VO vs OS vs OC...

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  • VO vs OS vs OC...

    For dialogue specifically, when should VO or OS or OC be used?

  • #2
    VO= voice over - used for narration

    OS= off stage - meaning we hear them but don't see them

    OC= off camera - pretty much the same as OS

    (OS= off screen)

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    • #3
      It's pretty flexible. I've seen (V.O.) used for dialogue from a character speaking on a telephone or radio, or a television that's not onscreen.

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      • #4
        INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY
        Marge and Joe stare at the answering maching. A BEEP, then a YOUNG WOMAN'S breathy voice over the machine:

        YOUNG WOMAN (V.O.)
        Hello? Are you there? It's Eugenie...

        MARGE
        Eugenie?

        JOE
        I swear. I don't who she is.

        YOUNG WOMAN (V.O.)
        I know I shouldn't call at home, it's
        just, God, Joe, I miss your smell.

        Marge quietly turns and walks off into the bedroom. She closes the door shut behind her.

        JOE
        Please, Marge. Come out. I can explain.

        The distinctive SOUND of a shell being jacked into the chamber of a pump shotgun.

        MARGE (O.S.)
        Be right there!

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        • #5
          personally - I don't like to see VO used for anything but a voice over. I think it's easier and better to accurately describe the source of the voice as (on machine) (on radio) (on walkie) (on tape) if you think it's necessary for the reader to be reminded on every line where the voice is coming from.

          OS and OC are interchangeable as far as I can see, but V.O. is something outside the context of what's happening within the scene.

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          • #6
            I seem to recall that Cole and Haag say just the opposite.

            V.O. for telephones, answering machines, mechanically produced sounds, etc.

            O.S. when the person is on set, but not being filmed. The point being, in a shooting script, if you write O.S., the actor should be on set. Not the case with V.O. Typically you wouldn't schedule actors for phone calls if they're not needed in front of camera. The script person will usually read the missing actor's lines. The costs of carrying extra actors adds up pretty quickly. Something to avoid.

            O.C. comes from television. You do see it, but it's not the standard for film.

            But... The fact is, other than production managers, no one really cares about this. Certainly not in a spec script. Not something to lose any sleep over.

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            • #7
              Aw, hell. You made me dig it out.

              From THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO STANDARD SCRIPT FORMATS, Part I: The Screenplay by Cole/Haag...

              Page 75:

              Use of (V.O.) and (O.S.)

              (V.O.) or VOICE OVER means the character is not usually seen on screen but we hear his voice conveyed over some kind of mechanical contrivance such as a telephone or tape recorder. The situation may be one where the character is thinking out loud. We will hear that character's voice on a pre-recorded sound tape while the camera is on the character. When someone is talking over the other end of the telephone, we would not see that person.

              (O.S.) or OFF SCREEN or OFF STAGE means that the character is not seen on the screen but we hear him talking from another room in a house or from some adjacent area. In an (O.S.) situation the character is readily available to be on camera. Both (V.O.) and (O.S.) appear capitalized in parenthesis, abbreviated after the character cue.

              So, there.

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              • #8
                BRADLEY'S VOICE
                I'm talking but you can't see me. I
                could be in another room or on the other
                end of a telephone. I could be on TV or
                the radio. I could also be narrating.
                (beat)
                I could just be thinking out loud. But then
                you could see me.

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                • #9
                  That's an interesting take on it, that V.O. is used for a mechanical device that is still "inside" the actual scene. I thought ALL sound sources (actors talking, TV, whatever) that ocurred on camera were not V.O. material because V.O. indicated a "disembodied" voice - meaning there is no visual source for it in the scene (like a narrator).

                  Hmmm... learn something new every day.

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                  • #10
                    Re: VO vs OS vs OC...

                    Reviving this thread, 'cause I can't find this...

                    Any recommendations for the extension to use when a character is watching herself on T.V.? So she's in the room (say, LAURA) and then watching herself be interviewed -- LAURA (ON TV)?

                    Thank you for any advice!

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                    • #11
                      Re: VO vs OS vs OC...

                      The best way is to indicate somehow that it is all on TV and that she is watching it. The TV screen acts as a framing device. As long as everything is clear, you can just use:

                      SEQUENCE ON TV

                      LAURA
                      I began my career at age nineteen.

                      HOST
                      What kind of training did you have?

                      END SEQUENCE ON TV

                      In some instances it may be convenient just to use (ON TV) as in:

                      LAURA (ON TV)
                      I began my career at age nineteen.


                      The TV sequence is not a true Voice-Over because it is a replay on TV of something that will have to be shot just like a regular scene. It is, however, a Voice-Over when Laura turns away and can still hear herself saying something on TV, as in:

                      Laura turns away from the TV and reaches for her drink.

                      LAURA (V.O.)
                      I began my career at age nineteen.

                      None of this is all that important, as long as you make yourself clear.

                      "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

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                      • #12
                        Re: VO vs OS vs OC...

                        /agrees with ComicBent
                        Ralphy's Fvcking Blog

                        "
                        Ever notice how 'monogamy' rhymes with 'monotony'?" -- Christian Troy

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                        • #13
                          Re: VO vs OS vs OC...

                          Thank you, ComicBent!

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                          • #14
                            Re: VO vs OS vs OC...

                            Originally posted by Tony R View Post
                            /agrees with ComicBent
                            /agrees with Tony.

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                            • #15
                              Re: VO vs OS vs OC...

                              This has been discussed to death, do a forum search and you'll find at least two or three more threads about it.

                              What everybody seems to agree on:
                              (V.O.) is used for voice-overs and narration, i.e. sounds not physically present in the movie's world
                              (O.S.) is used for characters that are on set but not visible, i.e. under a blanket or in a closet or obscured by something, perhaps simply behind or beside the camera.

                              What people disagree about:
                              Whether (O.S.) or (V.O.) should be used for radio, TV, phone conversation etc.

                              Theory #1 (advocated by Cole & Haag et al) is that characters not present in the room should be (V.O.) as they do not have to be on the set at the day of shooting.

                              Theory #2 (advocated by the Nicholls, Michael Hague, et al) is that everything that originates in the actual movie world (such as a TV set, a phone, a rtadio etc) should be (O.S.) whereas (V.O.) is reserved for non-diegetic (google it! ) sounds only.

                              I am a strong fan of theory number two, since there is no telling where to draw the line for when a non-visible character might or might not be summoned to the set.
                              Also, using (O.S.) for diegetic sounds and (V.O.) for non-diegetic sounds gives the actor, director, or any other reader information about what characters in the scene are potentially able to hear — and what is impossible for them to hear because it's just there for the audience, not in the world of the movie.
                              The use of (V.O.) for radio, for example, gives no such information to the reader, as a REPORTER originating from a radio ON the actual set would read exactly the same as a REPORTER that's been added as a narrative layer over the film, one that the character cannot hear because it takes place somewhere else (or even at another time).

                              Again, everyone to their own. But I think it's valuable to know the difference, and to make an active choice to use either of the methods above.

                              /L.A.

                              If a tree falls in the forest and there's nobody there,
                              is it O.S or V.O?

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