Line #29 Main/TalkingHeads


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5	[[quoteright:305:[[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/talkingheads_twopanel_6101.jpg]]]]
6	[[caption-width-right:305:''Calvin and Hobbes'' goes meta.]]
7
8	->''"It's eighty-seven minutes of a raving talking head – mine."''
9	-->-- '''Spalding Gray''' on the film ''Film/SwimmingToCambodia''
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11	Footage (specifically, close shots) of people just... talking, with little or no other action. Theoretically easy to write and definitely cheap to film, Talking Heads can be boring (though usually considered okay in books).
12
13	Originally coined in the '70s to describe newsreaders shot in this style, the term has come to be used as a criticism for any media that relies heavily on dialog.
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15	As American film and television became more "cerebral" in the early-to-mid '90s, the media became noticeably more Talking Head-y: Complicated police procedural and legal dramas popular at the time relied on interviews and testimonies in-universe, while comedies aped the ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' and ''Film/PulpFiction'' style of rambling, slice-of-life dialog.
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17	Creator/BillWatterson complained that NewspaperComics were moving in this direction, probably due to a combination of CerebusSyndrome and {{Lazy Artist}}s, though ''he'' blames [[ExecutiveMeddling restrictions]] placed on them by newspapers.
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19	Also notable is UK comedy show ''Series/PeepShow'', the entire premise is based around talking heads (because each shot is from the perspective of another person in the scene).
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21	Of course, the actual [[Series/AlanBennettsTalkingHeads Talking Heads]] by Alan Bennett conforms to this trope, essentially monologues (with one phantom policeman). The band Music/TalkingHeads (fronted by David Byrne), however, does not (although they claim the analogy fits: "All content, no action"). Even their famous concert film, ''Film/StopMakingSense'', is completely free of Talking Heads, a rarity in a genre typically saturated with them. The band is named after the phenomenon, though, with a certain amount of thought put into it (see page for details).
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23	This trope fits lots of amateur or even semi-professional Website/YouTube videos. Many of these are filmed using a smartphone camera on the equivalent of a selfie stick. Others are filmed using the webcam on their native laptop or desktop, necessitating their staying in one position. Other than occasionally having a musical intro with graphics, these videos never have cutscenes, scene changes, interstitials, animations, or camera pans, as the Youtuber is generally not educated in filmmaking or cinematography.
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25	In animation, this trope was quite prevalently used as a form of LimitedAnimation before the creation of digital art programs became prevalent. Since traditional cell animation required sketching, inking, and then cutting cells out by hand, the process to add subtle movements to characters 'idling' was far more taxing and resource-intensive than it is today. As such, in an attempt to prevent UnintentionalUncannyValley from setting in during an extended talking sequence and to save on time and resources, it was common practice to have a 'zoomed' shot of a character's head while they were talking. Since the advent of digital animation and the ease it puts on resources and attention to detail, this trope has become increasingly rarer for newer animated shows.
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27	Compare TwoGamersOnACouch. Compare and contrast the TalkShow. For animation, especially action-focused ones, compare TalkingIsAFreeAction and BattleOfTheStillFrames. If this trope is [[Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad pulled off particularly well,]] it can be an example of MundaneMadeAwesome. See also {{Infodump}}, a prime causer of this trope.
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29	Not to be confused with ''literal'' talking heads. For that, see LosingYourHead. If you're looking for the band that did "Music/OnceInALifetime", [[Music/TalkingHeads here's how you get there.]][[labelnote:Note]][[WaxingLyrical Letting the days go by, letting the water hold me down...]][[/labelnote]]
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31	----
32	!!Examples:
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34	[[foldercontrol]]
35
36	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
37	%%* ''Manga/DeathNote'' (especially the manga) falls into this trap every now and then, and it's ''very'' noticable.
38	%%* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion]]'' falls into this come episodes [[NoBudget 25]] and [[GainaxEnding 26]].
39	* ''Literature/SpiceAndWolf'': As a series that follows the adventures of a traveling merchant, much of the tension and conflict largely concerns itself with transactions and agreements. As such, the plot's far more concerned with the finer aspects of economics than action. This extends to Holo's interactions, where the potential antics of an attractive wolf girl and the FanService that that implies are downplayed in favor of the witty back and forth chemistry between the leads.
40	* ''Literature/TheGardenOfSinners'': The epilogue is Mikiya and Shiki discussing the secrets of the universe for 24 minutes with pretty headshots littering the scenes to attract the viewer's attention.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Comic Books]]
44	%%* Creator/FrankMiller's ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightStrikesAgain'' has a lot of these. A LOT. Gets to be kind of {{anvilicious}} at times.
45	* The ''Comicbook/IronMan'' story arc "Extremis" has strikingly impressive digitally shaded artwork, fairly groundbreaking for the time it was made; but in light of that, it is odd just how much of that detailed shading is used for... shots of people's heads as they talk to each other. This could still be visually interesting if the expressions were more varied, but the characters' faces remain pretty neutral through most of it.
46	* Wally Wood's ''[[https://cloudfour.com/thinks/22-panels-that-always-work-wally-woods-legendary-productivity-hack/ 22 Panels That Always Work]]'' is a guide on how an artist can spice up a potentially visually boring scene of two characters talking. Some of the examples are of the Talking Heads variety, others aren't.
47	* Similarly, the classic ''How To Draw Comics the [[Creator/MarvelComics Marvel]] Way'' by Creator/StanLee and John Buscema demonstrates this with two pages depicting the same potentially boring scene of a couple of guys talking in a room. The second, better version uses cool camera angles and more dramatic posing than the first.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
51	%%* ''ComicStrip/LifeInHell'' by Creator/MattGroening often has this, with simple full body shots barely differing from each other
52	* As mentioned, Bill Watterson felt this way about modern newspaper comics, and brought it up once in a strip of ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' that had Calvin telling Hobbes how [[AuthorFilibuster his grandfather feels that modern newspaper comics have just become a bunch of "Xeroxed talking heads"]]. The joke, of course, being that [[LampshadeHanging the particular strip consists entirely of images of Calvin and Hobbes' heads]]. Gets even more meta when you look closely at each panel and notice Watterson actually took the time to redraw each one.
53	%%** Charles Schultz previously did a similar gag in ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', with Charlie Brown dismissing the criticism as "preposterous".
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
57	* Spalding Gray is the TropeCodifier of film, taking his off-off-Broadway one man shows to film, including ''Swimming To Cambodia'', ''Monster In a Box'', ''Gray's Anatomy'', and the Creator/{{HBO}} special ''Terrors of Pleasure''. In ''Box'', he refers to himself as a "raving talking head". His films basically consist of him setting behind a table and telling stories, occasionally sipping on a glass of water.
58	* ''Film/BobRossHappyAccidentsBetrayalAndGreed'': There are plenty of shots in the documentary of interviews with people like Steve Ross, Dana Jester, and Sally Schenck.
59	* Lily Tomlin quickly followed Spalding Gray with a film adaptation of her one-woman show ''Theatre/TheSearchForSignsOfIntelligentLifeInTheUniverse''. In that, she performs as several different characters, talking about life and society.
60	* The interview scenes in ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' consist mostly of headshots of Clarice and Lector. However, this serves to add to the drama of the scenes as there is no focus other than the two characters and their emotions. Later on, this technique is used again when Clarice and her friend are discussing the case and Lector's comments.
61	* ''Film/TheExorcistIII'' predates ''Silence'', and there are almost ''no'' actions scenes. It's a Talking Heads horror film.
62	%%* ''Film/TheManFromEarth'' is mostly this.
63	* ''Film/MyDinnerWithAndre''. The entirety of the film are Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory conversing over dinner for 110 minutes. There's literally no action save the opening with Wally walking down the New York City streets and the end when Wally gets into a cab to go home.
64	* ''Film/TrueStories'', directed by the frontman of... Music/TalkingHeads. The consists of a string of episodes in which the Narrator talks to various people in the quirky fictional town of Virgil, Texas.
65	%%* A trademark of Creator/WoodyAllen.
66	%%* Many documentary films use talking heads for interviews. ''Film/HarlanCountyUSA'' uses a fairly standard talking head format for interviews, but is notable for the fact that the interviews took place during the strike the movie centers around, not after.
67	* Used for a BaitAndSwitch in ''Film/EuropaReport'' [[spoiler:when an apparent survivor being interviewed after the mission is actually [[FoundFootage dictating her log]] shortly before her death.]]
68	* In the documentary ''Film/HeartsOfDarknessAFilmmakersApocalypse'', which chronicles the TroubledProduction of ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', the making-of footage is intercut with interviews from the cast and crew, shot years later.
69	* ''Film/TheParanormalDiariesClophill'': There are a number of people interviewed in this manner in the movie, be it residents of Clophill, witnesses of paranormal activity, and people who saw the 1963 mass.
70	* ''Film/TheWidow2020'': The movie begins with people being interviewed about people disappearing in the woods near St. Petersburg.
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Literature]]
74	* Meta-{{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' with Bob the Skull. [[WordOfGod According to the author]], since his role as MisterExposition would cause just about any scene in which he appears to be Talking Heads, he made him a literal Talking Head. Also, WordOfGod states his writing instructor specifically said "don't make him a Talking Head".
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
78	* The "Head to Head" sketches on ''Series/AlasSmithAndJones'', with Mel and Grif looking at each other in profile, against a plain black background.
79	* When Creator/Channel5 started as the UK's fifth terrestrial channel, the idea of terrestrial TV had already been rendered obselescent by the advent of satellite and cable. A fifth free-to-view TV station was no longer as exciting as it might have been if there were ''only'' five available channels. Five therefore set about attracting viewers by sensationalism, promising a lot of explicit content. Viewers read this as "free porn". many viewers were not amused when (the occasional AwfulBritishSexComedy aside) the "porn" turned out to be home-made and imported documentaries about the porn business and its stars. There might be a ten or fifteen second establishing scene demonstrating that porn was in fact happening and showing who and what was involved - and then the visual content would switch to "talking heads" who would talk, at length, about the sociological, economic, moral, health, gender-political, feminist, or other, aspect of the business. Viewers got disillusioned quickly.
80	* ''Series/Formula1DriveToSurvive'': Drivers, team principals, owners, engineers and Will Buxton are all interviewed sitting against a black backdrop with the camera zoomed in to frame their head and shoulders.
81	* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': The radio programs adapted to television are often "talky" episodes. However, visual gags are often thrown into the script (indeed, many are carried over from the radio where they are described, but not shown). The show, humorous on the radio, definitely '''does not''' suffer in the adaptation to television.
82	* ''Series/PeepShow'' does an original take on the cliche thanks to being filmed with a POV camera.
83	* ''Series/HighScore'': The show, being a documentary series, has sit-downs and interviews with people involved in the game industry talking about their inspirations and their history with gaming and the overall business.
84	* ''Series/TheToysThatMadeUs'': Each episode has sit-downs and interviews with various people who were involved in the production of toy lines and [=IP=]s.
85	** The same goes for its SpinOff, ''Series/TheMoviesThatMadeUs''
86	%%* Also true of most documentaries, such as ''Series/ClassicAlbums'', where people will be interviewed.
87	%%** The same goes for mockumentaries, like ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' and ''Series/ParksAndRecreation''.
88	[[/folder]]
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90	%%[[folder:Theatre]]
91	%%* All one-man shows, such as Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain act, fall under this category.
92	%%* ''Theatre/WaitingForGodot'' is the rare example of a ''narrative'' drama employing this.
93	%%[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Video Games]]
96	* Several main characters (and most Enclave soldiers in PoweredArmor) in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 1}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' have animated Talking Heads with lip-synced voice acting for their dialogue window. This is even how the developers referred to them. Other characters simply show their world model and communicate via written text. A few, such as John Cassidy from ''Fallout 2,'' had Talking Heads animated but no voice-acting recorded (mostly due to looming deadlines), and were thus left out. Most can be restored via game mods, but are still silent.
97	* Most of ''VideoGame/MegaMan10'''s story cutscenes have caught some flack due to being made of still images, scrolling text and little else. It doesn't help that some players think that the game's [[{{Retraux}} presentation]] required [[LazyArtist minimal effort]] to make.
98	* The ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'', even by RPG standards is largely based on the many, many conversations between its sprawling cast of characters. Large portions of the plot, characterization, and WorldBuilding (particularly in the first installments of arcs) are established as the cast stands around and talks, often for quite a while. Occasionally poked fun at when characters note that they've been standing around for so long they've gotten bored, or are falling asleep on their feet.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	%%[[folder:Webcomics]]
102	%%* ''WebComic/EightBitTheater'' gets pretty close to this trope at times, especially towards the end.
103	%%* ''Webcomic/ThinkinLincoln'' of course. Emphasis on the 'heads' part.
104	%%* Often invoked in ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'' when Julie is talking with the [[SpiritAdvisor Palm Tree Ghost]].
105	%%[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Web Original]]
108	%%* Kind of a given for WebVideo/BecomingYouTube, since it ''is'' part documentary.
109	* ''WebVideo/ManicPixieDreamWife'': Chance makes a video about his marital troubles and addresses his viewers on the internet, talking and looking directly to the camera.
110	* ''WebVideo/WorldWarTwo'': The primary style of this {{documentary}} is the host sitting at a desk narrating about the events of the week with occasional cuts to StockFootage, units on maps presented as BombersOnTheScreen, and photographs.
111	* In his ''WebVideo/EveryFrameAPainting'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FOzD4Sfgag essay]] on Creator/EdgarWright, Tony Zhou expresses heavy criticism of how American comedy films have become too reliant on this trope to deliver jokes, and then shows how Wright uses all the creative tricks to keep things fresh.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
115	* Common in ''WesternAnimation/DrKatzProfessionalTherapist'', due to limitations of the series' SquiggleVision program.
116	* A lot of the traditionally animated episodes of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' tend to linger on close-up shots of the character's faces when they start talking. Sometimes, they would do this back to back.
117	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' frequently did this in its traditionally animated episodes.
118	* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' utilizes this through the Confessional, where the characters sit in front of a camera fixed to one spot. There are also many instances of characters talking being shot from the waist or chest up.
119	* The works of Creator/SethMacfarlane almost always use these shots in heavy doses. ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' seems to become more and more reliant on them as seasons go by. Although, ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', on the other hand, often uses far more dynamic angles and shots.
120	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TalkingHeads