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Saturday, 27 November 2010

Narrative Theory

After choosing a treatment for our film, we must now decide upon the narrative of the film. I looked at Tzvetan Todorov’s theory of narratives having five stages and tried to build a narrative based around this theory. Here is a breakdown of how our film should be:

Stage 1 – A state of equilibrium is defined.
  • We plan to do this with a long shot of the protagonist at the bus stop, waiting to go to college. It should be edited using final cut express, and fast paced editing. This gives the sense that the character neutral with the person that she is. She is neither happy, as she is currently tackling the issue of bullying, but she is not sad, as she is confident with the person that she is, she is just misunderstood.
  • By doing this we are hoping that the audience understand that the character feels alone

Stage 2 – Disruption to the equilibrium by some action or crisis.

  • We're hoping to achieve this by shooting the protagonist finding the necklace on a tree, and placing it around her neck, whilst non-diagetic music is playing to add tension
  • This should show that the necklace is a dangerous object, that should not be meddled with, and therefore they will hopefully engage with the darker tones of the music.

Stage 3 – The character(s) recognition that there has been a disruption, setting goals to resolve the problem.

  • This should be presented through the protagonists flashback, after she recalls her bullying period, and tried to restore her faith in herself, by speaking to her friend. It is then revealed to the audience that the main character Ruby Fox's friend, is actually one of the bullies herself. She feels betrayed, and runs away to try and gather her emotions.
  • We feel that this scene should be one of the most dramatic, and tension building, as it the moment of realisation for the protagonist, but also for the audience too.

Stage 4 - The characters attempt to repair the disruption, obstacles need to be overcome to restore order.

  • After the disruption in the narrative of the film, the protagonist runs to the toilets, where it is revealed in the mirror that she herself is invisible. After this realisation, she rips the necklace off her, and leaves immediately to dispose of it.
  • Although initially the character mentally feels invisible to the world, the realisation that she is physically invisible turns her life around, and powers her with the motivation to turn her life around.

Stage 5 – Reinstatement to the equilibrium. Situation is resolved, conclusion is announced.

  • We wish to challenge this convention, as although we wish the audience to feel happy when the character finally disposes the necklace, being metaphorical for her throwing away her sadness, and her oppression, we want the film to have a loop, which links the beginning and the ending together. Therefore in the opening, we should present a character perhaps placing the necklace upon the tree, for the character to find it. This not only adds tension, but insights the audience into knowledge which the protagonist does not contain.
  • We want the audience to feel shocked, and mellow at the end of the film, thinking about who will find the necklace again.

Vladimir Propp identified 8 character roles which apply to all kinds of narratives. The three character roles which apply to our short film are as follows;

Daniel Cooper (played by Jonathon Beeley)
Under Propp's theory, Daniel Cooper would be the villain of the film, as he disrupts the equilibrium, and bullies the protagonist. The audience should feel resentful towards the character, and sympathy with Ruby Fox

Ruby Fox (played by Emma Mitchell)
In accordance with Propp's theory, Ruby Fox is the hero of the narrative. She takes the audience on a journey of self discover, an belief. She also represents the themes truth and illusion, and is able to show the audience that you shouldn't always believe what you are being told, as you aren't able to trust everyone.

Unidentified Girl (played by Giorgina Parker)
This is the donor of the narrative, who provides an object with some magic property. It could be argued that perhaps she is the key to the whole film, as she provides the narrative with a twist, which is used to engage, and add tension to the film.

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