Voiceover

Overview

Voiceover is a post‑production narration technique in which a speaker’s voice—unseen on camera—provides exposition, internal monologue, or thematic commentary. It can belong to a character (internal voiceover) or an omniscient narrator, shaping audience perception and supplying context that visuals alone cannot convey.

Historical Usage

Early sound films like Citizen Kane (1941) used voiceover to frame complex narratives. Film noir of the 1940s and 1950s embraced hard‑boiled first‑person voiceover, giving detective protagonists a cynical edge. In modern cinema, voiceover ranges from Diegetic internal monologues (Goodfellas, 1990) to non‑diegetic documentary‑style narration (March of the Penguins, 2005).

Creative Applications

• Character Insight: Reveals unspoken thoughts or backstory.
• World‑Building: Guides viewers through unfamiliar settings.
• Irony and Contrast: Juxtaposes commentary with action for dramatic or comedic effect.

Best practice: integrate voiceover sparingly to avoid redundancy with visuals and dialogue. Overreliance can disengage viewers if it tells rather than shows.

Examples

• The Shawshank Redemption (1994): Morgan Freeman’s narration provides thematic resonance and foreshadowing.
• Adaptation (2002): Nicolas Cage’s self‑referential voiceover blurs film and screenplay boundaries.

See Also

• Dialogue
• Offscreen
• Onscreen