[Abstract] As an important element of the sound system that constitutes the "sound and picture" language system of TV documentaries, narration has a power that cannot be ignored and plays a unique function and role in documentaries. With the innovation of TV documentary technology, breakthroughs in creative concepts, and the diversity and complexity of film models, the ways in which commentary appears have also become complex and changeable, either directly or indirectly, or symbolically, as well as signifiers, signifieds, etc. In view of the different transformation methods of commentary, this article strives to start from the concept of "big commentary" to reinterpret and demonstrate the commentary of TV documentaries and their sub-languages ??and characteristics.
[Keywords] commentary; sub-language of commentary; characteristics
Truth is the soul of documentary creation, and objectivity is the objectivity selected by subjective consciousness. As an art that combines sound and painting, TV documentaries not only provide us with intuitive visual images, but also provide our hearing with text explanations and sound information rich in imagination, association, and emotion. Commentary is a branch of the sound and picture language system of TV documentaries. How should we interpret the diverse commentary currently available? Let’s discuss and analyze it together.
It is difficult to verify exactly where the word explanation comes from. Literally, explanation is nothing more than a compressed term for "explanation". So what is a commentary? "Modern Chinese Dictionary" explains the word commentary as follows: explanation - explanation. ①Speak: It means explanation, speech, etc. Word: The smallest unit in language that can be used freely, the combination of words, etc. ②According to the explanation of "Modern Chinese Dictionary", we can understand that the commentary is: "text of explanation". For TV documentaries, this definition is: first, too general and vague; second, it is difficult to integrate with the sound and picture language system of TV. The "Radio and Television Dictionary" defines commentary as "the transcript of TV documentaries and TV special programs. It introduces and narrates news events and program content, expresses arguments and expresses emotion. Commentary is the main means of expressing theme ideas." The problems with this definition are: first, the term "script" is too vague and can easily be misunderstood as a script or planning plan before the program is created. In fact, TV commentary writing is a completely different concept from the so-called "script". Second, simply limiting the commentary to "TV documentaries and TV special programs" obviously cannot cover the scope of use of the commentary. In fact, in various TV programs, the creative method of commentary can be used differently. ③
Professor Xu Fangzhou has such a definition of commentary in "TV Commentary: Arrangement and Processing": it is a video of a considerable length, coupled with a commentary voice of a certain number of words, and the two factors are synthesized and broadcast. Among them, those audio language parts added later, excluding the simultaneous sound, can be called "TV commentary". ④This way of defining is a bit too general and not very rigorous.
What is a commentary? In fact, the simple understanding is: explanatory text, an auxiliary means to help people understand things. So what are TV documentary commentary? The author believes that with the innovation of TV documentary technology, breakthroughs in creative concepts, and the diversity and complexity of film models, the ways in which commentary appears have also become complex and changeable, either directly or indirectly. Or symbolization, signifier, signified, etc. Therefore, this article gives such a broad definition of commentary: as long as it is all text and sound elements that play a role in explaining the theme and picture language to the audience watching the documentary. It can be further understood as: as long as it can help the audience to explain the theme and picture language when watching the documentary (subtitles), live sound (oral narration, explanation, interview, conversation, etc.), dubbing, music, sound, silence and other elements and language information symbols.
Because this definition includes subtitles, live sounds (oral narrations, explanations, interviews, conversations, etc.), music, sound, silence and other language information symbols. The author calls them sublanguage or indirect language of commentaries.
What people usually call commentary mainly refers to dubbing, that is, the written commentary is translated into the audio language we hear through the reading of the dubbing personnel. The author defines this conventional commentary as the first language or direct language of the commentary.
So what are the sub-language characteristics of the commentary?
(1) Music
Music is one of the most subjective expressions of documentary creators. It is an important part of the commentary sub-language and is also one of the TV comprehensive languages ??that is best at expressing emotions. It serves as a language to express feelings, depict characters, and fill in the blank spaces. It can also extend the lens and space infinitely to express the "implications" of the picture. It plays the role of: setting off the atmosphere, exaggerating emotions, causing people to associate, imagine, and emotionally resonate.
In the documentary "Sand and Sea", in the classic section of "beating anoxia", *** used 17 shots, the duration is two minutes and forty-seven seconds, of which the music duration is one It lasts twenty-eight seconds, and there is not a single voice-over commentary during it. It relies entirely on the combination of music and images to express the director's intention. The director skillfully used the combination of music and images to convey that in the vast desert of the northwest, Liu Zeyuan's family relied on the weather for food, living in a harsh environment and living a difficult life. At the same time, this kind of desolate music also gives people pity, deep thought, and sympathy... The director also introduced the drought-resistant and cold-resistant characteristics of the Elaeagnus Elaeagnus tree to the audience, and the sweet and astringent fruits, setting off the Liu Zeyuan family's strong life in the desert.
The expression method of music and live sound (sub-language) is more profound than the direct dubbing commentary, leaving the audience with a lot of imagination, feelings, and emotional resonance, etc., through This desolate music achieves the creative purpose of "silence is better than sound at this time" and conveys the emotions and themes to the audience vividly. Coupled with the sound of the wind and the sound of beating angustifolia, it gives an immersive feeling. The ingenious combination of music and live sound, and the reasonable use of it, are a masterpiece.
The music used at the beginning of the documentary "The Temptation of Tibet" is gentle and mysterious. Together with the lyrics, it vividly expresses the author's fascination for Tibet. The author cleverly interchanges the dubbing commentary with the songs. Integrated into one, to express reverence and fascination for Tibet.
Background music is one of the frequently used forms of music. In documentaries, it can: express the creator’s emotional tendencies, geographical environment and location, and at the same time enhance the sense of liveness and realism in the picture. One of the methods, as well as explaining the identity of the interviewee, etc.
In the documentary "Into Mao Zedong", the music was created with a strong subjective tendency by the creator. Each change of music plays a very good role in contrast and rhythm adjustment, fully revealing the expressive feelings and confrontational attitudes and practices between the two parties of the Kuomintang. The song "Jasmine" in the documentary "Kindergarten" plays a role in dividing paragraph levels and adjusting the rhythm of the film.
Among the various art forms created by human beings, music is best at fully and profoundly expressing people's inner emotions. Romain Rolland once said, "Only music is the medium that leads our spiritual life to sensory life." Nietzsche said, "Without music, life is a mistake." Einstein also said, "Death means no more life." No more Mozart’s music.” It can be seen that music is widely used in various aspects.
(2) Sound
Sound is also an important part of the sub-language of TV documentary commentary. It plays a role in extending the meaning of the commentary and picture language and deepening emotions in TV documentaries. , infect the audience, etc., and better demonstrate the artistic effect of TV documentaries.
For example, in "Home Far Away in Beijing", the crowing of cocks and the barking of dogs are used at the beginning. We can easily understand that this place is in the countryside and it is morning. In the section "Looking for Wang Xiangrong" in "Looking at the Great Wall", when the reporter came to Wang Xiangrong's home, the creator clearly used the sound to explain the environment and other situations in their home, such as the crow of chickens and cattle. There are also fights and quarrels in other documentaries, which all illustrate the intensity of the sound performance in the documentary and the occurrence and progress of the incident.
In "The Last Mountain God", Meng Jinfu, as the last shaman in Oroqen, performs the shaman dance at dusk. The shaman's dance to the gods hints at the departure of the gods, and also embodies the Oroqen people's helplessness and desolation at the decline of the nation. Through Meng Jinfu's last jump, the unique things of the Oroqen people are gradually fading away. We can no longer hear the sound of the shaman drums and original singing, and we can no longer see the original dance of the Oroqen people. Through the sounds of live shamanic drums and dance, a sense of desolation emerges.
(3) Live Sound
With the emergence of the documentary style represented by the documentary "Looking at the Great Wall", people pay more attention to the recording and use of live sound, which can bring us a sense of reality. The immersive feeling enhances our sense of the scene and further illustrates the authenticity of our records. It serves as a way to narrate, explain, and adjust the rhythm of the film, and it plays a great role in promoting our interpretation of documentaries.
There are many documentaries that allow everyone to understand what the creator is talking about and express the creative intention of the director through interviews with the parties, insiders, oral narratives of the people being photographed (objects), and language on the scene. In documentaries In "My Father, My Mother", Jiao Bo's narration plays a very good role in narrative, structure, and inheritance. It runs throughout, and we can easily understand the message conveyed to us by the creator.
In the documentary "Old Man", there is not a single voiceover commentary from beginning to end. The creators obtain information from the fragmented live chats of the old men, and objectively record the real clips after subjective screening, so that we can clearly understand Understand the issues that the old men are concerned about and their living conditions. All aspects of the old men are vividly displayed, and the narrative is smooth and complete.
The documentary "Ying and Bai" does not have a single voiceover commentary. Through the creator's tracking and shooting for more than half a year, through objective presentation, and the exchange of subtitles and music and sound, we can interpret a lonely person. Soul, "The world outside is wonderful, but the people inside are helpless." The distortion of human nature, the complexity of society, etc. Moreover, the existence of this live audio (television) also fully reveals Ying and Bai's living environment, changes in the outside world, and the depth of their inner world.
The use of these narrative methods cleverly and appropriately expresses the creator's subjective intentions and themes. In documentaries, objective records are the soul, and subjective selection is the means to highlight the theme. Cleverly transforming the sound of the scene into the theme the creator wants to express is also the ingenuity of using sub-commentary language.
(4) Subtitles
As an indispensable part of TV documentaries, subtitles are also one of the components of the commentary sub-language, especially the people, things, and events that need to be explained. objects and details. The emergence of subtitles allows the audience to have a deeper understanding of the themes and creative intentions that the director wants to express, and subtitles play an irreplaceable role in many elements in TV documentaries.
In the documentary "Nanook of the North", the appearance of subtitles plays the role of paragraph transitions, transitions, explanations of characters and events, and adjustment of the rhythm of the picture, so that the audience has no confusion when watching the film. What an obstacle. If all the subtitles are converted into dubbing commentary, the rhythm of the film will be disrupted and the atmosphere of the scene will be greatly reduced.
In the documentary "English and White", subtitles not only play a role in explaining, introducing basic situations, explaining characters, explaining the environment, explaining relationships, etc., but they also play a role in regulating the rhythm. Also in the documentary "Kindergarten", there are many children and they are not easy to recognize, but the presence of subtitles allows us to remember the basic situation of each child and plays a very good explanatory role.
(5) Mute
As a part of the sub-language of documentary commentary, mute often plays the role of "silence is better than sound at this time" in documentaries, and can better reflect Show the emotions, emotions, etc. of the creator and the subject.
In the documentary "My Father, My Mother", in a short paragraph about Jiao Bo's father's death, the creator used ten seconds of silence to express Jiao Bo's grief for his deceased father. Bo sat alone in front of his father's grave and looked at his father's grave silently. The brewing of this emotion made the audience moved by the deep father-son love and shed countless emotional tears. The function of silence allows emotions to be fully exerted, and then the music gradually rises, which is even more precious and extends this mood and emotion.
Different forms of commentary sub-languages ??constitute a complete TV documentary. The organic combination, reasonable arrangement and processing of these elemental language symbols, *** jointly participated in the creation of the entire documentary, and the It is an indispensable element for a complete TV documentary. The analysis and discussion of documentary commentary and its sub-language lays the foundation for us to further understand and analyze the integrity of documentary creation.
Notes:
①② "Modern Chinese Dictionary" fifth edition, page 1285, page 221.
③④ Xu Fangzhou: "TV Commentary: Arrangement and Processing", Beijing Normal University Press, 2009 edition, page 4, page 5.
[References]
[1] Wang Lie. Tutorial on TV Documentary Creation[M]. Beijing: China Radio and Television Press, 2005.
[ About the author] Wang Ying (1986- ), female, from Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, teacher at the School of Radio, Film and Television, Chengdu University of Technology, main research direction: film and television cultural communication and basic theory of film and television; Zhu Rongqing (1984-), male, from Zhoukou, Henan, Chengdu University of Technology Teacher at the School of Radio, Film and Television of the University, main research directions: film and television cultural communication and documentary theory.