Narrative

22.01.2015

Narrative 

A chain of events with a beginning, middle and end that embodies a judgement about the narrative events 

Narrative is the art of storytelling 

Think of the story as raw Ingredient of text

Narrative = plot + story 

Plot is everything visibly and audibly present in the text

Story is all the events of the narrative both explicit and implicit 

Narrative is a chain of events in a cause and effect relationship in time and space

Technical Codes

This refers to all the aspects of narrative construction that involve technical decision making. Therefore anything to do with camera angles and movement, lighting, sound, props. shot framing and composition, design and layout and editing. What do each of the choices made tell you about what is going on - for instance, is a character shot from a high or low angle and how does that make you, the audience, feel about them? How are sound effects used to help you make sense of what is going on?

Verbal Codes

The use of language - written and spoken - and signs contained in graphics. We learn a lot about a narrative from what we are told in this way, but the best narratives show rather than tell, leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions.

Symbolic Codes

These are the signs contained in the narrative that we decode as being significant and having meaning - for example a ragged coat worn by a character may mean that they are poor and possibly hungry. Think of them as clues that have to be followed, and different viewers/readers will follow clues in different ways.

Structure

Russian theorist, Tzvetan Todorov, suggests that all narratives follow a three part structure. They begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when equilibrium is restored.

The Seven Character Types of Vladimir Propp

1. The villain—struggles against the hero
2. The donor—prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object
3. The (magical) helper—helps the hero in the quest
4. The princess and her father—gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father can not be clearly distinguished
5. The dispatcher—character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
6. The hero or victim/seeker hero—reacts to the donor, weds the princess
7. False hero—takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.

These roles could sometimes be distributed among various characters, as the hero kills the villain dragon, and the dragon's sisters take on the villainous role of chasing him. Conversely, one character could engage in acts as more than one role, as a father could send his son on the quest and give him a sword, acting as both dispatcher and donor.

Barthes codes 

Enigma code Teases the audience A puzzle or riddle to be solved Creates tension Drives Narrative

Action code

A resolution is produced through action

What is to come

Momento 

A man creates a strange system to help him remember things; so he can hunt for the murderer of his wife without his short-term memory loss being an obstacle.

Director: Christopher Nolan

Writers: Christopher Nolan (screenplay), Jonathan Nolan(short story "Memento Mori")

Stars: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano Genres: Mystery | Thriller

Country: USA

Language: English

Release Date: 25 May 2001 (USA)

Production Co: Newmarket Capital Group, Team Todd, I Remember Productions

 

• Starts shooting someone then goes backwards in time when the film is in colour.
• when the film is in black and white it is liner between the coloured parts of the film at some point towards the end the two link and the black and white leads into the coloured storyline. 
• Leonard - uses tattoos to remind himself about people and events. also uses lots of notes and pictures of people.
• we only see what he can so the story is just as confusing to the audience as it is for the main character. 
• People like Natalie manipulate him by using his memory loss to get him to do her dirty work and tired to get him to kill someone. 
• the enigma code is that you don’t know who is on the phone.
• Don’t know who the killers/rapist are until the end 

it turns out that learned killed his wife by giving her too much insulin but creates this false story about Sammy Jenkins when its what really happened to kill.

• Leonard made the conscious decision to kill John at the end.

The Seven Character Types of Vladimir Propp

1. The villain—Leonard 
2. The donor— Natalie
3. The helper - Teddy
4. The dispatcher—Natalie
5. The hero - Teddy 
6. False hero—Leonard
7. princess - the wife
8. father - ?

Genre

15.01.2015

Critical approaches – Genre

Genre means type and it’s putting media text into different groups

Codes – symbols, noise and visuals

Conventions – the way the codes are used

Iconography - Patterns of visual imagery and Signals of genre

How to analyse genre

What is the story?

Where is the film set?

Characters in the film?

Actors and directors involved?

Iconography of the film?

What music is used?

The Horror Genre

Codes – fog, blood, children, knives, silence, and disturb

Conventions – women running and screaming, the promiscuous woman dies first, devil children

Directors – James Wan, Rob Zombie, Danny Boyle

Sub-genre – zombie, vampire, devils, gore

Hybrid-genre – comedy/horror, thriller/horror

Audience expectation is what the audience expects to see in a genre

Issues with genre

Popular text can reflect and influence social, economic, and political concerns

Can show changes with genres and the rise and fall of the genres popularity

Changers to the horror genre

Concerns about the supernatural

It’s become closer to home

The orphanage

Synopsis - A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.

Year: 2008

Director: J.A. Bayona

Cast: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep

Country: Spain

Language: Spanish

Production Co: Esta Vivo! Laboratorio de Nuevos Talentos, Grupo Rodar, Rodar y Rodar Cine y Televisión

  

Best bits

To me in a horror film the best bits are when you are scared because that is the main goal of the horror genre. So one of the best bits in the film to me is when an old woman crossing the road with a pram is hit by a truck because her been it is so unexpected it shocks you and makes you jump and then when you see the old woman on the floor with her bottom jaw knocked off its gruesome but the build up to seeing her creates a lot of tension so it continues the scare from the truck.

Worst bits

The worst bit for me was when the parents were looking for the young boy around the house I felt they started to panic to quickly so it doesn’t build the same tension to me than it would if it a was slower build up for the boy to be missing.

The sound effects are too loud for everyday things that usually wouldn’t even hear.

Great shots

In the opening scene with the children running around and playing outside the colour and cinematography is so warming and really gives you a feeling of nostalgia and happiness.

The panning shot over the sea looks smooth and is a very nice establishing shot.

Interesting sounds

In the opening scene with the children playing there is sort music and bird chirps creating a really innocent feel. 

Murderball

08.01.2015

Representation notes – Murderball

Director: Steve James

Release Date: 22 July 2005 

Production company: Paramount Picture, MTV Films, Participant Media, A&E IndieFilms, and EAT Films

Country: USA

Language: English

Synopsis – murderball is about the US Quad rugby team, between 2002 games in Sweden and the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. Young men, most with spinal injuries, play this rough and tumble sport in special chairs. We get to know several and their families. They talk frankly about their injuries, feelings in public, sex lives, competitiveness, and love of the game. There's also an angry former team member gone north to coach the Canadian team, tough on everyone, including his viola-playing son. We meet a recently injured man, in rehab, at times close to despair, finding possible joy in quad rugby. After Athens, the team meets young men and women injured in war.

Best Bits

I think one of the best bits is when the cast start talking about the sexual experiences because it breaks a big taboo around it like most people assume that disable people don’t have sex lives or don’t like it but most of the cast have wifes or girlfriends. Also in the beginning were is shows a man in a wheel chair getting dressed I think this was a powerful shot because it makes the audience a little uncomfortable like it would watching anybody struggle more than them with an everyday task so it forces people to watch and except that even though its difficult he can still do things on his own and is independent.   

Worst bits

 The only thing that bothered me while watching the films was how bad the audio became at points with all the popping at crapping when it peaked. The documentary forces a lot on the aggression of two or three members of the cast.                             

What or who is been represented? Paraplegics that play quad rugby.

How is the representation created? Through watching the games, their everyday life and interviews with the cast.

Why is it created that why? So you can get a personal insight on what their lives are like. It also created to break some of the lies about people in wheel chairs and by talking about taboo subjects it breaks the awkwardness of some of the issues like sex.  

What is the effect of the representation? Changes the preconceived ideas around what people in wheel chairs can do and what they are like.

Binary oppositions: able – disabled, anger – happiness, winning – losing, USA – Canada, jock – academic.

Connotation:  when you first think of people in wheel chairs you think there are loads of constrictions to the chair but then you see then play rugby and you start to see them as athletes or get to know their personality and you forget about the chair.

Institution (who created the representation)?  From the documentary it seems as though the filmmakers create the representation because it is clear they want to show each stage of what its like when someone becomes a paraplegic and that even though things might be more effort for them to do they can still do what everyone else can.

Dominant values or ideology?

·         The USA plays are obsessed with winning.

·         If you don’t stay positive you will never get passed your accent.  

·         You have to use what you’ve got to get through life.