Sound or image originates outside the current shot — voiceover, music, ambient effects. Essential for narration and transitions.
You know the situation: the camera shows an empty street, but you hear a voice narrating the protagonist's thoughts — a voice that doesn't exist within the frame. That's Off. Anything that comes from outside the current shot, either audibly or visually, is considered off. On set, this means one thing for you above all: planning. The off-screen voice actor isn't sitting in front of your camera, the music isn't coming from a visible radio — you have to add both in the edit, and that requires timing.
In the edit, Off is your constant companion. Voice-over — the classic narrator or inner monologue — plays over images that show something else. You sit at the editing console and ask yourself: When does the voice come in? How long is the fade? In documentary work or classic narrative cinema, almost nothing functions without this technique. An off-screen narration can elegantly bridge time jumps, can bring psychological depth to the image, but it can also — if you're not careful — cripple the visuals, because the viewer is just waiting for words instead of looking at what you're showing them.
Off-screen music is just as fundamental. A song that doesn't come from a visible speaker shapes the emotional tone. When editing, you quickly realize: the same scene feels completely different depending on whether the music is already playing or just starting. Sound designers and you have to work in sync here — off-screen music needs anchor points, cuts, transitions that are clean.
Sound effects also run off-screen. The phone rings before the camera pans into the room — the audience hears it before they see it. This creates tension, anticipation, and spatial orientation. In contrast to this is the On principle, where everything we hear is also visible in the frame — a direct visual match.
Practical tip: Mark in your rough cut where off-screen elements should run. Give the sound designer clear instructions. And remember: Off is powerful, but also dangerous — too much off-screen narration suffocates cinema in its cradle. You need a balance between show and tell.