The Elements Of Narrative Film

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Main features of any narrative:

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story, character, plot, and narration

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story

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the subject matter or raw material of a narrative, with the actions and events ordered chronologically and focused on one or more characters

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characters

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individuals who motivate the events and perform the actions of the story

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plot

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orders the events and actions of the story according to particular temporal and spatial patterns, selecting some actions, individuals, and events and omitting others.

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narration

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the emotional, physical, or intellectual perspective through which the characters, events, and actions of the plot appear

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third-person narration

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seeing events from outside the story

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first-person narration

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the voiceover commentary of a single individual, usually someone who is a character in the story. one person's subjective point of view

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benshi

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japenese tradition of visible film narration. actor stands on side of stage and narrates

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narratology

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the study of narrative structure

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gerneral actions in the progression of a plot:

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prohibition, struggle, return, and recognition

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Vladimir Propp's (russian narratologist) general grouping of characters:

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villain, hero, doner (responsible for preparing the hero), helper (usually an animal), and the princess/sought for person.

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the roles of characters:

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central or minor

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classical film narrative

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one action or event leads to, or "causes", another action or event

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elements of characters

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combination between ordinary and extraordinary

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character coherence

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the product of different psychological, historical, or other expectations that see people, and thus fiction characters, as fundamentally consistent and unique. evaluated according to: VALUES, ACTIONS, and/or BEHAVIORS of the character

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divided characters

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subvert one or more patterns of coherence

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"the singular character"

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distinguished by one or more features that isolate the character as a unique personality. often seen in western cultures

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character depth

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a quality created within a fiction of characters displaying psychological and social features that distinguish them as rounded and complex in a way that approximates realistic human personalities

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character grouping

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the social arrangements of characters in relation to each other

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collective character

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social groupings

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character types

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conventional characters typically portrayed by actors cast because of their physical features, acting style, or the history of other roles they have played. similar to stereotype.

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figurative types

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characters so exaggerated or reduced that they no longer seem at all realistic and instead seem more like abstractions or emblems

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archetype

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a reflection of a spiritual or abstract state or process, such as when a character represents evil or opression

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stereotype

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when a film reduces an otherwise realistic character to a set of static traits that identify him or her in terms of a social, physical, or cultural category

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character development

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the patterns through which characters move from one mental, physical, or social state to another in a particular film. follows four general schemes: external and internal changes, along with progressive and regressive developments

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external change

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typically a physical alteration, commonly overlooked as merely a realistic description of a character's growth

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internal change

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measures character changes from within

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progressive character development

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occurs with a an improvement or advancement in some quality of the character

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regressive character development

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indicates a loss of or return to some previous state or a deterioration from the present state

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diegesis

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the entire world taht a story describes or that the viewer infers

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credits

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a nondiegetic element of narrative. list of all the personnel involved in a film production, including cast, crew, and executives, usually divided into opening and closing credits

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linear chronology

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selected events and actions proceed one after another through a forward movement in time

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deadline structure

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a narrative structure that accelerates the action and plot toward a central event or action that must be accomplished by a certain time

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parallel/doubled plots

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the implied simultaneity of or connection between two different plot lines, usually with their intersection at one or more points.

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plot order

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describes how events and actions are arranged in relation to each other to create a chronology of one sort or another

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flashback

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whereby a story shifts dramatically to an earlier time in the story

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retrospective plot

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a plot that tells of past events from the perspective of the present or future

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flashforward

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leaping ahead of the normal cause-and-effect order to a future incident.

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narrative duration

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the length of time an event or action is presented in a plot

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narrative frequency

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how often those plot elements are repeatedly shown

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narrative space

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variety of spatial schemes, spaces constructed through the course of the narrative as different mise-en-scenes. 4 different ways of development: historically, ideologically, psychologically, and symbolically

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historical narrative space/location

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the recognizable marker of a historical setting that can carry meanings and connotations important to the narrative

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ideological narrative space/location

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spaces and places inscribed with distinctive social values or ideologies

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psychological narrative space/location

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suggests an important correlation between a character's state of mind and the place he or she inhabits at the moment in the story

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symbolic narrative space/location

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a space transformed through spiritual or other abstract means related to the narrative

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first-person narrator

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someone with relation to the story he or she is telling, signaled by the pronoun I.

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narrative frame

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describes a context or person positioned outside the story to bracket the film's narrative in a way that helps define its terms and meanings.

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omniscient narration

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a version of third-person narration in which all elements of the plot are presented from many or all potential angles. knows all, and knows what's important and how to arrange it to reveal the truth about a life or a history

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limited/restriced narration

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a narrative in which our knowledge is limited to that of a particular character

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reflexive narration

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describes movies that call attention to the narrative point of view of the story in order to complicate or subvert their own narrative authority as a consistent perspective on the world

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unreliable/manipulative narration

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raises at some point in the narrative, crucial questions about the very truth of the story being told

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multiple narrations

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films that use several different narrative perspective for a single story or for different stories in a movie that loosely fits these perspectives together