- NARRATIVEA narrative is a story that is created in a constructed format that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events.TODOROV’S STRUCTURE OF NARRATIVETzvetan Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages:A state of equilibrium at the outset.A disruption of the equilibrium by some action.A recognition that there has been a disruption.Dealing with the disruption.A reinstatement of the equilibrium (usually a altered equilibrium from the one at the start).LEVIS STRAUSS - BINARY OPPOSITIONSNot only did Levi-Strauss make excellent jeans, but he also looked at narrative in a looked at narrative structure in terms of binary oppositions. Binary oppositions are sets of opposite values which reveal the structure of media texts. An example would be GOOD and EVIL - we understand the concept of GOOD as being the opposite of EVIL.It is the establishing of these binary opposites that propels the narrative forward. The narrative can only end when this conflict is resolved.
ROLAND BARTHES - FIVE CODESRoland Barthes (got killed by a laundry truck) argued that every narrative is interwoven with multiple codes. Although we impose temporal and generic structures onto texts, there are in fact marked by the multiple meanings suggested by the five codes.1. The Hermeneutic Code (HER)The Hermeneutic Code refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to the reader.The full truth is often avoided, for example in:Snares: deliberately avoiding the truth.Equivocations: partial or incomplete answers.Jammings: openly acknowledge that there is no answer to a problem.The purpose of the author in this is typically to keep the audience guessing, arresting the enigma, until the final scenes when all is revealed and all loose ends are tied off and closure is achieved.2. The Proairetic Code (ACT)The Proairetic Code also builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets the reader guessing as to what will happen next.The Hermeneutic and Proairetic Codes work as a pair to develop the story's tensions and keep the reader interested.3. The Semantic Code (SEM)This code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word.It is by the use of extended meaning that can be applied to words that authors can paint rich pictures with relatively limited text and the way they do this is a common indication of their writing skills.4. The Symbolic Code (SYM)This is very similar to the Semantic Code, but acts at a wider level, organizing semantic meanings into broader and deeper sets of meaning.This is typically done in the use of antithesis, where new meaning arises out of opposing and conflict ideas.5. The Cultural Code (REF)This code refers to anything that is founded on some kind of canonical works that cannot be challenged and is assumed to be a foundation for truth.(Typically this involves either science or religion, although other canons such as magical truths may be used in fantasy stories.)Using Barthes: if you can get your head around the five codes, great - go for it, however, if it's all a bit much concentrate on the first two. The Hermeneutic and Proairetic codes, should be especially relevant to your Thriller openings.LANGUAGE TO USEDiegesisThe internal world created by the story that the characters themselves experience and encounter.Plot and Story (Bordwell & Thompson)Story - the set of all events in a narrative both explicit and those inferred.Plot - the arrangement and presentation of the story in the text.Narrative RangeUnrestricted – the audience knows more, sees more, hears, more than all the characters.Restricted – the characters and the audience learn story information at the same time.Narrative DepthObjective - the plot confines us to external behavior of its characters.Subjective – seeing things from the character’s point of view such as when we see images from the character’s mind: dreams, fantasies, memories.Narrative TimeDiegectic – the passage of time that occurs within the world of the text.Real time – the time it takes to for the narrative to unfold.For example Harry Potter is set over a whole academic year at Hogwarts so the diegectic time is 9 months, the real time is 2hrs 30 mins.The relationship between the real and diegetic time is influenced in the following ways.Summary – e.g. passage of time shown in a montage of changing seasonsEllipsis – where intervening time between scenes is cut outScene - where a scene is played out in real timeStretch - where diegetic time is stretched out in real time like in slow motion sequencePause - where diegetic time stops as in a voice-over commenting on the action
FURTHER READING - Below is an thorough list of terminology which must be used when talking about the micro-elements, because the Media Language you use was the language of cinema and the moving image (for your openings and music video) which is all to with the combination of camerawork, sound, mise-en-scene and editing.Other things useful to mention would be how you used signs and codes to create meaning so talk about the denotation and connotation of the images you created.Media Language has been described as a 'catch all' concept, so feel free to use any of the other theories you've learned for the other sections to help you explain why your project works and how it creates meaning for the audience.
Some at Deviant Art has come up with this incredible periodic table of Story Telling - suggesting that story tellers pick and mix certain established elements to tell a new storySomeone has illustrated the story of the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the shape of a map.
Deconstructing Narratives
Separating Plot And Story
Think of a feature film, and jot down a) the strict chronological order in which events occur b) the order in which each of the main characters finds out about these events a) shows story, b) shows plot construction. Plot keeps audiences interested eg) in whether the children will discover Mrs Doubtfire is really their father, or shocks them, eg) the 'twist in the tale" at the end of The Sixth Sense. Identifying Narrator Who is telling this story is a vital question to be asked when analysing any media text. Stories may be related in the first or third person, POVs may change, but the narrator will always- reveal the events which make up the story
- mediate those events for the audience
- evaluate those events for the audience
The narrator also tends to POSITION the audience into a particular relationship with the characters on the screen.- Here's an interesting powerpoint on what a thriller is about found from here.As you were asked to do a Thriller for your opening project it's interesting to look at how that influenced Representation, Narrative, Media Language, Audience etc.For instance, Thrillers created suspense by drip feeding information keeping the audience wanting to know more or they give us more information than the characters to make us fear for them - so all the time they are playing around with the narrative structure to make it more interesting.Then for representation characters can be obviously good or evil (Levi-Strauss, creating binary opposites) and so must be easily recognisable as. Characters must in shown as vulnerable or powerful to create fear. Or to create mystery characters are ambiguous. Which ever one you used, how these characters were represented was vital to the workings of the thriller.If you're answering a question on Media Language, Representation, Narrative or Audience, don't be afraid to include some thoughts on Genre as it is clearly very influence on all aspects of the project.
CREATIVITY (...as dots) Imagine a diagram that looks like a star-field, with every dot representing some known thing, information packet, or idea. The center is thick with basic knowledge items but the edges thin out with recent discoveries. In this context, true creation can be defined as simply placing a new dot somewhere in the map's blank areas. But when these new dots do appear, they tend to cluster around other pre-existing dots... and are rarely distant enough to be considered ingenious.Now, a new dot appearing somewhere beyond the edge of the existing network might be considered extremely creative but is like a medieval peasant spontaneously inventing space travel: not likely. Unfortunately, this is how many perceive creativity... and either frustrate themselves in endless pursuit, or give-up altogether. If you take this approach, prepare for disappointment. There are, however, a few easier, alternative approaches that will get you your own dot... but all three rely on what's already known:1. PushExpand the current boundaries/limitations of some existing dot (usually involves a lot of time and effort.)2. PlayExperiment wildly with some existing dot in hopes of discovering the previously hidden (odds are against you.)3. CombineIntegrate two existing dots that are not already connected in an obvious way (my personal recommendation.)
Where Good Ideas come from - Steven Johnson
All Creative Work is DerivativeFrom filmmaker Nina Paley of Sita Sings The Blues fame comes a simple yet brilliantly conceived and beautifully executed case for the combinatorial nature of creativity. Paley photographed archaeological artifacts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and animated them to illustrate her point: All creativity builds upon something that existed before and every work of art is essentially a derivative work. (This is swiped from the wonderful website brainpickings.org)
Monday 23 January 2012
Intro to section A pt2
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