Principles of Film Form: Narrative

What is a narrative?

In simple terms, the telling of a film’s story. A narrative may be factual or fictional or a blend
of the two. It may be chronological or not.

Fiction films: a narrative that is mostly an imagined story.

Non-fiction: usually a documentation of reality.. or is it?

Even though we are most familiar with narrative film, not all films have a narrative! Can you
think of any non-narrative films?

Elements of Narrative

In film terms, story and plot mean different things. Figuring out the differences between
story and plot can be tricky but lets try..

Story: consists of all the events we see on screen, + all of the events that we infer to have
happened but are not directly presented.

Plot: a structure for presenting everything we actually see and hear in a film. Another way
of thinking about plot might be the selection and arrangement of a story’s events.

Elements of Narrative - the 5 Part Narrative Structure

• Exposition: provides background information on the characters, setting, basic

• Inciting moment: a moment in the story that sets the rest of the narrative in motion.
 • Rising action: principal conflict development may be complicated by introduction
of secondary conflicts.

• Climax: turning point in the conflict.

• Falling action: principal conflict moves toward resolution.

• Denouement (day-new-mawn): conclusion or resolution of narrative.

Terms that can help us consider aspects of narrative

Diegesis: the world of the story. Diegetic elements are events, characters, objects, settings
and sounds that come from the world in which the story occurs.

Nondiegetic elements: things we see and hear on the screen but come from outside the
world of the story. This can include background music, titles, credits, voiceover narration.

We will be using these concepts extensively when discussing the module on movie sound.

Please watch this short film from your textbook describing the difference between diegetic
and nondiegetic elements Links to an external site.. (also found in this module - required
screening page)

Implied story elements: story incorporates the events that are implied by what we see
(and hear) on-screen.

Elements of Narrative: Order of Plot Events

Story order flows chronologically, linearly, like real life. Plot order can take a variety of
different forms.

Non chronological plots are not new to film, however a current trend in film is to add
continuing levels of complexity in the order of plot events ( I call this the non-linear plot).

Films that break new ground in plot construction include Christopher Nolan’s Memento,
Tom Twyker’s Run Lola Run, David Lynch’s Mulholand Drive and many more.

Perhaps a reason for this trend in film is that our every day existence is becoming
continuously more “non-linear”? The computer, cell phones and a variety of other
technologies allow us to sort of “exist” in different places simultaneously. What do you
think?
Narrative: Terms to Know

Story duration: the amount of time that the story takes to occur.

Plot duration: time that the events in the story occur (elapsed time of the individual events
in the plot).

Screen duration: running time of the film onscreen.

In film it is most common for the screen duration to be shorter than the plot duration (your
text calls this a summary relationship).

Can you think of any films that run in either real time (screen and story duration are
similar) or that have a stretch relationship (screen duration is longer than plot
duration)?

Hubs: major events or branching points in the plot structure.

Satellites: minor plot events that add texture and complexity to characters and events but
are not essential elements.

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

Exposition: information about events that supposedly transpired before the beginning of
the plot .

Repetition: the number or times with which a story element recurs in a plot.

Scope: the overall range (in time and place) of the movie’s story.

Flat characters: one dimensional, have few discernible traits, motivations and actions are
predictable.

Round characters: three dimensional, several, possibly contradictory character traits.

Major characters: most important characters in a movie, make important things happen or
have important things happen to them.

Protagonists: the major character who serves as the “hero” and “wins” the conflict within
a film.

Minor characters: supporting characters in a film, they play a less important role in the
overall movie.

Antagonists: characters whose values or behavior are in conflict with those of the
protagonist.
Narration and Narrators

Narration: in a film a storyteller, someone in the film who literally tells the story to the
audience. The narrator can be a character in the film or an unknown person outside of the
world of the film. Narrators can tell the story through images, vocals/sound, or both.

Narrators can have different points of view (POV) in their telling of the story, just as camera
placement can determine visual point of view (omniscient, single, or group character).

Narrators can also be OMNISCIENT (unrestricted) giving us a third-person view of ALL

Please watch the short tutorial from your text (also on the module required screening
page): Narrators, Narration, Narrative Links to an external site.

Review - Classical Hollywood Cinema

Classical genre films are a product of classical Hollywood filmmaking modes; so called
“classical cinema”. Both classical cinema and genre forms emerge out of the Hollywood
studio system; at it’s height during the 1930’s and 1940’s (see notes on the business of film
and the history of the Hollywood studio system) . Although have the same roots in film
history; classical cinema and genre are not the same thing. Let’s take a look at classical
cinema.

The fundamental thing to understand about classical cinema is that the form is story
oriented. All of the elements of a classical cinema film (camera work, sound, editing,
staging, characters) should be in place to move the plot forward. In classical cinema, you
want the audience to be fully and completely immersed in the story. None of the film
elements should “remove” the audience from this immersion.

Narrative Characteristics of Classical Hollywood Cinema

First and foremost: the film is plot / story oriented

• an introduction that defines the conflict

• resolution/closure of conflict

Style and editing are functional: they do not distract from the actors or action
The film is strong in story, star, production value
The film is usually set in a present “external” world
Film is usually centered on one character or a few distinct individuals
The characters have a goal or few goals (goals are simple)
In order to attain their goals, the characters must confront antagonists or a series of
problems
Film has closure ( a sense or resolution or completion)
Emphasis on clear causes and effects of actions
Film uses unobtrusive filmmaking techniques

Final Thoughts...

In the past couple of weeks we have watched films from the U.K. (2009), Japan (1950), and
this week 2000s (Greece)

Obviously these are not Hollywood films but can we now identify some of the specific ways
in which narrative is used differently in these films than it would be in a "Classical
Hollywood" style film?

As part of next week's short writing #5, we will compare and and contrast classical
Hollywood narrative form with that of Rashomon and Dogtooth.