Film Language Tag: narration

The telling of a story or description of a situation; the emotional, physical, or intellectual perspective through which the characters, events, and action of the plot are conveyed. In film, narration is most explicit when provided as asynchronous verbal commentary on the action or images, but it can also designate the storytelling function of the camera, the editing, and verbal and other soundtracks. Using David Bordwell on narration and film form as a guide, at Kinolab, when we are tagging for narration, we are looking for distinctive examples of how a film’s “style” (its specific and systematic uses of cinematic devices) works to construct the film’s plot. Often, this tag signals an interesting relationship between the film’s story and how it is presented in the film’s plot. 1.)Corrigan and White, The Film Experience: An Introduction, 5th ed. 2.)Bordwell, David. “Principles of Narration.” Narration in the Fiction Film, University of Wisconsin Press, 1985, 49-51.