DISCUSS:➤ WHO ARE THE PEOPLE IN THE PICTURE?➤ WHERE ARE THEY?➤ DO THEY KNOW EACH OTHER?➤ HOW DO THEY FEEL?

PAPERMAN

IN PAIRS OR

THREES

PREDICT WHAT

WILL HAPPEN IN

THE FILM.

YOU’VE GOT 5

MINUTES TO

WRITE A SHORT

STORY.

BE PREPARED

WATCH

NARRATIVE VS STORY

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

➤ STORY HAS A BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END

➤ NARRATIVE IS THE ORDER THE STORY IS TOLD.

➤ NARRATIVE STRUCTURE=THE WAY A STORY IS

ORGANISED AND SHAPED IN TERMS OF TIME AND

EVENTS

➤ 2 MAIN TYPES OF NARRATIVE:➤ LINEAR

➤ NON LINEAR

STRUCTURALIST THEORY

STRUCTURALIST THEORY IS INVOLVED IN

IDENTIFYING HOW NARRATIVES HAVE A FORM OF

STRUCTURE TO THEM WHETHER IT BE THE

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS HAVING

A CLEARLY DEFINABLE STRUCTURE FOR EXAMPLE

HERO VS. VILLAIN. IT COULD BE THE PLOT,

LANGUAGE USED IN THE SCRIPT ETC..

LEVI-STRAUSS: STRUCTURALISM

CLAUDE LEVI-STRAUSS, A FRENCH THEORIST

(NOT THE JEANS!) DEVISED SEVERAL

INFLUENTIAL THEORIES THAT HELP US TO

UNDERSTAND HOW MEANING IS ESTABLISHED

QUICKLY IN OPENINGS.

BINARY OPPOSITIONS CREATE MEANING

THROUGH ESTABLISHING WHAT SOMETHING IS

NOT. WE UNDERSTAND THE WORLD THROUGH A

SYSTEM OF POWER WEIGHTED OPPOSITIONS.

ONE THING CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT ITS

OPPOSITE

BINARY OPPOSITIONS

MAN VS WOMAN

WHITE VS BLACK

YOUNG VS OLD

HERO VS VILLAIN

WEST VS EAST

GOOD VS BAD

BINARY OPPOSITIONS

➤ BINARY OPPOSITIONS CAN HELP

ESTABLISH WHO THE ‘GOOD’ AND

THE ‘BAD’ CHARACTERS ARE IN

VERY QUICKLY.

➤ THE IDEA THAT WE CANNOT

CONCEIVE THE CONCEPT OF

‘GOOD’ WITHOUT THE PRESENCE

OF ‘BAD’ WITH WHICH TO

COMPARE IT TO AND THEREFORE

DEFINE IT AGAINST.

➤ BINARY OPPOSITIONS ARE

OBVIOUSLY PRESENT IN

NARRATIVES BECAUSE

FUNDAMENTALLY A NARRATIVE

LINEAR NARRATIVE

THE STORY HAS A BEGINNING, A MIDDLE

AND AN END, TOLD IN THAT ORDER.

THIS CAN BE REFERRED TO AS CLASSIC

HOLLYWOOD NARRATIVE OR 3 ACT

STRUCTURE.

A -> B -> C -> D - > E

NON LINEAR NARRATIVE

THIS IS A NARRATIVE THAT PLAYS WITH THE

ORDER, I.E.:

D -> A -> C -> B - > E

THIS IS SOMETIMES USED IN EXPERIMENTAL OR

ALTERNATIVE FILMS. IT CAN ALSO BE USED IN BIG

BUDGET STUDIO PRODUCED FILMS. IN SOME

CASES THIS NARRATIVE STRUCTURE CAN APPEAR

ARTISTIC OR FOLLOW OTHER GENRE

CONVENTIONS.

STRUCTURE = HOW IT’S TOLD

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER?

FLASHBACKS?

REPETITION OF EVENTS FROM DIFFERENT

PERSPECTIVES?

NARRATOR?

PARALLEL EPISODES?

THE LACK OF IDENTIFIABLE STRUCTURE IS UNUSUAL

IN MAINSTREAM CINEMA.

PULP FICTION - LOTS OF TIME SHIFTS BUT

ORDER/SHAPE EVENTUALLY FOUND. (TARANTINO,

1994)

NARRATIVE –

TZVETAN TODOROV

Equilibrium -

A sense of

normality, the

calm before the

storm.

Disruption -

The point

where the

story changes:

a death, an

event, a

situation.

Recognitionof Disruption

Attempt to repair

Restoration of a New

Equilibrium -Where

normality is restored.

VLADIMIR PROPP’S SEVEN SPHERES OF ACTION:

HERO: INDIVIDUAL(S) WHO'S QUEST IS TO RESTORE THE EQUILIBRIUM.

VILLAIN: INDIVIDUAL(S) WHO'S TASK IS TO DISRUPT THE EQUILIBRIUM.

DONOR: INDIVIDUAL(S) WHO GIVES THE HERO(S) SOMETHING, ADVICE,

INFORMATION OR AN OBJECT.

HELPER: INDIVIDUAL(S) WHO AIDS THE HERO(S) WITH THEIR SET

TASK.

PRINCESS (PRINCE): INDIVIDUAL(S) WHICH NEED HELP, PROTECTING

AND SAVING.

DISPATCHER: INDIVIDUAL(S) WHO SEND THE HERO(S) ON THEIR

QUEST.

FALSE HERO: INDIVIDUAL(S) WHO SET OUT TO UNDERMINE THE

HERO'S QUEST BY PRETENDING TO AID THEM. OFTEN UNMASKED AT

THE END OF THE FILM

MULTI-STRAND NARRATIVE

A MULTI-STRAND NARRATIVE STRUCTURE

MEANS THERE ARE SEVERAL NARRATIVES

RUNNING AT THE SAME TIME.

NARRATIVE STRUCTURE - ENDINGS

➤ NARRATIVE STRUCTURE IS THE WAY THE STORY OR PLOT

UNFOLDS. IS THE STORY AN OPEN OR CLOSED STRUCTURE. A

CLOSED STRUCTURE MEANS THE STORY ENDS SATISFACTORILY

AS IN MOST FILMS - THIS IS KNOWN AS CLOSURE, WITH THE

GIRL GETTING THE BOY OR THE HERO SAVING THE PLANET.

➤ AN OPEN ENDING MEANS THERE IS NO FINAL CONCLUSION TO

THE STORY - A TELEVISION SOAP HAS NO FINAL ENDING, IT JUST

HAS MINOR ENDINGS (A CHARACTER GETS KILLED). IT IS LEFT

OPEN FOR THE STORY TO CONTINUE.

➤ CAN YOU THINK OF ANY EXAMPLES?

BARTHES

ROLAND BARTHES, IDENTIFIED SEVERAL NARRATIVE

CODES.

ONE OF HIS MOST ACCESSIBLE IDEAS IS THE ‘ENIGMA

CODE’ THIS IS A CODE IN A NARRATIVE SURROUNDING

PUZZLES. THE MAIN CHARACTER FACES A PUZZLE AND

HAS TO FIND A WAY TO SOLVE THIS IN ORDER TO

PROGRESS. BARTHES BELIEVES THAT THIS IS A

NARRATIVE DEVICE USED AS A WAY TO PROLONG A

FILM’S INEVITABLE ENDING.

ANOTHER CODE WAS THE ‘ACTION CODE’. THIS IS

OBVIOUS WHEN ANALYSING NARRATIVE AS THERE WILL

BE AN OBVIOUS ACTION MOMENT E.G. WHEN THE HERO

DRAWS HIS GUN OR A CAR CHASE.

SOUND AS NARRATIVE

DEVICESOUND IS KEY WHEN THINKING OF

DIEGETIC(WITHIN THE WORLD OF THE FILM)

AND NON DIEGETIC (SOUND EFFECT OR

SOUND TRACK)

SOUND IS A SIGNIFIER OF ACTION – THE FAST

PACED LOUD SOUNDTRACK THAT

ACCOMPANIES AN ACTION SEQUENCE. AN

EMOTIVE STRING BASED SONG SIGNIFYING

THE DEATH OF A CHARACTER – NON-

DIEGETIC.

A GUNSHOT IN THE FRAME THAT IS HEARD BY

FLASHBACKS & EDITING

AS PART OF NARRATIVE

FLASHBACKS CAN BE USEFUL FOR THE

AUDIENCE IN PLACING A CHARACTER IN

A CERTAIN TIME OR AS A MEANS OF

EXPLAINING HOW A CHARACTER AS

ARRIVED AT THE PLACE THAT THEY ARE

IN.

EDITING AS YOU KNOW IS VITAL WHEN

HELPING TO ACHIEVE MEANING. THE

EDIT IN ITSELF CAN FORM A NARRATIVE

IN CASES.

TRANSITIONS

THE PROCESS OF CUTTING FROM ONE SHOT TO

ANOTHER. THE MOST COMMON IS:

1. THE STRAIGHT CUT OR SIMPLY ‘CUT’.

HOWEVER THERE ARE OTHER MEANS OF TRANSITION

AVAILABLE TO A FILM EDITOR:

2. FADE TO BLACK

3. DISSOLVE/CROSS FADE

4. WIPE

RESTRICTED NARRATIVE

○ WE CAN IDENTIFY EXAMPLES OF THIS WHEN

THINKING OF FILMS WHEN WE ARE NOT

GIVEN THE FULL STORY AND HAVE TO

DECIDE FOR OURSELVES WHAT IS

HAPPENING.

○ SOMETIMES WE DO NOT KNOW WHY

CHARACTERS ARE IN THE LOCATIONS THEY

ARE ETC.

○ RESTRICTED AND HIDDEN NARRATIVE CAN

SUBLIMINALLY CAUSE THE AUDIENCE TO

FILL IN THAT GAPS.

○ THE NARRATIVE CAN THEN BECOME MORE

SESSION RECAP

Q. WHAT IS NARRATIVE?

Q. WHY IS NARRATIVE DIFFERENT TO STORY?

Q. WHAT IS PLOT?

Q. EXPLAIN STRUCTURALIST NARRATIVE THEORY

Q. WHAT IS A LINEAR NARRATIVE?

Q. WHAT IS A NON LINEAR NARRATIVE?

Q. HOW CAN THE EQUILIBRIUM BE DISTURBED IN A NARRATIVE?

Q. WHAT IS BARTHES ENIGMA CODE?

Q. NAME 4 OF PROPP’S CHARACTERS

Q. HOW CAN SOUND BE USED AS A NARRATIVE DEVICE?

Q. EXPLAIN RESTRICTIVE NARRATIVE

Q. HOW CAN EDITING AND FLASHBACKS BE A NARRATIVE DEVICE?