Keywords
- Linear– progressing from one stage to another in a single series of steps
- Chronological– Following something in the order it happened in
- Sequential- Logical order or sequence
- Circular structure– A narrative where the start of the story is the end of the story
- Time based– Duration as a dimension revealed to the viewer overtime
- Narrative arc– The path a story follows
- Freytag’s Pyramid– Structure outlining events in a story
- Exposition– Background information within a story line
- Inciting incident-
- Rising action–
- Climax–
- Falling action–
- Resolution–
- Denouement–
- Beginning / middle / end–
- Equilibrium–
- Disruption
- New equilibrium
- Peripeteia
- Anagnorisis
- Catharsis
- The 3 Unities: Action, Time, Place
- Flashback / flash forward
- Foreshadowing
- Ellipsis
- Pathos
- Empathy
- Diegetic / non-diegetic
- Slow motion
Physical
What is needed to make a film?
- Actors
- Camera
- Microphone
- Costumes
- Director
- Sound/Music
- Money
- Editing Software
- Editor
- Props
- Screenwriter
- Camera Man
- Script/Story
- Lighting
Conceptual
Narrative Structures
- Straight line- Chronological (In order of time)
- Linear
- Sequential
- Flashbacks/flashforwards
- Ellipsis- Skip parts of time
- Parallel
Gustaf Freytag’s Pyramid
150 years ago came up with a pyramid
- The start- Exposition
- The middle- Climax
- The end- Denouement
Todorov:
Says that a moving image has 3 parts to its structure (Beginning/Middle/End)-
- Equilibrium: Everything is normal at the start
- Disruption: Something happens that changes this and is usually the main part of the story
- New equilibrium: The disruption is resolved and everything goes back to a new normal
- Flexi-Narrative: Long form tv products deploy multiple 3 act structures in a similar pattern
- Multiple equilibrium sequences: Rollercoaster effects for audiences by deploying multiple disruption sequences
Vladimir Propp:
Suggests that stories use Stock Characters to structure stories: which are-
- Hero
- Helper
- Princess
- Villain
- Victim
- Dispatcher
- Father
- False Hero
Spheres of Action:
One character can occupy a number of roles/’Spheres of action’ and one role may be played by a number of different characters. Propp says that there are 31 different functions that play an important role in organising plots.
These can be divided into these sections (Narratemes- Starting points of most stories):
- PREPARATION
- COMPLICATION
- TRANSFERENCE
- STRUGGLE
- RETURN
- RECOGNITION
Propp suggested that stories don’t have to use all the characters listed, though most are organised around the interplay of the hero, villain and princess archetypes.
Claude Levi Strauss- Binary Oppositions
Suggests that narratives are structured around binary oppositions which helps people understand key themes that underline important messages. For example, Male/Female, Good/Bad, Poor/Rich etc. This allows people to make judgements on characters, settings, history, society etc.
Semantic Differential
CONCEPT | Strongly agree | Agree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly agree | OPPOSITE CONCEPT |
| YOUNG | ✓ | OLD | ||||
| MATURE | ✓ | CHILDISH | ||||
| FEMALE | ✓ | MALE | ||||
| STRAIGHT | ✓ | GAY | ||||
| WHITE | ✓ | BLACK | ||||
| URBAN | ✓ | REGIONAL | ||||
| POOR | ✓ | RICH | ||||
| EDUCATED | ✓ | STUPID | ||||
| CRITICAL OF GOVERNMENT | ✓ | SUPPORTING OF GOVERNMENT |
Seymour Chatman
- Kernels- key moments in the plot/narrative structure: essential to the plot, movie wouldn’t work without it
- Satellites- Embellishments, developments, aesthetics: plot wouldn’t change if this was different. Aesthetic would change slightly but not by much.
Roland Barthes
- Proairetic codes- action, movement, doing things
- Hermeneutic codes- Reflection, dialogue, character development
- Enigmas- not telling the audience everything in the movie, intrigues people, ideas are raised