Film Language Tag: talking head

1. Originally, in the parlance of television production staff, a name for any person, other than the presenter who appears in vision in an interview situation without an interviewer being present and offers opinions or recounts events for the benefit of the viewer. Often used in a pejorative sense because the use of such commentators in a visual medium suggests an over-reliance on ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’. 2. In a narrower sense, an expert or ‘pundit’ who appears on a news or current affairs programme in order to voice an opinion. Chandler, Daniel and Rod Munday. A Dictionary of Media Communication, 3rd ed. Oxford UP, 2020.