Opening narration

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Opening narration

    What does everyone think about opening narration?

    I tend to hate talking through a story,
    but in some instances it seems to work if you need to get a lot in to establish the dramatic context/situation.

    The script I'm working on right now, I have a prologue scene about 3-4 pages,
    then skip ahead in time and had the main character do a 1 paragraph V.O. and go on with the story from there.

    Now I'm thinking I need a more engaging opening,
    something that will establish the dramatic situation more fully, and right away.

    Kinda the same problem they ran into when they re-did the opening for the first LOTR.

    Thoughts?

  • #2
    Re: Opening narration

    There are many great films that open with narration, American Beauty, Jerry Maguire, Sunset Blvd. The way you describe your opening, the VO could work IMO. Of course, it all come down to execution.
    Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

    -Steve Trautmann
    3rd & Fairfax: The WGAW Podcast

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Opening narration

      The opening is one of the places where films tend to get away with narration, although one should be wary that opening with narration tends to be a little red-flag-ish.

      That being said, it does sound like you've got a case of set-up-itis.

      You usually don't need those before-the-story-starts scenes. You usually don't need opening narration. That you have both of them is a warning sign.

      But you know what the bigger warning sign is?

      That you think there might be a problem. Listen to that voice. Start your story faster.

      (As a rule of thumb, I think it's good to start a story as fast as possible. You can always go slower later, but recognize the tendency of writers to over-explain and over-stup up their story.)

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Opening narration

        Or write everything you could possibly want at the start, get past it, and finish the draft. Then come back and you'll probably discover you can cut a lot of what you're agonising about now.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Opening narration

          Originally posted by Ven View Post

          Now I'm thinking I need a more engaging opening,
          something that will establish the dramatic situation more fully, and right away.


          Thoughts?
          this should always be what you want to do. show don't tell. SHOW DON'T TELL!

          the thing is you KNOW this. have more confidence in doing what you know is the better way. don't waste time comparing it to other flicks. go with this gut feeling, trust your instinct because you know what's good.

          Comment


          • #6
            Opening Narration

            Phoenix, Arizona
            Friday, December the Eleventh
            Two forty-three P.M
            An opening narration can be misleading and confuse the audience, (which may be why Hitchcock used it sparingly in his films).
            JEKYLL & CANADA (free .mp4 download @ Vimeo.com)

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Opening Narration

              Originally posted by Fortean View Post
              An opening narration can be misleading and confuse the audience, (which may be why Hitchcock used it sparingly in his films).

              which may work for the movie too, and I'm thinking Usual Suspects V/O style here as well and Fallen which gives away the ending in pretty much the first line of the movie, only people ain't listening
              ________
              Home made vaporizer
              Last edited by Southern_land; 05-13-2011, 07:34 AM.
              I heard the starting gun


              sigpic

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Opening narration

                Originally posted by Ronaldinho View Post
                one should be wary that opening with narration tends to be a little red-flag-ish.
                Nah. You might hear this in old guru books but that's an outdated myth. No one cares if you open with VO as long as it serves the story well.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Opening Narration

                  Originally posted by Fortean View Post
                  An opening narration can be misleading and confuse the audience, (which may be why Hitchcock used it sparingly in his films).
                  For every one film with VO that might "confuse" me, I'll show you ten that confuse me without it. This is about execution and serving the story, period. VO IS FINE, PEOPLE. No one cares. They care about a marketable script they can sell. That's it!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Opening narration

                    When I first opened up Easy A to read it when it first was circling, the entire first page was voice over -- but it was great. And it worked in the movie. I just think it depends on the story, character, situation.
                    Quack.

                    Writer on a cable drama.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Opening narration

                      Yeah, VO and prologues are all well and good if absolutely necessary, but your story better seriously need it. I can think of very few films where it was really necessary to pack in all the expository, world setup stuff in the first couple minutes.

                      Personally, I like spinningdoc's idea - write it with the prologue then read it again and see if you actually need it.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Opening narration

                        Ok, thanks for the replies everyone.

                        I'm pretty certain my prologue is appropriate/necessary for the flow of my story.
                        But I do think I've figured out what I think my problem is.

                        My prologue does not establish the dramatic context of the story.

                        I think about other films with prologues, the ones that come to mind quickly,
                        they do establish the dramatic context within the prologue.
                        LOTR, Braveheart, just to name a couple.

                        Can you guys point out films where the prologue does not establish the dramatic context, it comes later?

                        Cause that's what I'm running into, my prologue is pages 1-4,
                        and it is necessary because there are two narratives in the story,
                        but I'm not getting the dramatic context established until another 5 pages later.

                        So I'm getting antsy about it.

                        Comment

                        Working...
                        X