- Chronological-the order in which the events occurred, from first to last
- Sequential-series of scenes that form a distinct narrative unit
- Circular structure– story ends the same as how it began
- Time based– is to watch it unfold over time according to the temporal logic of the medium as it is played back.
- Narrative arc– the story a film follows along including a dramatic arc somewhere to draw attention from the audience
- Freytag’s Pyramid– the structure outlining events in a story
- exposition- a comprehensive description of an event, story or idea.
- inciting incident,
- rising action,
- climax- everything that the plot leads up to
- falling action– what happens after the climax and the plot/action calms down
- resolution
- denouement
- Beginning / middle / end– the idea that every storyline is split into three components
- Equilibrium
- Disruption
- New equilibrium
- Peripeteia– change in fortune
- Anagnoresis– dramatic revelation
- Catharsis– the idea that we are freed by consuming something
- The 3 Unities: Action, Time, Place
- flashback / flash forward
- Foreshadowing– the idea of hinting towards events further on in the storyline
- Ellipsis– a jump/missing out certain events in films.
- Pathos
- Empathy
- diegetic / non-diegetic
- slow motion
Physical Internal Structures:
Technical equipment (lighting, sound), actors, set, camera crew, software, writers, props, special effects, director, editors and costume designers
Theoretical Internal Structures:
Storyline, performance, generating emotions, events, characters, themes, genre, antagonist/ protagonist, linear/circular, start middle and end, time based, chronological, sequential and freytag pyramid.
Synopsis– A girl goes missing on a night out, her family and friends are all worried about her and file a missing police report. We are shown the trauma they go through. 2 years later her dead body is found, her ‘ghost’ haunts her family and friends. They then discover the body was not her. A group of her friends form together to be detectives and figure out that the ‘ghost’ was actually her asking them for help. They go on a quest to find her and end up finding her however she is very mentally damaged.
Todorov– presents a three part structure (beginning,middle,end). He recognises that stories are constructed in ways that test and subvert the three act narrative structure outlined.
Equilibrium-the story constructs a stable world at the outset of the narrative. Key characters are presented as part of that stability.
Disruption- oppositional forces. The actions of a villain, perhaps, or some kind of calamity. Destabilising the equilibirum.
New equilibrium- when the disruption is repaired and stability is restored.
- the stage of equilibrium
- the conflict that disrupts this initial equilibrium
- the way / ways in which the disruption looks to find new equilibrium
- the denouement and/or resolution that brings about a new equilibrium
Vladimir Propp– Famously analysed hundreds of Russian folk stories in attempt to uncover underlying narrative structures. He also suggests that stories use stock characters to structure stories and that not all characters listed have to be used.
- Hero
- Helper
- Princess
- Villain
- Victim
- Dispatcher
- Father
- False Hero
The idea that there is normally a villain who has done something bad to a victim, meaning that they need a hero, who may be accompanied by a helper that is sent out by a dispatcher to fight the villain. The dispatcher or similar donor, for example a father figure, prepares the hero in his quest by giving them some form of magical object. The hero generally then meets the princess as part of his quest which usually provides a happy ending. During the narrative we (and the princess) can be presented by a false hero.
Claude Levi-Strauss:
Suggests that narratives are structured around binary oppositions eg: good v evil. Creates a dominant message of a film, TV programme, advert, music video, animation. Can be seen to either support the dominant ideologies of a society, which would make it a reactionary text ,or to challenge, question or undermines the dominant ideologies of society, in which case it could be seen as a radical text.