Narration
*Art Cinema vs. Avant-garde*
Art- designed for niche appeal, not mass market; made for aesthetic reasons, not commercial plot; middle of spectrum from Hollywood to Avant Garde; RUN LOLA RUN = EXAMPLE Avant Garde- far end of spectrum, no rhyme or reason; EYE MYTH (Stan Brakhage) = EXAMPLE
Objective
a POV that does not associate the perspective of the camera with that of a specific character
Subjective
a POV that recreates the perspective of a character
Narrative Form
a chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space
Cause and Effect
a relationship in which change in one variable causes change in another
Postmodern Narration
attempts to subvert the mainstream conventions of narrative structure, characterization and destroys (or, at least, toys with) the audience's suspension of disbelief
Unself-Concious
audience asked to forget that all the elements of the plot are carefully arranged, edited, choreographed to convey story information
Self-Concious
audience is reminded of story being told
Classical Hollywood Narrative
dominant form of classical film narrative associated with the Hollywood studio system (end of 1910s-1950s)
Motivation
every detail of information and style is meaningful within the overall narrative system; reason for doing something (Hitchcock salary quote)
Broad Suspense
impure; delay; uncommunicative, restrictive narration; keeps the audience in the dark (viewer in a state of "anxious uncertainty"); EX: spy plot/romance plot
Non-Diegetic Narration
insert that is neither taking place in the world of the film, nor is seen, imagined, or thought by a character
Surprise
not what is expected as plot moves along and characters develop; typically at ending
Unrestricted
omniscient; audience knows what is going on
Chronological Order
order according to which shots or scenes convey the temporal sequence of the story's events
Goal-Oriented Plot
plot in which character takes steps to achieve a desired object or state of affairs
Restricted
plot withholds information
Local Suspense
pure; deadlines, acceleration; highly communicative narration; keeps the audience informed (viewer in a state of alert attentiveness); EX: Hitchcock!
Character Traits
the qualities that make up a character's personality
"Invisible" Narration
typically a voiceover narration; not seen
Plot
what a filmmaker makes out of a story; what you see--first to last scene
Story
what the viewer reconstructs from a plot; not linear or fixed, mental construct using clues
Communicative
where the plot appears to share information about the story freely
Uncommunicative
where the plot appears to withhold information about the story
Diegesis
world of the film's story (characters, places, events) of what is shown and implied