I have written my voice over script before I film tomorrow. I have highlighted what the voiceover will say.
I did some research on voiceovers in documentaries and what they are there for and what they say, I also watched some documentaries and looked at examples of different voice overs.
The first thing I did was write my introduction by starting with the word Liverpool so I am letting the audience what the documentary will be about and I have stated that Liverpool is a city with a variety of cultures and a place of unfolding history.
I then introduced who was starring in it which was the historian, someone from Anfield, a musician and someone young living in Liverpool. I introduce it by saying what will be talked about and the in the documentary. I have gone through the interview with Frank to see what parts I want to have which are the most important points made like for Frank I have decided I only want him talking about the most iconic attractions which I will start his interview with then he will go on to talking about the docks opening in 1846 and what the benefits the docks have made for the city. I will play footage over the introduction in the voice over that I have filmed myself around Liverpool, I did research on where I was going to film so for Frank, he speaks about the docks and the history and the Anfield and Liverpool One generation so when I did research on that I knew I was going to go out and film different places in Liverpool One and Anfield as well as the Albert Dock.
I put into the script what was happening next so that I knew what order it was going in and how the voice over would fit into the different segments in the production.
There was no voiceover introducing my grandad because when Frank speaks about the Anfield Project it then goes straight to my grandad one what it was like when growing up in Liverpool. I introduced him in the introduction as ‘Anfield’s own’ so the audience already know who it is. I didn’t introduce him because the voiceover would’ve interrupted the part between Frank’s part and my grandads and when my grandad speaks it smoothly runs into his part because they are both on the same subject. I have done some filming around Anfield so that I can use cutaways over his interview so that the audience know what he is talking about.
I then wrote a piece after the interview with my grandad to introduce the music section in the documentary and the musician who I interviewed. I introduced the music by saying talking about its success and mentioning The Beatles then introducing the musician so that the audience know who is about to come on screen talking about the music of the city. I put some context in the script for the music part so that when the interviewee comes in so that he doesn’t have to give a whole introduction of the music in the city and because he doesn’t do this, the audience will find it easier to follow because of the context the voiceover has already given them which I spoke about in Reception Theory.
From the research I did on the music of Liverpool and watching the documentary with Paul, I went out and got shots of the music scene in Liverpool which was mainly Mathew Street and Seal Street but then of the M&S Arena in town which I will use as cutaways over the voiceover and the interview with Paul rather than have nothing on the screen or just having the whole interview of Paul on the screen.
I then put under the voiceover for the music part what will happen after the voiceover stops speaking which is going straight to the musician’s interview.
After the music segment, it then goes to the topic of the football culture in the city which is a huge part in the documentary because there is so much history on it. In the voiceover, I state that football in the city is a religion because it is so important and plays a huge role in the city. We give some history on the football that I have gotten due to research that I did at the beginning which will help me when it came to writing my voice over script. I used what I had researched and used it in this voice over and also to help me when I was going out filming around both football grounds which I did and then when it comes to editing my product, I can use the cutaways over the voice over of both grounds which will also show the audience what they are talking about.
The last big part of the voiceover is the art and culture of the city which is the information I got when I did research on it so when I was writing my script I referred back to my research and used that. I stated that Liverpool is well known for its rich history in regards to architecture, paintings and sculptures. I have mentioned some of the most famous pieces of art within the city and when I did research on this, I knew I was going to mention these so I went out and got footage of the art and also of the art galleries so I can use them shots as cutaways for when I begin editing and put them over the voiceover.
After this, I gave an introduction for theist interviewee who talks about what they. like about living in Liverpool and they discuss the different opportunities within the city. I got some more shots after having this interview, I will use them cutaways such as the art colleges, galleries and Mathew street so that the interviewee isn’t just on the screen.
I didn’t get the voiceover to bring the documentary, I am using Frank who explains of how great of a city Liverpool is and describes some of the iconic places in the city, he is happy in it and I decided that I wanted to use that at the end rather using a voiceover again but also have more than one Frank appearance.
Putting the script together wasn’t hard because I knew exactly what was being said in the interviews and I knew what each segment was about and using my research helped a lot especially when writing the part for the football and art parts.
I used this website to plan and type up my voiceover script:
Videomaker. (2019). Writing Effective Narration – Videomaker. [online] Available at: https://www.videomaker.com/article/f5/7356-writing-effective-narration [Accessed 18 May 2019].
EllaFMPYear2 