Narrative Theory

Todorov - Stated that all narratives follow a basic structure. This structure involves an equilibrium (a period of calm which introduces us to the everyday life of the main characters), then a disequilibrium (a period of unsettlement in which the main character has a problem to solve) which is finally followed by a new state of peace and harmony known as a new equilibrium. This is often refered to as the'classic' or 'hollywood' style of narrative and is the simplest form. It can also be described as equilibruim, disturbance and resolution.

Propp - Discovered that there are 8 basic character types. These are: the hero, the villain, the donor, the dispatcher, the false hero, the helper, the princess and her father. His theory did not state that all these characters had to be seperate people and so a particular character could be more than one of these character types. He stated that each character type has a 'sphere of action' and once you have worked out the character type it is easy to work out what their role will be within the narrative (for example the hero will save the maiden or defeat the villian or both).

Barthes - Established that a narrative will establish enigmas and mysteries as it goes along. These enigmas provide clues as to what will happen at the end of the narrative and the aim of the narrative is to solve the mysteries that are established throughout it. This is known as the enigma code.

Levi-Strauss - The theory of binary opposition states that narrative tension is based on conflict or opposition. This can be through two opposite sides fighting which is the simplest form of binary oppostion but is often on a more ideological level. Often the conflicting sides will embody different ideologies eg. in Star Wars the rebellion represents good and the empire represents evil.

Second Day of Filming

The second day of filmimg took place on saturday 3rd of December with me, Jonny Sollo, Arron North and Sam Dixon present. We managed to film a large proportion of our opening sequence and in fact have only one scene left to film which we have agreed will be filmed during the Christmas holidays as more dialogue needs to be written in order to make it long enough to meet requirements. We were forced to adapt our film as it became clear to us that many of our original ideas would not work and that it would not be possible to use certain camera shots which we had originally planned to use however we were able to overcome this eventuality as we worked out ways of creating similar effects using different camera positions and techniques. In our film we included a POV shot which had not originally planned to use but felt it was good for creating a desired effect. This initially caused some problems as it was difficult using a handheld camera technique, however we eventually overcame this and I feel that this will help us prove that we are able to use a varied range of camera shots and techniques.

We also recieved a reply form Jamie Joslyn (the singer of the Vindickers) giving us permission to use their track 'These Love Songs Don't Make Sense' in the opening credits of our film. This was the track I originally intended to use and is useful as it now means that we have music to fit the different camera shots to and can begin to think about where to cut in order to create maximum effect on the viewer. The proof of permission can be found below: