All media texts tell stories-some factual and some fictional. From its earliest beginnings, the media has been used to tell stories. All story telling relies on establishing a setting, introducing and developing characters and developing a plot that will hold the interest of the audience. Fictional film narratives are no different.
¨ Plot and sub-plot/s
¨ Opening and closing sequences
¨ Narrative possibilities
¨ Character development
¨ Setting
¨ Structure of time
¨ Cause and effect
¨ Point of view
Plot
Plot refers to the storyline of a film. The most common form of film narrative consists of one main plot which follows one or two main characters, or protagonists, through the story. The plot of a narrative must capture the interest of the audience, and then keep them interested. While conventional film tend to use the one main plot with complementary sub-plots, many contemporary filmmakers use several plots that are sometimes inter related and sometimes not. The conventional plot involves one main protagonist whose world is threatened by external sources or circumstances. The plot is driven by cause and effect, takes place in a linear time frame and reaches a conclusion. On the other hand, an unconventional plot might have a non-linear time frame so that events seen on screen may not be occurring in the same order in the characters lives.
Sub-plot
A sub-plot is a secondary story occurring in the narrative. Sub-plot often takes the form of a love story, they can also be used to develop character.
Questions on Plot
· What is the central or main storyline?
· Who is the main protagonist in the story?
· What are the sub-plots?
· Is the plot conventional or unconventional?
· What themes and issues are being explored throughout the plot?
Opening and closing sequences
The opening of a film introduces the audience to the world of time and space in which the narrative takes place. They are often referred to as ‘set ups’. In the opening sequence the audience is introduced to both the physical settings, historical settings, and the filmmaker introduces the characters and begins to develop them. The opening sequence begins the process of presenting the narrative possibilities to the audience. Just as the opening sequence provides a beginning for the narrative, so does the closing sequence of a film bring the narrative to its conclusion. The closing sequence bring the plot to the point of climax both in a story and emotional sense. It is the point in a film at which the audience reaches an understanding about unanswered questions relating to story and characters.
Questions on Opening and closing sequences
Opening
· What characters have been introduced?
· What plot details have been revealed?
· What narrative possibilities have been suggested?
Closing
· How did the filmmaker bring the story to a conclusion?
· How have the main characters changes when compared to the opening sequence?
Narrative possibilities
Throughout a narrative, possibilities are presented to the audience. Often the narrative possibilities are dependant on the genre. The skilled filmmaker can also use narrative possibilities to keep the audience engaged and guessing what may happen next. Sometimes the filmmaker uses narrative possibilities to mislead the audience so that they can be shocked or surprised later in the film.
Character development
Character development can be done through various narrative devices. The simplest is the traditional ‘Once upon a time’ fairytale format, in which we are introduced to the main character and then their story. Another technique in character development is to look back on a character’s life or part of it.
Questions on Character development
· List the decisions and actions that reveal the character of the main protagonist
Setting
The setting of a factional film narrative refers to the location and the historical period in which the story takes place. Location refers to the physical geography of the story. The historical time period of the setting addresses such story variables as whether the story takes place in contemporary times, historical times, or in the future.
Questions on setting
· How does the setting relate to the narrative?
· What is the historical period of the narrative?
· What locations are used in the narrative?
Structuring of time
Film narratives operate within codes and conventions, and as the audience we view them with an understanding of these conventions. Film uses conventions to help audiences overcome the limitations of real time. Audiences accept the convention that films compress time so that the events of a character’s lifetime can occur for us within the 2 hours we have set aside to watch the film. While audiences are familiar with the conventional, linear presentation of time in which we see the story unfold from beginning to end, filmmakers can challenge these conventions through restructuring the order of time.
Questions on Structuring of time
· How was time structure in the fictional film narrative that you studied?
Cause and effect
Cause and effect is a narrative function. Everything that happens in a story must happen for a reason. There must be a cause for there to be an effect.
Questions on Cause and effect
· What motivates each character ?
· Give examples of the cause and effect chain from a text you studied this year.
Point of view
In presenting the narrative, the filmmaker decides from whose point of view the story will be told. Point of view does not need to be limited to one character.
Questions on Point of view
· From whose point of view is the narrative presented? How do you know?
· Discuss the genre of the film narrative, has the narrative point of view been determined by the genre of the film?