Narrative in Film A solid script is the foundation to a rich well developed movie because 1 Furnishes the basic structure 2 Gives dramatic action Pre 1895 films held to narrative or story ex Lumiere s actualities Post 1895 have order and action TELL A STORY ex The Gardener Gets Watered 1895 ex The Birth of a Nation 1915 WHY add narrative to a film FINANCIAL BENEFITS Nickelodeon Characteristics of a Narrative 1 An understanding between viewers and filmmakers about how the story should be judged 2 A story and plot sequencing events into a particular order that forms a narrative 3 A narrator and a narrative point of view The Fictive Stance an audience s acceptance of the fictional contents of a fiction based film viewers do not hold author accountable for truth non fiction films are held accountable for truth Story vs Plot Story the larger set of events plot is a subset THE WHOLE o Every event both shown and un shown Plot the sequence of events the WAY events are arranged THE SPECIFIC o NOT every event can be referenced or implied Authorship Novels vs Films Novels have ONE author vs Films have MANY authors Real author the actual person who writes the novel Implied author the literary persona or main character in a novel ex a Hitchcock like film vs Hitchcock as a director for the film Point of View 1st person use I or we books Subjective shot the camera shows through the eyes of the character Extended 1st person the camera shows through the eyes of the character throughout the entire film ex Lady in the Lake 3rd person use he or she books AND movies The Classical Hollywood Narrative Films produced by the Hollywood studios in the 1930s to 1950s Feature Main line of action plot and subordinate line of action subplot Explicit causality one event clearly causes another in the chain that forms the narrative Implicit causality events joined in loose connections episodic Ambiguity vs Causality Alternative no clear line of action plot is loosely structured Counter narrative narrative deconstruction films whose narrative seeks to attack its own narrative narrative problem conflict Viewer s contribution to the narrative Suspense giving viewers information Surprise withholding information from viewers ex Inception 2010 viewers choose the ending Film Genres Sets of interrelated stories and their associated images Conventions rules within a genre that deal with what can and cannot happen o What is normal in a musical is absurd in a horror film The Western western expansion and relations with Native Americans The Gangster rise and fall of career criminal The Musical includes songs romance The Horror define normality show grotesqueness for entertainment Science Fiction fantasy film The War Film political explanations war support Film Noir black and white film o Neo Noir shot in color but use low key lighting to evoke visual qualities of noir