What is a Red Herring — 5 Techniques to Mislead & Distract an Audience

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What is a red herring in a story, explained with 5 different techniques.

What is a Red Herring? ►►
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:28 - Red Herring Definition and History
02:14 - Technique 1: The Whodunit
03:38 - Technique 2: Unreliable narrator
06:20 - Technique 3: Emotional Effect
08:23 - Technique 4: Historical Subversion
09:26 - Technique 5: Casting and Marketing
10:56 - Takeaways and Wrap Up

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What is a red herring in a story? Essentially, it’s a storytelling technique in which the writer plants false information to distract the reader from the truth. This type of deception is most commonly used in mysteries and the classic “whodunit.” In this video, we’re going to lay out this red herring definition, explore its origins, and provide five methods screenwriters and directors can use this technique.

Red herrings in movies are everywhere. They can be a clue, a character, any information that leads us to believe a truth that is later to be revealed as false. We most associate this concept with murder mysteries in which multiple suspects are investigated by both the detective and the audience. Writers don’t use red herrings in stories to be malicious, the audience actually appreciates the deception. But why?

No one wants to spend hours reading a book or watching a movie if the mystery is easy to figure out. We want a challenge, that’s what keeps us engaged. And this is exactly what a red herring in literature and film provides.

Now that we understand the basic red herring definition, let’s expand our understanding with five different ways we can find red herrings in movies. First, as mentioned, we have the classic “whodunit” mystery, which is subverted by Agatha Christie herself in Murder on the Orient Express. Second, we can talk about how an unreliable narrator can generate red herring examples, most notably in The Usual Suspects.

Third, we can leave the mystery genre altogether for red herrings in film that function more on emotion than plot. In Saving Private Ryan, the opening scene presents a possible future for our protagonist that the ending scene reveals to be false. By doing so, a great emotional catharsis is achieved that wouldn’t have been possible without a red herring. Fourth, writers like Quentin Tarantino can use actual history to subvert our expectations like he did in Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood.

Finally, what does red herring mean in the casting and marketing of a film? In Psycho, director Alfred Hitchcock gives us two excellent red herring examples in his two lead actors: Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. Leigh is billed prominently in the poster and marketing of the film — which makes sense since she was the biggest star in the cast. So, when Hitchcock killed her off in the middle, the shock was immense. Likewise, Hitchcock purposefully cast Perkins for his “boy-next-door,” wholesome persona to divert our suspicions of him having anything to do with the murders.


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VIDEO EDITOR: BRANDON SCULLION
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♬ SONGS USED:

"The Pink Panther Theme" - Henry Mancini
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"String Quartet in G Minor" - Knives Out! Soundtrack
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"Call Me Joker" - Hildur Guðnadóttir
"Wakey Wakey" - Alejandro Amenábar
"Verbal Kint" - John Ottman
"Revisiting Normandy" - John Williams
"The Devils Rumble" - Mike Curb & The Arrows
"You Keep Me Hangin On" - Vanilla Fudge
"Red Right Hand" - Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
"Psycho Theme" - Bernard Hermann
"Tannhäuser Gate" - Makeup and Vanity Set

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