Off-Screen Space
As a follow-up to the last poll question, voice-over is most often non-diegetic. It commonly takes on the role of a non-diegetic narrator in a documentary film. However it can be diegetic through the voice-over of a character from the film. This can be seen in a film like The Shawshank Redemption through Morgan Freeman's voice-over performance.
Off-Screen Space
Off-screen space is space that is not represented on screen but is hinted at, pointed to, or which the viewer becomes aware of as a result of a characters’ actions onscreen. Noel Burch is the theorist that coined this term.
To answer the poll question from last week, Burch defines six zones of off-screen space. They are:
- To the right of the frame
- To the left of the frame
- Above the frame
- Below the frame
- Behind the camera
- Through the set (behind a door for example)
Still from Sherlock Jr. from TCM Links to an external site.
In Sherlock Jr. Buster Keaton deliberately stages many of the stunts in the film around the use of off-screen space. For example, in the above still, Keaton stages the car to enter the frame from off-screen. As Tony Zhou mentions in the "Buster Keaton-Art of the Gag" video essay, the characters react to this dynamic element, which in turn surprises the audience.
Still from Sherlock Jr. from Senseless Cinema Links to an external site.
This second still is a reference to one of the more impossible gags from the film, when Sherlock Jr. jumps through the suitcase in the wall behind the performer. This is an example of Keaton utilizing the off-screen space that is through the set. Off-screen space is also alluded to in this still through the doors to the left and right of the frame.
Continue on for a breakdown of the difference between story and plot. --->