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Firstly, thanks so much for this site as well as this series on 'rules'. I'm a big believer in accessing as many sources as possible and then using the parts that work best for you. In the posting about VO/Flashback from last year that was linked in rule 11, you had asked for examples of films that viewers thought used VO effectively. I think 'The Informant' with Matt Damon is a good example of a film that not only uses VO well but needs it for maximum impact. For a good portion of the film I wondered why it was important to hear Mark Whitacre's thoughts, but when he cracks it's imperative that the audience recognizes how deeply his psychosis really went. Matt Damon did an excellent job of conveying that in his internal dialogue, in my opinion, and if we had only been shown that in his actions or speech to other characters, I think it wouldn't have been so powerful.

Mike, your observations about The Informant point to one really solid reason to do V.O. narration: It can increase the degree of intimacy which a script reader or moviegoer can feel with a character. In this case, as you note, it helps to demonstrate the nature of the character's psychosis. It also raises a point a writer - can't remember who - said about deciding to use voice-over narration or not. He said, "If you can possibly tell the story without it, then you don't need it. But if in your mind, you MUST use voice-over narration to tell the story you ENVISION, then by all means, use it." Again it's not a rule against using voice-over narration, we just want to avoid the trap of lazy writing, and if there's no compelling reason to use V.O. narration and a writer does it anyway, that's poor, flaccid writing.

[…] Action Paragraphs – 3 Lines Max 9. CUT TO (Transitions) 10. Parentheticals 11. Flashbacks 12. Voice-Over Narration 13. Sympathetic Protagonist 14. Protagonist and Shifting Goals 15. Certain Events By Certain […]

[…] Links: Go Into The Story: So-Called Screenwriting “Rules” Part 12: Voice-Over Narration Kozloff, Sarah: A Defense of Voice-Over Narration Michael Niehaus: Voice over. Eine […]