4 Rules for Writing NARRATION
Video Overview & Insights
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“Make eggs”.
Is she some sort of chicken hybrid, laying eggs?
Low IQ phrases like this are indicative of lousy grammar. I just can’t continue listening.
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This is easily the best youtube on narration I've seen. Quality. Thankyou!
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haha, totally understood narration by the end of the video.
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Currently writing a neo noir short. And I'm debating to add narration or not. I think the short works both ways.
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First off I love your videos, they're very informative and entertaining. But it feels like you have a personal beef with David Mamet. Every time you mention him it seems like you say, "I don't really agree with the guy, but he has one or two things right," and then you proceed to agree with everything he says. It's not like David Mamet says "anyone who uses narration is a hack that shouldn't be writing films." He simply says don't do it, and even though he says don't do it, he's not saying don't do it ever. He is giving advice to less experienced people, because when you are good enough to do narration right you are also good enough to break the rules. Literally every rules in storytelling can be broken, but they are there to guide people who need guidance. If you know enough to know how to break the rules in the right way then you know enough to know that you can break the rules.
What I got from watching his Masterclass was he is basically saying don't use narration, exposition, or dialogue to info dump on your audience; only use those things to entertain your audience.
And to book end the compliment sandwich, holy crap you do such a good job of packing a lot of information into short videos! so many videos are 30-60 minutes long and they say a whole lot of nothing. I watch one of your 10 minute videos and I feel like I took a whole crash course.
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Whatever it is good or bad. A theatre full of different set of audience and their understanding capabilities. Somehow filmmakers have to know make simple narration....
I'm Kent Lamm and I've been making short films for over 20 years, starting at age 11. I directed my first feature film, Bad is Bad, in 2010. Made for only $6,000, the film went on to reach over 7 million views and garner critical acclaim. More recently, my short film, Will "The Machine", screened and won awards at film festivals around the world. Released online in 2019, it reached over 3 million views. As an editor, I’ve done work for clients such as Apple, Netflix, and Beats by Dre.
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Whatever something with VO that's honestly already big Wrong narration itself...... I don't see any good bad at your example.
00:00 Bad vs. Good Narration
02:16 David Mamet on Narration in film
03:12 Additive vs Redundant
05:01 Reveal Character
You missed a good example of narration, which is Mr. Robot. It’s presented as monologue from the protagonist to the viewer, but it serves the added purpose of narration. It also helps solidify the fact that the protagonist is an unreliable narrator, which is important to the show in many ways.
07:35 Artlist's New Voiceover Tool
09:19 Pacing & Structure
GH5 S
10:15 Voice
11:37 Last Thoughts
Whoa whoever wrote the “good” narration did an awesome job. I’m trying my best to get to that level of storytelling
More User Perspectives
The first narration could belong to a book, its too descriptive for a movie
@s04p11"allure"
@theastuteanglerThe voiceover Ai on artlist seems crazy.
@nnannaprinceKent i love you
@FluxMediaUKI also think there's something to be said for diagetic vs non-diagetic narration. In good fellas you find that SPOILER henry has been testifying from the stand, and the whole movie his testimony. In Forrest Gump early on you see that the narration is him speaking to various people at the bus stop. Whereas in something like Mean Girls its the main characters thoughts and it never mergers into the story itself but remains an inner monologue.
@ghoum56I'm curious what your thoughts are on the narration in Fincher's "The Killer".
@FrancescoBertoluciI LOVE the narration in Blade Runner (1982). But I need two hours to explain that.
And narration in Apocalypse Now is gold. Dune (1984) has the best narration example there is. It's pure dream!
My cats would be eating that egg.
@howkelSorry, both sucked.
@C3of4I know I am gonna watch Watchmen and The Batman in a different way now, just to see if it´s valid or non-valid narration. even though it is based of the comics.
@JoakimcomicscenterNah first narration was far funnier....it was dry humor....so that means bad narration is predicted on context or genre.
@Lilyanddrew1As a fellow Virginian, Virginia is for film lovers!
@julianbussellsI have zero talent in film making. So, if I had millions of dollars, I would be a producer like Harvey Weinstein. 😅
@Bat_BoyAnother example: Hit Man on Netflix. And that was an excellent movie. That narration worked.
@Bat_BoyJust like the idea that even the greatest movies of all time could cut the run time down at least a little, I think Goodfellas, Forrest Gump, Shawshank, and even A Clockwork Orange might be just as good - or maybe even better - without narration. Still waiting for some enterprising you tuber to strip out the narration and post the movie. It would be an interesting watch, at the very least.
@MakeArtHurtYOU CHANGED THE THUMBNAIL...
@diet-wafflesI get why filmmakers do it, but personally I’d never use narration
@KuruMeatSolid video! A lot of things I honestly haven’t put too much thought into when it comes to narration
@baxslattonLove your sample! But I loved Ford's narration. Gave it a real film noir feel. I should find the directors cut and see the difference.
@jonlittle5032I'm currently writing two separate film noir stories and I decided to make one of them without narration while keeping all scenes from the main character's POV so this explanation was really helpful for me to improve both my stories. Thank you so much for this.
@a.m._productionzboo to ai generated art and boo to advertising that shit too
@prettiestdunceI'm so glad you mentioned Blade Runner. That was the movie I thought about when you showed your own example of "bad narration". The narration in BR was so bad, it was especially distracting at the end when Roy Batty was dying. When Roy Batty said, "Time to die", and they cut to Deckard's narration, it completely ruined the moment. Without the narration, I felt sympathy for Batty because I wasn't listening to the useless narration.
@AllThingsFilm1Is that shirt a nod to Hawthorne Heights “Ohio is for Lovers”? Love it!
@TheStorytellingDadHey what would happen if you removed the middle portrait from the background? I keep getting a feeling that it's messing with your head, inersecting with, distracting me. Maybe move two outer portraits inside a bit.. not sure.
@ЮЮЗ-ю4иTHis video is gold i'm inspired to make vlog with good narration amd a visual focus
@marcospizarro7890Movies with great narration are often based on books
@BitcoinMotoristmore eggs, some wood filler and maybe a new set of hinges.
@howiemccormickWhat exactly is personality of a character?
@r.lsteve1475Loved this! Narration is so easy to get wrong. There are a few movies that have got it spot on. My favourites are The Giver and Spirit
@magpiesmoviesAbsolutely loved it: the content per minute, the pro/con argument, the clips, the short film demonstration, the edits, the larger convention wisdom vs. the individual outlier cases, and yes the final joke too.
@troyc4487Loving the morning haze in the kitchen. Great dramatic effect, and also not unlike my kitchen in the mornings when sausage gets way overcooked.
Nice video!
For the short film I’m working to get going now, it is a film noir with voice over. My inspiration was Marvel’s Jessica Jones where the narration is internalized insight. You get inside the character’s head to get the underlying conflicts and fears that they wouldn’t vocalize to another person. This is why the V.O. In Blade Runner has been a bit debatable. A lot of it is just expository with not enough insight from Rick Deckard. I don’t wholly hate that narration, but it has its problems as it’s utilitarian instead of additive. However, many accounts are not that Ford sabotaged it, but that it was a rushed process with poor direction.
@NickMichalakLOL! 2 great endings - you're spoiling us :)
@PaulOfThebesMCI think the first example hits "pope in the pool" levels of distraction while narrative dumping. A little cringe but also really amusing at the same time. Second was definitely an improvement tho xD
@IanLetarte