So I'm working on this short film right now that is basically a story told in voiceover. And the whole time I'm trying to shake this sense of shame and embarrassment that using voiceover is somehow cheating. Or that it's too easy.

Where did this come from? Robert McKee (or perhaps the Robert McKee character in Adaptation)?

Whether it was Robert McKee or some other screenwriting guru who came up with this edict against using voiceover, it's worth remembering that they're talking about story and screenwriting in the strictly Hollywood-production-model, film-industry sense. It's about sales and moving units. It's about mass audiences.

Thankfully, Hollywood is no longer the gatekeeper when it comes to creating and releasing films. So if using voiceover helps to tell your story and move your audience, use it. Of course, be smart about it.

But never lose site of what you're working with: oving images and sound.

Make it work.