Choosing the narration format is among the most important decisions of documentary production.
Documentaries are productions for film, television, or radio that are used to document truth one way or another. They may have a selection of purposes, such as informing individuals about a specific cause or telling a dramatic true story. They could even be largely without narrative and simply be documenting the mood or reality of the specific location and time. But, because they typically have an intention centring around informing or explaining, it is extremely typical for there to be some sort of device to guide the audience. Tim Parker will understand that voiceover narration has been extremely popular since sound was first added to cinema, straight away being incorporated to the newsreels that had been popular at that time. The narrator does not appear on screen and their part is simply dedicated to reading a script that describes or complements the footage. The narrator may also be involved in the production, such as by being the producer, however it is also common for them to have no other involvement.
The very first few decades of the history of cinema consisted entirely of silent movies. This changed just under a century ago, when sound was first added and filmmakers possessed a totally new extra element they could add to their movies. But, just because sound is available does not mean that filmmakers need to oversaturate their movies with every feasible noise imaginable. Some films just rely on natural sounds, for example, while others add no music at all. Rachel Wang will likely be well aware that some documentaries consist of no narration. These silent narration documentaries alternatively educate viewers by a combination of the details gained from interviews and title screens. Also referred to as intertitles or title cards, these are screens held for many seconds to allow words to appear for the viewers to see.
Documentaries have usually been regarded as a more anonymous form of filmmaking. This really is in stark comparison to narrative feature films, in which both the crew and cast may be filled up with world-famous A-listers. In fact, there actually has been people that have made a name for themselves via documentary filmmaking. Many of these people have done so through the use of hosted narration. Soleta Rogan will be able to tell you that a narrator host is a person who conducts interviews, appears on camera, and does voiceovers for the documentary. This may make the documentary seem like the hosts personal journey and will give a raw impression, as more traditionally behind the scenes elements could be included to the final cut. The reason being other narration styles require more editing to make sure members of the production are not on-screen. The hosted technique therefore enables capturing footage of the difficulties productions have, like having interviews suddenly denied or threatening encounters with people that do not want to become filmed.