narration
Commentary over footage
Narration is the act of telling a story or giving an account of events.
In film and audiobooks, narration refers specifically to spoken commentary accompanying the action: The documentary featured narration by David Attenborough.
A narration can also mean the account itself—the story as told, with its particular perspective and style.
Off-screen spoken commentary
- screenplayFilm's written blueprint
- montageAssembled sequence of images
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
- flashbackInvoluntary past memory
flashforward · cross-cutting · off-screen · diegetic · non-diegetic · epilogue · prologue · omniscient
"I" as narrator
- third-personGrammatical category for others
- omniscientUnlimited in awareness
- limitedRestricted in extent
- unreliableNot consistently performing
point-of-view · focalization · subjective · objective · stream-of-consciousness · protagonist · viewpoint · participant
Spoken or written narrative
- sagaExtended heroic narrative
- anecdoteBrief account of incident
- chronicleOrdered historical record
- plotStoryline or land parcel
yarn · recital · folklore · fable · myth · legend · epic · ballad
Off-screen spoken commentary
- footageRecorded video material
- scriptWritten words for performance
- archivalOf preserved documents
- interviewsFormal evaluative conversations
Attenborough · realism · educational · informative · ethnographic · wildlife · historical · sociocultural
Character's past narrative
- contextCircumstances shaping meaning
- settingContext of events
- prologueIntroductory literary section
- informationKnowledge about something
world-building · infodump · flashback · revelation · foreshadowing · setup · premise · introduction
Rate of movement
- toneQuality of sound
- suspenseAnxious uncertainty about outcomes
- foreshadowingHinting at later events
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
imagery · repetition · climax · denouement · tension · mood · symbolism · motif
One who attends aurally
- readerOne who peruses text
- performanceCarrying out a task
- recordingCaptured audio or video
- chapterDivision of a book
intonation · cadence · inflection · diction · enunciation · pacing · earphones · playback
Real-time event narration
- sportscasterBroadcasts athletic events
- announcerOne who introduces programs
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- observationAttentive watching or remark
blow-by-blow · live · real-time · broadcast · simulcast · description · recap · highlights
Dramatic speech to oneself
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- asideBrief theatrical digression
- chorusSingers performing together
- prologueIntroductory literary section
epilogue · dialogue · mime · tableau · Brechtian · fourth-wall · declamation · recitation
voice-over
Off-screen spoken commentary
- screenplayFilm's written blueprint
- montageAssembled sequence of images
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
flashback · flashforward · cross-cutting · off-screen · diegetic · non-diegetic · epilogue · prologue · omniscient · unreliable
first-person
"I" as narrator
- third-personGrammatical category for others
- omniscientUnlimited in awareness
- limitedRestricted in extent
unreliable · point-of-view · focalization · subjective · objective · stream-of-consciousness · protagonist · viewpoint · participant · nonparticipant
tale
Spoken or written narrative
plot · yarn · recital · folklore · fable · myth · legend · epic · ballad · lore
voice-over
Off-screen spoken commentary
Attenborough · interviews · realism · educational · informative · ethnographic · wildlife · historical · sociocultural · B-roll
backstory
Character's past narrative
information · world-building · infodump · flashback · revelation · foreshadowing · setup · premise · introduction · orientation
pacing
Rate of movement
- toneQuality of sound
- suspenseAnxious uncertainty about outcomes
- foreshadowingHinting at later events
irony · imagery · repetition · climax · denouement · tension · mood · symbolism · motif · juxtaposition
listener
One who attends aurally
- readerOne who peruses text
- performanceCarrying out a task
- recordingCaptured audio or video
chapter · intonation · cadence · inflection · diction · enunciation · pacing · earphones · playback · abridged
play-by-play
Real-time event narration
- sportscasterBroadcasts athletic events
- announcerOne who introduces programs
- analysisMethodical study of parts
observation · blow-by-blow · live · real-time · broadcast · simulcast · description · recap · highlights · sideline
soliloquy
Dramatic speech to oneself
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- asideBrief theatrical digression
- chorusSingers performing together
prologue · epilogue · dialogue · mime · tableau · Brechtian · fourth-wall · declamation · recitation · performance
- language artsreading comprehension, grammar rules, vocabulary building, phonics, spelling bees
- kids' radiostorytelling, youth programs, bedtime stories, storytime, story time
- presentationspresentation, slides, slide, keynote, slideshow
- spoken wordspoken word, spoken word poetry, slam poetry, slam poets, poetry slam
- Film Soundsound design, sound editing, sound mixing, Foley, ADR
- literary scholarshipliterary theory, bibliographies, literary movements, criticism, critique
narrationdialogue
Spoken exchange between parties
action · dramatization · showing · direct speech · enactment
narrationsilence
Total lack of sound
suppression · concealment · omission · withholding · censorship
narrationsilence
Total lack of sound
wordlessness · nonverbal communication · gesture · body language · visual imagery
- narrative poemStory told in verse
- personal narrativeSelf-told life account
- third-person narrationStorytelling from outside perspective
- first-person narrativesStories told as "I"
- change the narrative
- narrative arcStory's overall shape