Narrative Theory

A key part of a short film is the narrative. As I only have a short amount of time to convey the meaning/story that I want my text to have I need to understand some narrative theory, to develop a grounding in storytelling and what the main elements and ideas are about narrative.

Table of Content

Introduction

Syntagmatic Structures

Paradigmatic Structures

Alternative Narrative: Art Cinema

Modular Narratives

Introduction

Key Terms.

• Narrative: “A chain of events in a cause-effect relationship occurring in time” (Bordwell & Thompson, Film Art, 1980).
• Chronology: The order of time.
• Causality: The relationship between cause and effect.

Russian Theorist, Viktor Shklovsky, distinguished between the story and plot of a narrative. He Used the following terms:

• Fabula (Story): The chronological order of events, all events referenced both explicitly in a narrative and inferred (including backstory as well as those projected beyond the action).
• Syuzhet (Plot): The structured events as they are presented to the audience. (The order in which the events are presented)

Most narratives are structured chronologically, often describe as linear or classic narrative. The Greek philosopherm Aristotle observed that all narratives have; a Beginning, Middle and End - this is the linear narrative.

Linear or Classic Narrative

Types of structures

• Open structure: The audience are left to wonder what happens next – use their own initiative. The French Theorist, Roland Barthes would say these texts could be interpreted in a multitude of ways
• Closed structure: Has a clear ending and conclusion. This kind of narrative is much more straightforward, and would only be interpreted in a limited number of ways.
• Circular structure: The narrative begins at the end events, and takes the audience on a journey back through the narrative, back to where they started again, at the end. For example The Sixth Sense & Pulp fiction.

Narrative Range

• Unrestricted narration: A narrative which has no limits to the information that is presented i.e. a news bulletin.
• Restricted narration: Only offers minimal information regarding the narrative i.e. thrillers.

Narrative Depth

• Subjective character identification: The viewer is given unique access to what arrange of characters see and do
• Objective character identification: The viewer is given unique access to a character’s point of view such as seeing things from the character’s mind, dreams, fantasies or memories.

What is short film?

To begin, I believe that I need to start with gaining an understanding of what short film is and how is it defined by groups of people and the industry. 

Catherine Des Forges’ conception of short films states that a short film is ‘spare, economic narrative, interesting storytelling; well structured work which draws in the audience quickly’.

Short films are often compared with popular feature-length films. Here are some comparisons between them.

Feature Film	Short Film
Around 100 minutes	Around 10 minutes
Big budget	Low budget
Professional	Amateur
Mainstream	Alternative
Formulaic	Experimental
Widely distributed	Rarely screened
Mass audience	Niche audience
Large casts	Small casts
"Glossy"	"Grainy"

Defined by length?

• The term 'short film' might be applied to any film of less than standard feature film duration (90-120 minutes).
• A consensus is emerging that a short should be no longer than 40 minutes.
• Gareth Evans suggests that 'short films are long films that finish earlier'; indicating that such films need to imply more than they can show in their limited screen time.
• Some short films are no more than five minutes, these are dubbed 'micro shorts'.
• Cobravision provides a typical example of the experimentation with the length of the short film form: these are merely five seconds in duration.

Directors: Barney Sutton & Georgia Merton (2006)

• The International Festival of Very Shorts is a festival based in Paris, which shows only movies less than three minutes long.
• The International One-Minute Film Festival (Filminute), has presented and promoted a collection of one-minute films across multiple media since September 2006

 Director: Aritz Moreno (2011)

Defined by content?

• Gareth Evans says that the best short films are, 'crystalline creations of precise, prismatic intensity'. 
• Short film is 'a good idea, succinctly told. Less is more,' says Dave Sproxton of Aardman Animations.
• They are the effective realisation of one particular idea. 
• Good short films represent a refinement of ideas and the distilled essences of their creators' imaginations.

Defined by form?

• Short films can be fiction or non-fiction. 
• The forms and functions of the short film should be recognised as multifarious. 
• The flexibility of the short film is perhaps its greatest asset; it crosses the boundaries of all categories of film production, as is manifest in films of quality in the forms of propaganda, advertising, documentary, music video, animation and avant garde film.

Defined as vocational?

• Short films have been a laboratory for experimentation and innovation. 
• The term 'calling card' film has been used to describe those short films that seek to establish the identity of their creators. For example "Vincent" by Tim Burton's first short film that set his style of animation.

Director: Tim Burton (1982)

Defined by means of production?

• The term 'short film' can be an inclusive one that refers to all short sequences of moving images - whether shot for exhibition through television, cinema or other media, such as personal computers and mobile phones. 
• Furthermore, short film in this definition might be produced by the use of a diverse range of technologies rather than being shot purely on film stock.

Defined as 'other'?

• Short film is frequently (and unfairly) compared with the dominant form of the feature-length film. 
• Short film has long been associated with alternative filmmaking, both in terms of its content and the freedom of expression. 
• Away from the constraints of industrial production, high finance and the need to tailor films to the expectations of audiences, those who make short films are more likely to retain creative control.

Now after gathering a basic understanding of what short film is, I feel that the most important element and one that I need to undertake further investigation into is narrative, plot and story. I need to begin to get an understanding of what each are and how each play an important part in creating a good short film. For the "narrative" I need to be confident in my know of narrative theories and the implications of them on film.

References

Book
Quy, S. (2007). Teaching Short Film. BFI

Website
(2012). Short film. [Online] Wikipedia. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_film  [Accessed 23 June 2012].

Chosen Brief

After consideration for all three briefs, I have decided that the brief that I feel I will enjoy the most and are most interested in creating and learning about is the brief 10 - Short Film.

"A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animation or a combination of both, together with:

• a poster for the film

• a film magazine review page featuring the film"

I believer the reason why I have chosen this brief, of creating a short film is because I what to learn about narration and plot, building upon the work that I have done at AS. I also believer I have chosen this as I like a challenge and feel that the short film will offer me this but also broaden my understanding of media and support my development in pre-production,  production and post-production.


I now need to…:

• consider researching into what short film this and means
• the technical aspects (Mise en Scene, Sound, Editing, Camera)
• the codes and conventions
• Genre
• Narrative and Charactersation
• Represenation
• Audience
• the history of short film
• narrative theory.

Brief 10 - Short Film

Short films, unlike TV ads and music videos can not be broken done into broad types in the same way. Short films are similar to feature film, in the sense that they are categorised into:

• Narrative and characterisation
• Genre - Codes and Conventions
• Representation
• Audiences

Below are some of the short films that I have watched and have found interesting and enjoyable.

Within Temptation - Triplets

Director: Joeri Holsheimer (2007)

Within Temptation - Mother Maiden

Director: Joeri Holsheimer (2007)

Love Sick

Director: Kevin Lacy (2011)

Ronan's Escape

Director: A.J. Carter (2010)

Father and Daughter 

Director: Michaël Dudok De Wit (2000)

Alcoholic Faith Mission - Legacy

Director: Bryn Chainey (2011)

Geri's Game

Director: Jan Pinkava (1997)

I have enjoyed researching into short film and find them interesting, proactive and fascinating how that all explore very large and grand theme in a very short about of time. I am also interested in the narrative and plot aspics of a short films and how those are created and used to impacted the audience. 

After researching into all three brief I feel that I need a great deal of consideration between either the Short Film or the Music Video as those are the two that I have been most interested in and what to create. 

Brief 3 - TV Advertisements

There are 12 types of advertising videos, that where define my Donald Gunn, who worked for advertising agency Leo Burnett as there creative director. In his time as the creative director he defined these 12 types as follows.

1. The Demo. This is a visual demonstration of a product's capabilities.

Apple - TBWA

2. Show the need or problem. First, it is made clear that something's not up to snuff in the consumer's life. Then, the remedy is introduce —which is, of course, the product that is being sold.

Cingular - BBDO

3. Symbolize the problem. This time, you employ a "symbol, analogy, or exaggerated graphic" to represent the problem.

Theraflu - Saatchi & Saatchi

4. Comparison. Here, the spotlight's on the claim that the product is superior to those of the competitors.

Charles Schwab - Euro Rscg Worldwide-new York

5. Exemplary Story. These ads weave a narrative that helps illustrate the product's benefits.

Volkswagen Group - Crispin Porter + Bogusky

6. Benefit Causes Story. Conceive the ad back-to-front, by imagining a trail of events that might be caused by the product's benefit.

Unilever - Bartle Bogle Hegarty

7. Tell It—also known as "presenter," "testimonial," or "A-tells-B."

United Parcel Service, Inc. - Doner

8. Ongoing Characters and/or Celebrities. The use of a recurring character, or celebrity, can help cement a brand's identity into the viewer's brain.

Compare The Market - Vccp

9. Symbol, Analogy, or Exaggerated Graphic demonstrating a benefit of the product.

Starbucks Corporation - BBDO New York

10. Associated User Imagery. The advertiser showcases the type of people it hopes you'll associate with the product.

Nike, Inc. - Wieden + Kennedy

11. Unique Personality Property. These spots highlight something indigenous to the product that will make it stand out.

Dyson - Dyson Appliances Limited

12. Parody or Borrowed Format. This is a popular approach for a modern audience.

Geico - The Martin Agency

After researching and looking at adverts I feel that, though they are fascinating and powerful in conveying a meaning; this brief has not excited me as much as the music video has. Therefore I don't think I will be creating TV Advertisements for my Advanced Portfolio.

Reference
Website

Raszl, I. (2007). 12 Kinds of Adverisements. [Online] Ads of the World. Available from: http://adsoftheworld.com/blog/ivan/2007/jul/24/12_kinds_of_advertisements [Accessed 23 June 2012].
(2004-2012). [Online] Coloribus. Available from: http://www.coloribus.com/ [Accessed 23 June 2012].

Brief 1 - Music Promo Video

To decide on what brief I would like to do I first need to do some surface level research into each brief.

There are three main types of music video they are; Performance Based, Narrative Based & Concept Based.

Performance Based Video

These are music videos that feature the artist/band/group performing the song through most if not all of the video. It’s probably the easiest to do on a budget provided you can get a suitable location for filming. [1]

Director:  Mark Pellington (2005)

Director: Jake Nava (2011)

Narrative Based Video

A narrative based music video contains mostly footage that attempts to tell a story through the moving image. Usually involving actors, the story is sometimes linked to the lyrical content of the song, but this isn’t always the case. This type of music video tends to be popular for a song that’s featured in a movie and you will often see scenes cut into the music video. [1]

(1994)

Director: Steve Barron (1985)

Concept Based Video

This is a style of music video that is based around a single concept or idea. These types of videos tend to be fairly unusual or utilize a particular editing or filming technique. It’s not often you get a purely conceptual music video as the commercial world demands things to be a bit more accessible. [1]

 Director: Chris Cunningham (2001)

Director: Trish Sie (2006)

After the surface research I feel that music video are fascinating and should be a brief that I would like to research further. However I have not research the other briefs yet so can not make a judgment to which brief I prefer.

References:
[1]Keil, M. (2012). Three types of music video. [Online] Matt Keil. Available from: http://www.mattkeil.com/2010/09/three-types-of-music-video/ [Accessed 23 June 2012].

The Three Briefs

For the A2 coursework I am required to produce a presentation of my research, planning and evaluation in a electronic format and a media portfolio, comprising of a main and ancillary texts. 



Assessment Objectives

• AO3: your ability to plan and construct media products using appropriate technical and creative skills
• AO2: your application of knowledge and understanding in evaluating your own work, showing how meaning and responses are created
• AO4: your ability to undertake, apply and present appropriate research

The presentation of my research, planning and evaluation is this blog. However the main and ancillary texts are of my choosing, for the three briefs below.

Brief 1

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, no longer than five minutes duration, together with:

• a cover for its release as part of a digipack (CD/DVD package)
• a magazine advertisement for the digipack (CD/DVD package)

Brief 3

An advertising package for a new product or service, to include two TV advertisements, together with

• a TV programme sponsorship sequence
• a radio advertisement

Brief 10

A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animation or a combination of both, together with:

• a poster for the film
• a film magazine review page featuring the film

I now need to consider which brief I would like to undertake by researching into each brief on a surface level and watching other texts relating to that brief, to understand what is required from me but also if I like the media product. 

Final Production from AS

My final production from AS as I will need to evaluate my final production from A2 with this production.