In this post, we are looking at various different techniques used in film to help tell the story of the film. These include: Use of Narration, Use of Sound, Camera Angles and Editing styles.
Narration: Narration is used typically to add either a particular characters perception of the film, or to add an outsider's view of the events and portray to the audience the deeper levels of what the characters are thinking/what they've done while we haven't been watching. They can be set at any time during the film e.g. they may be spoken as if the film events have already happened and gives the audience an idea of where the film is going. Equally, narration can be set at the same time as the film and simply helps tell the story as the film goes on. Basically, it voices the events of the film in more depth than what we as the audience can see or hear from only watching the film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1MoVHrxRIA
Through the opening sequence of American Beauty, the main character (Lester Burnham) tells us through narration, the key facts about him and his family that we as the audience need to know. We learn how he is a run down, very low adult man. He has a wife and child, both of them despise him, and how he has ambitions to change this. His narration is set from his future e.g. he is telling the audience about his past as we watch it.
Another, slightly different use of Narration which is used in films can be found in the film "Big Fish". Narration does not necessarily have to occur only at the beginning of the film. Through out the film, narration is used to tell Edward's story's as we watch them.
The narration of these stories also creates a happier feeling to the film and makes it more of a familiar sensation to the audience, how they had parents/relatives telling them story's of their lives similarly to how Edward is telling his story's to his child.
Sound: Sound I feel is the second most important key element in a film, second only to the actual video. If you ever watch a film without sound, the film itself becomes very difficult to understand/follow/keep interest in. There's two types of film sound, there's diegetic and non-diegetic sound, the difference being diegetic sound is the sound within the film that the characters can hear e.g. the sound of a passing car. Non-diegetic is all the sound which the characters cannot hear e.g. background music. Background music is particularly important. The music can express the feelings/mood of the scene far better than the dialogue/facial expressions of the characters. A film without background music makes the film feel strangely empty. It makes it seem bland and uninteresting. There are awkward silences in the sound when you would expect noise. Its what turns an amateur video to a professional masterpiece. Anyone can film a decent sequence of shots on a given location for a set film plot, but its much harder to get the sound just right to compliment those video shots and to make them work together, with the diegetic sound still coming through clear enough to be audible.
An example of how this perfect blend of sound can be seen in almost every film/TV drama. My favourite is from the film Chariots of Fire.
When Britain has just won the race, the sound is perfectly balanced to capture not only the sound of the cheering crowd, but also the footfalls of the runners and the dialogue from the members of the audience. Then this balance is also continued when the narration of the winning runner comes on over the top. Then the main theme music comes on which takes over the main body of sound, but still the sounds of the crowd and commentators continue in the background, adding to create a much more realistic scene and keeping the audience's attention on the film and not creating awkward silences. This all adds up to create the desired feeling of happiness in the audience that Britain has won the Paris Olympics.
Sound can also be used to break the 4th wall. This is the divide between audience and characters. The 4th wall creates a separation from film and audience and keeps the audience separate from the action. When this wall is broken, it means the characters in the film/media being shown have acknowledged the audience watching the film, like what you would find in a pantomime where the characters are constantly aware of the audience watching them. My favourite comes from the TV comedy show "Two and a half men" in the following clip:
At the end of this clip, Alan looks directly into the camera and says "or can we?(!)". This implies he is talking directly to the audience of the show asking if they could indeed vote on who's dinner was the worst. This includes the audience in the action and makes for amusing watching when we are shown that non of this is real (which of course we realized from the beginning, but is amusing how we are reminded about it).
Camera Angles: "The function of camera movement is to assist the story telling. That's all it is. It cannot be there just to demonstrate itself"-Mike Figgis. The use of camera angles is key to showing the viewer what they are required to see, how they are supposed to see (e.g. from who's perspective) and from where. There are a variety of different camera angles which can be used to change the viewers view point of a situation. They allow the producers to control what the audience sees, how much of it they see and for how long. This can all add to create different emotions/feelings in a particular scene. This video I found illustrates this very well (excuse the music). It visually shows different types of camera angles/shots and what their general use is.
Editing Styles: Editing styles are how two different shots merge together in a film. There are different types of 'cuts' for different scenarios. This video I think illustrates this point very well (again, apologies for the music).
These are the most common cuts within a video and are very few other's worth mentioning which are used.
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