The Use of Voiceovers

A voiceover is also a technique that is used extensively in film trailers. They are generally used to help make the plot more understandable which is why they are found more in theatrical trailers rather than teaser trailers because teaser trailers try not to give too much of the plot away. The traditional 'voiceover voice' is a man's voice which is quite deep and friendly which is why voiceovers are not found a lot in horror trailers. Sometimes the voiceover used is a character in the films voice and dialogue from the film is used in the trailer over the scenes. A horror film where this technique is used is The Others because Nicole Kidman's voice, who is the main character can be heard in the trailer to help explain the plot. The trailer for The Others can be seen earlier on in my blog.

Voiceovers are used a lot in children's films. This is because some children watching the film may not be able to read so narrative text would not be a good thing to include and when narrative text is included in a children's film it is also generally accompanied with the voiceover so children don't have to read it themselves. Also, a voiceover is like having a story told to you, which children would enjoy. An example of a children's film that uses a voiceover is The Cat in the Hat and the trailer can be seen below.


Voiceovers are not only used in children's films and they are also sometimes used in romantic comedys because the friendly voice goes well with the genre of the film. An example of a romantic comedy trailer where a voice over is used is Love Actually and the trailer can be seen below. The typical 'voiceover voice' can also be heard in this trailer.


Another example of where a voiceover is used of one of the characters voice is the film Forrest Gump. This is because in the film all the way through he is telling a story so the same theme is shown in the trailer. In the trailer it switches from the voiceover to actually scenes in the film. Dialogue from the film is used for the voiceover which makes it recognisable to the viewer when they watch the actual film.


I will not use a voiceover in my trailer because I think it will give away too much of the plot and it would be hard to find someone with a suitable voice that will create the right effect for my trailer. Also as we are having music playing throughout the trailer a voice over wouldn't be heard but I think that music is a better way of creating suspense than a voice over.