“In what ways can we experiment with documentary convention and use the voice-over as something more than a purely functional tool?”

The voice-over is a highly functional tool, and that’s what it is used extensively in documentaries. Describing it as functional gives the impression that it is just practical and not appealing. However, the potential of voice-over is often underappreciated as we often notice how picturesque a documentary might be and forget that there was an actual voice-over guiding the viewer along the way. Usually this is the result of good voice actor that allows us to draw focus to overall delivery of the film. Usually when something is seamless is often the result of good talent being used. Sound in film is something that taps into our subconscious and can be manipulated to make us a feel in a variety of ways

Voice-overs can really set the tone for a documentary. During assignment one, we were asked to analyse two different voice-overs from two different documentaries. I chose to compare two World War II documentaries with similar content. Both had middle aged males with a level of celebrity status as BBC type voice actors. However, one was a lot more assertive and aggressive, whilst the other was more story telling and reserved. In terms of visuals and context, it would be easy to say that they were both playing to a similar theme, but their voice-overs just provide an outcome that is very different to each other. This is just one of the ways we can see voice-over as much more than just a tool to deliver a message but can also convey different emotions.

Our final assignment really demonstrated the real potential voice-over had over imagery. In our groups we had to film a scene and create three different voice-overs. My group’s work consisted of a BBC type voice, a son’s message to his mother and an inspirational advertisement for Adidas. These were three completely different voice’s and really drove the direction of the video and not the imagery itself. This project was a fantastic exercise in displaying the power of the voice-over.

Voice-overs not only just deliver context to the audience, but can also set up the tone, the pace and the environment for a documentary. Combined with suitable music, the images we see on screen are more of an accompaniment to the voice-over. It’s like an orchestra, well the voice-over is like the maestro, and the images are the ensemble. Both play an important role, but the voice and sound in general provide a level of immersion that visuals just cannot compare. Voice-overs are often left unappreciated as it is something we do not generally notice because we cannot see it. However having studied this subject, now I shall explore the absolute depths of the potential of voice-over.