Film Narrative

Elements of Narrative

Story and Plot:

- Story:

(1) Explicitly presented (diegetic) events

(2) Implied events

- Plot:

(1) Explicitly presented (diegetic) events in certain order

(2) Non-diegetic material

Diegesis

Diegesis: The total world of the story

(1) Diegetic elements: the events, characters, objects, settings, and sounds

(2) Nondiegetic elements: things that we see and hear on the screen but that come from outside the world of the story (e.g. background music, titles and credits, voiceover comment from an omniscient narrator)

Explicitly presented (diegetic)events

Implied events

Non-diegetic material

Story

Plot

Order & Events

Order of Plot events:(1) Chronological(2) Non-chronological

Events: Hubs and Satellites(1) Hubs: Major events or branching points in the

plot structure that force characters to choose b/w or among alternate paths

(2) Satellites: Minor plot events that add texture and complexity to characters and elements but are not essential elements

Duration

Definition: length of time(1) Story duration: amount of time that the

implied story takes to occur

(2) Plot duration: elapsed time of those events within the story that the film explicitly presents

(3) Screen duration: movie’s running time onscreen

Relationships:

(1) Story and Plot duration: usually stable (plot event duration = story event it implies)

(2) Story and Screen duration(a)Summary relationship:

screen duration < story duration(a)Real time relationship:

screen duration = story duration(a)Stretch relationship:

screen duration > story duration

(3) Cinematic time usually Real time

Suspense vs Surprise

Surprise: taking unawares

Suspense: anxiety brought on by a partial uncertainty - the end is certain, but the means is uncertain (or sometimes both the results and means known)

Frequency

Definition: Number of times with which a story element recurs in plot Purpose:

(1) Symbols and Metaphors?(2) Memory: Flash-backs and slow-motion(3) Stream-of-consciousness

Characters

Treatment: (1) Beings who like “real” people have

discernible traits, habits, and dispositions

(2) Formal elements that help develop the narrative (stock characters)

Types of Characters

Complexity:(1) Flat Characters:

(a) one-dimensional (b) one or very few discernible traits(c) predictable behavior

(2) Round characters: three-dimensional(a) three-dimensional(b) Several traits, sometimes contradictory(c) Unpredictable behavior

Types of Characters

Roles(1) Major characters:

(a) Protagonist

(b) Antagonist

(2) Minor characters

(3) Marginal characters

Determining Character

Traits, motivations (social, economic, ethnic, racial, religious, emotional, or psychological), actions

Description by narrator or other characters

Style by which actors interpret

Natural vs. Probable

Setting

Definition: time and space in which the story takes place.

(1) Not only date, city, or country, but also provides the character’s social, education, and cultural backgrounds and other identifying factors vital for understanding them such as what they eat and drink

(2) Provides implicit explanation for actions or traits normally considered eccentric by providing cultural context

Point of View

Physical point of view: the position or angle from which the camera or a particular narrator or character observes an event or a sceneMental point of view: the perspective taken by a particular narrator or character in a story in seeing and hearing an even or scene, reflecting on an idea, creating a relationship between two or more things, or remembering events or dreamsBeyond camera or the characters

Omniscient POV

Definition: camera has complete or unlimited perception of what the cinematographer chooses for it to see (most common), however, it does not mean it has to show everything, editing always leaves out aspects of the story and plot

Subjective or Restricted POV

Definition: perceptual, subjective point of view of an individual character.

(1) Direct POV: character is in the frame and we see what he or she sees

(2) Indirect POV: like Direct POV, but is a result at least two consecutive shots achieved by such editing techniques as eyeline-match cut.

(3) Interior Monologue

Scope

Definition: related to duration, setting and POV, it is the overall range, in time and place of the movie’s story