Narrative Slides Fall 2024 PDF

NARRATIVE Except from the script of Get Out; screenplay Jordan Peele https://www.scriptreaderpro.com/best- screenplays-to-read/  Story is the base of human communication; stories and storytelling are found in all cultures, from origin stories to f...

NARRATIVE Except from the script of Get Out; screenplay Jordan Peele https://www.scriptreaderpro.com/best- screenplays-to-read/  Story is the base of human communication; stories and storytelling are found in all cultures, from origin stories to fantastic stories; early films adapted pre-existing stories (e.g. Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland) What makes cinematic storytelling unique? The theme and narrative intent inform everything from the mise-en- scène to the cinematography, music, sound design, editing and acting Narrative structure shapes the audience’s experience of the moving image; audiences are familiar with narrative and expect narrative Compelling characters move the narrative forward All of this [creates] different narrative forms, or genres, in cinema Narrative also structures documentary filmmaking Narrative is linked with commercial films Experimental film, on the other hand, is non-narrative film (although some may include narrative) The script and the Screenwriter Storytelling begins with words, hence, the script is fundamental The screenwriter writes the screenplay either from scratch (e.g. Pan’s Labyrinth, Rhymes for Young Ghouls) or by adapting another source. e.g. Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby; Fumiyo Kōno’s anime この世界の片隅に The script supplies the narrative structure, dramatic action, characters, setting, and dialogue a sales pitch of sorts to attract collaborators and capital a technical document, a blueprint, a plan for the movie most important aspect: economy of language 3 The script Has a precise format: each page equals one minute of screen time But what materializes is different (see the comparison on Sharman’s ch. 4 on Narrative) “The most important thing to remember is that cinema is a collaborative medium. There’s always a give and take between the script and the finished film, just like there is between the director and the screenwriter, cinematographer, production designer, sound designer, actors, editor, etc., etc. And as much as a screenplay can and should be a great read, it is, ultimately, a technical document, a plan for something exponentially more complex.” (Sharman) What Is Narrative? A story with a plot, characters, and point of view; many plots follow a linear chronology A cinematic structure in which the filmmakers have selected and arranged events in a cause- and-effect sequence occurring over time Narrative movie – a fictional feature film Narration – the act of telling the story The Narrator – who or what tells the story 5 Basics of a good story 1 protagonist. 1 goal. A whole bunch of obstacles. A protagonist pursuing a goal confronted by obstacles. Compelling characters A clear theme or narrative intent from the storyteller. Screenwriters have developed a pattern or set of patterns that they have found most effective in communicating cinematically. Classical Hollywood cinematic storytelling The closed-ended, narrative feature film, what we typically call a “movie” with a beginning, middle and an end and a running time anywhere from 90 minutes to over 2 hours, has been around for more than a century and served as a kind of foundational form in cinematic storytelling. Based on the three-act structure Classical Hollywood cinema cause-and-effect “Historically, in fiction filmmaking the action comes from individual characters as causal agents. Hollywood filmmakers tend to let psychological causes motivate most events. Time is typically subordinate to cause and effect.” (Barsam & Monahan) Often, Hollywood narrative involves closure. [e.g., happily-ever- after romance; or white male hero—or someone performing this role—saves the world from the evil ______. Fill-in-the-blank: terrorists, Arabs, Russians, Chinese, aliens, mutant creatures, virus, zombies, AI, serial killer, psychopath, rogue cop, apocalypse, and so on. ] Classical Hollywood three-act structure 9  Three-act structure Most narratives structures can be broken down to: Beginning (Act I) – first 25-30m of screen time; introduces the protagonist, sets up their world, and clarifies the goal they’ll be pursuing for the rest of the story; may introduce the antagonist; we know who we’re rooting for, what they want, and what’s in their way. Middle (Act II) – twice as long as Act 1; the longest section that develops the story; sets up conflict and obstacles; stakes keep getting higher; a midpoint (about 55-60m) where the protagonist has a choice the protagonist meets her biggest obstacle (about 85-90m), all hope is lost End (Act III) – usually the same length as Act 1; resolves the story; protagonist rallying to overcome that last obstacle leading to a climactic showdown and a resolution to their story. Usually that means they reach the goal defined in act one. But sometimes the journey clarifies a new goal, or they realize they always had what they were searching for and just needed to see it in themselves 1 0 Narrative structures Narrative structures are constantly evolving Shift to television scripts: adjustment to the pace and rhythm of how a protagonist pursued their goal; Commercial interruptions… forc[ed]writers into a four- or even five-act structure with cliffhangers at each break to make sure the audience didn’t change the channel Digital media in the 21st c; the practice of binge-watching streaming series has shaped narrative structure: the narrative structure of a streaming series tends to apply the classic three-act structure to an entire eight- or ten-episode season, converting that eight- to ten-hour experience into one that echoes the ups and downs of a two-hour feature film. Compelling characters are at the center of a story. At the heart of the story: a character pursuing a goal. 1 2  Characters Protagonist – the primary character pursuing the goal (e.g. Aila in Rhymes wants to avoid being forced to attend the residential school; she wants revenge on Popper) Antagonist - person(s), creature, or force responsible for obstructing the protagonist (e.g. in Rhymes, the Indian Agent Popper) Antihero - an unsympathetic hero pursuing an immoral goal; we may end up rooting for them anyway; e.g. a criminal planning to break the law [Cesare in The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari] The anti-hero and the antagonist are not the same Imperfect characters in a narrative - have obstacles, character development, and character motivations 1 3 Basic Types of Characters Round characters – A round character is a complex, often conflicted character with a deep internal life who usually undergoes some kind of change over the course of the story. Flat characters – lacks that complexity, does not change at all over the course of the story, and is usually there only to help the round characters on their journeys https://www.truthdig.com/articles/ will-there-ever-be-a-great-gatsby/14 The camera is the primary narrator In every movie, the camera is the primary narrator Does the camera restrict our view to the experiences of just one character? Or does it allow us to follow all sorts of characters, round and flat, major and minor, protagonist and antagonist, wherever they might go? Restricted narration refers to stories that never leave the protagonist, restricting our access to any other character unless they are in the same space as our hero. Omniscient narration can follow any character, even minor ones, if it helps tell the story. In both cases, the camera controls the story. The camera’s narration consists of the many visual elements it captures and arranges in every composition in every shot narrator A character (within the story or not) who purports to be telling the viewer the story. Can be objective or subjective, internal or external to the story. There may be layers of narrators (such as in Citizen Kane; makes it difficult to access what is the truth) Narrators are often unreliable; hence, the more narrators, the more points of view, and so the better the objectivity (less restricted). Possible Narrator Types First-person – typically a voice-over but may address the audience directly Third-person – a voice imposed from outside the narrative Omniscient – has unrestricted access to all aspects of the narrative and characters, as well as information that no character knows Restricted – information limited to the knowledge of a single character Examples: Aila’s voiceover provides a first-person limited perspective in Rhymes, but the camera is the primary omniscient narrator; in The Great Gatsby, Nick provides a first-person limited perspective as it’s through him that we learn about Gatsby] 17 https://thegreat-gatsby.fandom.com/wiki/Nick_Carr Difference between plot and theme Plot - what happens in a film; the selection and organization of story elements; Plot includes diegetic elements (what we see and hear in the story world) and nondiegetic elements (what we see and hear outside the story world; includes voiceovers, music, credits); plot order – the conscious choices of filmmakers on how to relay story information Theme - what the story is about, has a narrative intent; a unifying organizing principle, informing every other element of the cinematic experience; an idea, an arguable point, that can focus the action and clarify character narrative intent: the underlying idea that activates the plot, defines the characters, and leads us to a satisfying resolution. Elements of Narrative: Suspense vs. Surprise Surprise – taken unaware, can be shocking. Our emotional response is generally short-lived and can only happen in the same way once [e.g. in Pan’s Labyrinth, Captain Vidal brutalizes the rabbit hunters] Suspense – anxiety brought on by partial uncertainty or even knowing what is going to happen. The means by which its created is uncertain, and we want to warn and protect the empathetic characters [e.g. in Psycho, we know that Marion is in danger once Norman is introduced; what will Norman do to Marion now that she’s arrived at the motel? ] 19  Elements of Narrative: Repetition Repetition – the number of times a story element recurs in a narrative plot; suggests importance [e.g. the security forces in Snowpiercer] Familiar image – an audio or visual image (compositions, graphic elements, juxtapositions) that a director periodically repeats in a movie to help inform or stabilize its narrative [e.g. screeching violins in Psycho; magical items in Pan’s Labyrinth] By its repetition, the image calls attention to itself as a narrative element. May be symbolic. 20 Climaxes and closings Climaxes resolve causal issues by bringing the development to a high point, often involving tension or suspense. [e.g., Pariah: escalating argument between Audrey and Alike/Lee] Some films are anti-climactic and the endings remain relatively open.[e.g. Popper is killed, but there is no closure in Rhymes; the film closes with Aila imagining a future for herself and Jujijj] Plot segmentation Scenes can be broken down into a segmentation - a written outline of scenes that form the major and minor parts of a film allows for analysis of the major divisions of the plot as well as causality and story time  Setting and Scope The biker bar in Near Dark, part of the “Sh*t- kicker Heaven” Setting – the time and place in which the story sequence occurs Scope – the overall range, in time and place, of a movie’s story; can also include the historical, economic, and political moment The scope of Near Dark is limited to the 1980s and what happens in a short span of time to Caleb, who lives on the family farm with his dad and sister, in a small white rural US town, various vehicles traveling its countryside, a cabin at a motel; it also develops round characters of the roaming outlaw band of vampires; the story of the rise of ‘outlaws’ coming into mainstream America also links to the rise of public visibility and political agency of various groups demanding justice: Native Americans, Latinx people, women https://www.cia.edu/cinemath 23 eque/film-schedule/2018/09/n ear-dark