- Linear – progressing from one stage to another, one after the other, sequentially
- Chronological – Events following the true order in which they happened
- Sequential – One after the other
- Circular structure – The story ends where the film begins.
- Time based –
- Narrative arc – the story a film follows along with a dramatic arc within it somewhere to keep viewers attention.
- Freytag’s Pyramid
- exposition – a comprehensive description of an event, story or idea.
- inciting incident – the event that sends the main character/characters on the mission/adventure.
- rising action – the bulk of the plot that ends at the end of the story/film.
- climax – everything that the plot leads up to.
- falling action – what happens after the climax and the plot/action calms down.
- resolution – a firm decision to do or not to do something.
- denouement – context and resolution to a major theme, relationship or event in a story.
- Beginning / middle / end – Different stages of a story.
- Equilibrium – One of the stages in the story where it is explained about the condition that happens with a character.
- Disruption –
- New equilibrium – The beginning of the film where the characters life is normal.
- Peripeteia – A shift of good to bad in a characters life.
- Anagnorisis – A moment of recognition or revelation in a story.
- Catharsis – Releasing strong emotions which leads to a realisation.
- The 3 Unities: Action, Time, Place
- flashback / flash forward
- Foreshadowing – hinting towards a future event within the film
- Ellipsis – a jump/missing out certain events in films.
- Pathos – Getting the audience emotional due to something happening within the film or show, main emotions being pity and sadness.
- Empathy – The ability to sense other people’s emotions and to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.
- diegetic / non-diegetic – Things that emanates from the story world of the film, non-diegetic being things occur outside of the story line.
- slow motion – Slowing down the video playing so that the watcher can take in certain info or focus on certain aspects of the film.
Synopsis and statement of intent:
A British agent who thinks his father was lost at war investigates his fathers files and he never finds ever solid evidence, at long last he finds the last mission his father went on, “investigating and going undercover within a Nazi agency”, his son decides to go to the Nazi agency and try figure more about his father before his death. However when he’s in the agency people catch on that he seems to have incorrect German and is sneaking away without reason. But at very last, he finds out that his father…
Within my film I’m going to have a hero (being the main character who is looking for his father), a villain (being a Nazi operator catching onto the hero’s lies) and a victim, being a love interest of the main character being hurt by the villain. With the major plot discovery being a heartbreak for the hero I want the audience to feel attached and emotional for the main character, otherwise known as pathos. I intend the film to be for ages 15 and upwards due to the emotional and violent film, it would be a major film developed on a large budget by Warner Brothers and the poster would be a half and half, blue light vs red light (good vs evil) back to back displaying multiple characters along with a large title of the film, this way the viewers are intrigued to find out who the characters in the poster are. I will be taking photographs of myself with an army based uniform on, a pretend gun and standing tall to show the main character to be bold and brave, whereas the villain will be arms crossed and an angry friend.
My film is similar to the James Bond 007 films, marvels captain America and red notice. However the film takes place within WW2 which is like Captain America but it focuses on a real life undercover not a fictional sub-division working on technology that uses a all powerful stone. Its like 007 but the star isn’t a standalone character going after a baddy because its his job and picks up woman along the way, its a young soldier looking for his family by fighting the war.
Todorov:
- Equilibrium – meaning normality and peace. (The beginning)
- Disruption – The climax of the story causing normality to fade and a problem arising, within this section of the film the problem is solved by the main characters. (The middle)
- New equilibrium – after the Disruption has been dealt with, everything is back normality and peace. (The End)
- Todorov believes stories are always linear, following his idea of equilibrium, disruption and new equilibrium.
- It is normal for media companies to have multiple equilibriums and disruptions.
- Media companies tend to understand that viewers might have a low attention rate/boredom threshold so they propel immediate disruption to hook the viewers attention.
- Devices like anachronic devices are like flash backs or peaks into the future so the viewer has context.
- In TV shows and shows in general, the idea of Todorovs acts are either played out across one episode, a couple episodes or the whole season.
Vladamir Propp
- Vladimir Propp believed in the idea that there is 8 different types of character, these 8 characters are,
- Hero
- Helper
- Princess
- Villain
- Victim
- Dispatcher
- Father
- False Hero
- Most of the time these characters co-inside, with the Villain doing something to the victim and the hero having to fix it or make it correct.
- However the characters don’t have to stick to their role and a role can be multiple characters, this is called a sphere of action. The different spheres of action can be divided into 6 sections, these sections being,
- PREPARATION
- COMPLICATION
- TRANSFERENCE
- STRUGGLE
- RETURN
- RECOGNITION