CHAPTER 33
CREATING NARRATION
Many filmmakers shy away from narration because of its association with the voice-of-God discourses of yesteryear. This is a shame, since there is nothing more satisfying than knowing you have written some really effective narration. Usually it is indispensable in films about natural history, science, government, history, as well as in films that are avowedly journalistic or in diary form. You will assuredly have to write narration sometime in your career, so keep in mind that narration plays a vital role in three masterly documentaries praised in earlier chapters. I refer to Alain Resnais’ Night and Fog, Patricio Guzman’s Nostalgia for the Light, and Emad Burat and Guy Davidi’s Five Broken Cameras. In each, ...
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