-diegetic information—materials related to the story

-non-diegetic—not related to the story—elements used to tell the story that doesn’t that is not pertain to the world of the story (I.e. credits, music, etc)

-linear chronology—actions proceed one after another through a forward movement in time—usually follows a a central character’s motivation

-Linear narratives usually have a beginning, middle, and an end.

-deadline structure—action moves toward a fixed end—I.e. something must be accomplished by a specific time, like Speed, My Best Friends Wedding, The Hangover

-Parallel plots-implied simultaneity between 2 different plot lines

-Nonlinear plot- the flashback is a good example

-retrospective plot —tells past from the perspective of the present or future

-narrative duration-refers to the length of time an event or action is presented in a plot

-narrative frequency-describes how often plot elements are repeatedly shown

-narrative space-stories and their characters explore these spaces, contrast them, conquer them, inhabit them, leave them, build on them, and transform them

-refers not only to formal shape of space but also their cultural and social significance and connotations

-ideological location-describes the spaces and places inscribed with distinctive social values or ideologies

-psychological location-suggests an important correlation between a character’s state of mind and the place they inhabits at that moment in the story

-symbolic space- is space transformed through spiritual or other abstract means related to the narrative.

-first person narrator-has some relation to the story he or she is telling

-narrative frame-describes a context or person positioned outside the story to bracket the film’s narrative in a way that helps define its terms and meaning

-omniscient narration- a version of third person narration in which all elements of the plot are presented from many or all potential angles (knows all)

-restricted narration-organizes stories by focusing on one or two characters

-reflexive narration-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

-unreliable narrations-raise at some point in the narrative, crucial questions about the very truth of the story being told (I.e. Fight Club)

-multiple narrations-are found in films that use several different narrative perspectives for a single story or for different stories in a movie that loosely fits these perspectives together.

-Significance of narratives-engage viewers in ways that make time meaningful; organize human experience through moving images and sounds in order to describe how individuals and communities change with time