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DZ-109: Talking DIRECTLY to your audience

What are the different ways a filmmaker can ask something of the audience?

1 MAY 2024

Show Notes

What are the different ways a filmmaker can ask something of the audience?

Chas and Stu are joined by Mel in this prelude episode to upcoming episodes on Voiceover (DZ-110, DZ-111) and Breaking the 4th Wall (DZ-112). In this episode, we attempt to taxonomise the different ways filmmakers can ask something directly of their audience.

To this end, we identify 4 levers that can be pulled:

  1. Diagetic to non-diagetic (in story world to outside story world)
  2. Who is talking? From story-teller to a character
  3. Whom are they talking to? Themselves or directly to the audience?
  4. From when in time is the communication coming?

They then take these levers and ask a series of questions, including:

  • What does the communication want from the audience?
  • Does the audience know who’s talking?
  • How reliable is the information?
  • How aware is who is communicating of the audience?

They then apply these questions and levers to… *deep breath… *: STAR WARS, ROBOCOP, STARSHIP TROOPERS, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, MINORITY REPORT, CHILDREN OF MEN, NEVER HAVE I EVER, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, STRANGER THAN FICTION, DUNE, OPPENHEIMER, YELLOWJACKETS, HUSTLERS, THE OFFICE, MASTERCHEF, ZOMBIELAND, FLEABAG, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, SPONTANEOUS, BLACKKKLANSMAN, AMERICAN FICTION, AMERICAN SPLENDOR, THE KILLER, VERONICA MARS, FIGHT CLUB, SHUTTER ISLAND, SIXTH SENSE, HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR. FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, GOODFELLAS, EMPERORS NEW GROOVE, THE TRUMAN SHOW, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, DIE HARD, THE BIG SHORT, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, DERRY GIRLS, THE LAST JEDI, THE LAST DUEL, RASHOMON, BONES AND ALL, ARCHIVE 81, SANS SOLEIL, F IS FOR FAKE, THE PRINCESS BRIDE, THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS, JULIUS CAESAR, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Vol. 1

Thanks to Chris Walker for his excellent editing this episode.

"There’s a great moment in one of his novels where basically midway through the novel, the main character realizes they are actually, in fact, Philip K. Dick."

— Stu Willis  |  DZ-109: Talking DIRECTLY to your audience

Thanks to our Patrons, especially Lily, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis and Khrob.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

Resources

Transcript

Read the transcript for this episode.

Chapters

  • 00:00:00 – Cold Open
  • 00:00:49 – Distinguishing talking directly to the audience
  • 00:04:32 – Different levers to pull
  • 00:09:20 – Who is communicating?
  • 00:15:01 – › Mapping the spectrum from title cards to character narrators
  • 00:20:37 – › When narration blurs the line between diegetic and meta
  • 00:26:13 – Does the audience know who's talking?
  • 00:29:47 – › What narrators want from their audience
  • 00:32:21 – › Filmmakers speaking directly without breaking the fourth wall
  • 00:40:00 – From when is the communication coming?
  • 00:40:50 – How reliable is the communication?
  • 00:46:08 – How aware are the characters?
  • 00:49:56 – › What does the speaker want from their audience
  • 00:53:46 – › Emotional vs intellectual effects of direct address
  • 00:58:35 – Analysing edge cases
  • 01:04:00 – › Writer's intent versus character's intent in voiceover
  • 01:07:37 – What effects do these have on the audience?
  • 01:11:51 – › Monologue length and its emotional effect on audiences
  • 01:16:00 – Key learnings and wrap-up
  • 01:19:00 – Thanks patreons!

Films

Scripts

Episodes in the Talking Directly to the Audience series

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