Theories of Narrative template

Theories of Narrative

Plot:

Everything presented on the film, diegetic/non-diegetic

Story:

All events: both those presented and those implied

Story consists of:

 Inferred events – Explicitly presented events – plot – extra non-diegetic material (credits, titles etc.)

Cause and effect

One thing happens which leads to another chain of events which in effect creates the whole film, for example: Bruce Willis takes his socks off to get rid of jetlag, when in building, the terrorists shoot glass to injure him. Bruce Willis kills Heinrick, which makes Karl want revenge, so he goes after him, but after acquiring Heinrick’s gun, the two have a battle.

Time

Screen time: Shortest. How long something is on screen for (2 hours approx.)

Story time: The longest. As it goes form the earliest implied event (a story that origins 300 years ago to present day)

Plot time: Second longest. Everything you see on the screen (a child’s birth to it growing up to be an adult)

Narration

The way that part of the story arranges information and feeds it to the audience.

Range:

1: Unrestricted: The audience know more than any of the characters in the film

2: Restricted: Know no more than what the characters do or than what’s been seen.

(Most narratives are inbetween)

Depth:

1: Objective - object

2: Subjective – people

Claude Levi Strauss Binary Oppositions

Looks at sets of opposites in them. Binary means there are two, then it’s opposite. Obvious with:

Good verses Evil (Fairy Tales)

Light verses Dark (Martial art/redemption films/horror films)

Up verses Down (buildings, house stories)

Nature verses Industry (The Simpsons)

East verses West (racism, hip-hop, cultures)

North verses South (Braveheart)

Clean verses Dirty (Jeremy Kyle)

Syd Field’s Three Act Plot

Act 1: Set up (Introduce to the film, get the audience interested, quick insight to what the film is about)

Act 2: Confrontation (longest part of the film, main story and climax)

Act 3: Resolution (Hero/Villain controls the situation, gains a victory/loss, prize, recognition)

This research will help us within our film, as half of our film is purely narrated flash backs and a very important feature that links the two halves of our film together. Our film plot corresponds with the Syd Field 3 Act Plot and restricted narrative.