Exploration of Narrative Theories

Exploration of Narrative Theories

The purpose of a film production/sequence is that it needs to attract the audience and appeal to their interests.This is similar with an opening sequence of a production as it needs to engage the audience's attention and appeal to them to keep them interested as to what's going on. 

There are two structures of a narrative:

Linear structure- This means that the story of the production is being told in order or chronologically. 

Non Linear structure- This means that the story's order is mixed and isn't being told chronologically. This is often shown through the use of montage editing.

There are two devices of a narrative:

Restricted- This means that we the audience only know as much or less than the main character. Less information is presented allowing us to make assumptions. Over the shoulder, close ups and point of view shots illustrate this device really well.

Omniscient- This means that the audience know more than the character. Use of long shots and extreme long shots allows us as the audience to see everything and interpret the narrative.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cifPv4QWTH0&safe=active (Memento opening scene)

• Non linear structure the clip is played in reverse showing the characters actions backwards, e.g the gun returning to the bullet after previously being fired.
• Point of view shot is used showing us that it is restricted. We do not know what's going on and only know as much as the character knows. Gives a sense of enigma as we don't know what is going on in the scene, we can only guess or interpret. 

Vladimir Propp's character theory: (thriller example Se7en)- see full synopsis or film

• The hero- Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman). His job in the production is to uncover why the killer is killing people and to catch him and stop him.
• The Villain-(serial killer) opposes the hero who is trying to stop him. Makes things hard for the hero through killings of victims.

Tzvetan Todorov equilibrium theory: (thriller example the strangers)- see full synopsis or film

• The male protagonist and the female protagonist start of happy with a normal life enjoying themselves. The state of normality is disrupted by the psychopaths who are tormenting them through messages and violent assaults. Leaving the equilibrium of the protagonists lives unbalanced.
• Attempted repair occurs as the protagonists try to fight off the and remove the unbalance caused by the psychopaths. They attempt to flee to stop the unbalance.
• New equilibrium- the protagonists are killed leaving them away from the violence and torment with their lives at an end. New equilibrium from the psychopaths as they disappear leaving the violence behind them. State of normality for the psychopaths with a twist of the protagonists being killed, ending the normality of their lives.

Barthes' Codes: (thriller example Shutter Island)

• Enigma codes surround the main character (Leonardo Dicaprio) he is a mysterious detective who the audience do not know much about. Therefore the audience are able to connote certain things about this character and decode certain things about him. 
• Not only with the character but the location used in the opening sequence of the clip. The audience can denote that the director has set the production somewhere isolated but creepy like an asylum making the audience feel slightly insecure.