that we would want to interview people who had a profession that involved the mouth in some form. By doing research on the mouth this would gives us a better knowledge on who we could contact for an interview and what sort of questions we could ask them.

-       Definitions of the mouth/dictionary

-       Relate it to Werner

-       Research on interviewees field of work

Scripting/Storyboards/ShotLists - Slide 9 - Roshana

When it comes to scripting and storyboarding, this stage of the production allows you to share your potential vision with others, saves you times and makes the product run more smoothly.

Because of the uncertainty of the interviewees responses, we don’t know what cutaways we’d need beforehand, however with our interviewees, we’d always frame them appropriately with a mid shot to the side of the frame.

Werner didn’t do storyboard...FIND QUOTE

We knew this would need some area of thought but not too much as we didn’t want to come up with our cutaway shot lists before we attained our interview footage. That way we could acquire more cutaways that reflect on the interview dialogue rather than constructing our dialogue around our cutaways.

We have come up with a script for our questions, keeping them open ended so our interviewees could have a more detailed and less limited response to them. The storyboarding of our documentary is important as when it comes to filming our interviewees and cutaways, we will instantly know what shots we need and how to frame them, making the filming more time efficient

Casting - Slide 10 - Ben

As a group, once we came up with our narrative, we looked towards industries and professions that involve the mouth and could provide a good insight and knowledge on the subect.. I contacted many different people from our list, asking if they’d be willing to be involved by being interviewed for our documentary project. We contacted local dentists, make up artists, biologists, tattooists, sommeliers, musicians, bi-linguists and so on. [change to next slide] We wanted as many options as possible so that we could choose who to interview rather than having limitations for our documentary, such as not having enough people to interview. This is because not all who have been contacted will respond, want to be part of the documentary or their availability to meet our deadline.

We have received one response already, confirming their willing participantcy 

Recce - Slide 14 - George

Deciding on locations to shoot in for our documentary is crucial for the mise-en-scene as it signifies aspects of our interviewees. Herzog is known to use the mise-en-scene to reinforce meaning behind what the audience is being told. For example, in Grizzly Man, we would hear Herzog’s narration about the loneliness of living amongst the bears in the wild, it would then cut to a long shot of the Timothy, alone in a vast landscape. Therefore we wanted to base our locations around the places of work of our interviewees. For example we’d have the dentist in a dental practice clinic rather than sitting in park as it would harder for our audience to accept its authenticity of our interviewees.  For our cutaways, we knew they had to be relevant to the piece. Therefore, we decided that we wanted  to get as many cutaways of our interviewees place of work as well as basing it them around the answers they give to our questions. If the interviews cannot take place in the interviewees place of work if then we would have to book out the studio on campus to interview them there instead.

Narrative - Ben + George 

Werner Herzog, now 72, is a German filmmaker. He is seen as great figure in the New German Cinema movement, which originated in the 1960s-80s. He has made both documentary and fiction films, with his documentaries focusing on Bells From The Deep and Grizzly Man are prime examples.

His style of documentary filmmaking consists of expository and participatory mode techniques. Infact, he actually parodies the expository mode by his voice of god narration with his authoritive German accent.

From Herzog’s style to ours, we aim to convey the message that the mouth is a significant part of the body by raising awareness of the functions it has in our life. Therefore our choice of interviewees construct the evidence for our argument, whether this may be a good or bad thing as we no control over what they may say. If we do choose to convey a specific message, we shall use Herzog’s technique of voice of God to persuade our audience towards a certain argument.

From a narrative perspective, we aim to make a short length documentary feature the mouth and the implications it has by being part of our body. We want to engage our audience by making them critically think and be aware of the potential a part of their body has, for good or for bad by selection of whom we interview. Our interviews will consist of asking our interviewees open ended questions to our subject such as how their profession involves the mouth and hopefully then making a personal connection between our subject and interviewee, making our audience reflect upon the information given..

Visually - Mariah + Roshana