Film Aesthetics Midterm

laboratory effects

a special effect that is created in the laboratory through processing and printing

self-reflexivity

"consciousness turning back on itself" -- films which call attention to themselves as cinematic constructs. Reflexivity points to its own mask and invites the public to examine its design ad texture. Reflexive works break with art as enchantment and call attention to their own factitiousness as textual constructs.

surprise

a taking unawares that is potentially shocking.

feminism*

the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men

stars

actors who star in genre movies factor into how the genre is classified, analyzed, and received by audiences. Actors used to work under restrictive long-term studio contracts and were often "typecast" and identified with a particular genre that suited their studio-imposed persona.

gangster*

-deeply rooted in the concept of the American dream, which states that anyone, regardless of how humble his origins, can succeed.

Parallel editing pattern

alternating two or more scenes that often happen simultaneously but in different locations. They occasionally culminate in a single place where the relevant parties confront each other.

narrative structure: inciting incident

AKA the catalyst: presents the character with the goal that will drive the rest of the narrative. The event or situation during the exposition stage of the narrative that sets the rest of the narrative in motion.

medium long shot

AKA American shot. A shot that shows a character from the knees up and includes most of a person's body.

experimental film

AKA avant-garde film, a term implying a position in the vanguard, out in front of traditional films. experimental films are usually about unfamiliar, unorthodox, or obscure subject matter and are ordinarily made by independent (even underground) filmmakers, not studios, often with innovative techniques that call attention to, question, and even challenge their own artifice

long take

AKA sequence shot: a shot that can last anywhere from one minute to ten minutes (between 1930 and 1960, the average length of a shot was 8-11 seconds; today it's 6-7 seconds, signifying that directors are telling their stories with a tighter pace

CGI

Computer-Generated Imagery

black and white*

Distinct contrasts and hard edges of black and white photography and cinematography can express an abstract world perfectly suited for Westerns, film noirs, and gangster films. -Tonality (system of tones) is the distinguishing quality of b&w film stock. -Emphasis on texture and spatial depth through shadows and lighting

film noir*

Emphasis on corruption and despair, characters have a tough interior beneath brittle shells, themes are fatalistic, tones are cynical, typically shot in large urban areas and contain gritty, realistic night exteriors -Protagonists are antiheros and outsiders, small time, world weary, aging and not classically handsome. Self destructive and often suffers abuse on the way to a story conclusion that may very well deny him his goal and will almost certainly leave him unredeemed -Elevated women to antagonist status -Visual style: lighting emphasizes contrast, creates deep shadows, distorted facial features and typically dark scenes shot at night or behind drawn shades -Narratives are complex and often presented in non chronological or convoluted arrangements. Goals shift and expectations are reversed. Moral reference points are skewed, victims are oft

Time/space - real time

Filming the action in the actual time it occurred

major/minor events*

Hierarchy consists of (1) the events that seem crucial to the plot and (2) the events that play a less crucial or even subordinate role

MacGuffin

Hitchcock's term that refers to an object, document, or secret within a story that is of vital importance to the characters, and thus motivates their actions and the conflict, but that turns out to be less significant to the overall narrative than we might at first expect

avant-garde: surrealism*

Inspiration from Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud, as well as experimental french filmmakers soughts to shock viewers with surprises and unexpected juxtapositions. Attempts to recreate the free play of the mind in its perceptions, dreams, or hallucinations. Attacks normal narrative conventions by eliminating causality, emphasizing chance and unexpected occurrences, and creating strange and shocking relationships among images. Results in a visual world that appears to be neurotic, unnatural, and illogical, resisting analysis and conclusion by the viewer. Emphasizes free association over conventional cinematic language.

western*

Inspired by American History, but has more to do with how Americans see and explain themselves. Form of modern mythology that offers narrative representations of Americans as rugged, self-sufficient individuals taming a savage wilderness with common sense and direct action. The concept of the frontier as a sort of societal blank slate is at the heart of this mythology. The Wild West is a land of opportunity-- both a dangerous, lawless country in need of taming and an expansive territory where anyone with the right stuff can reinvent himself and start a new life. includes characters who reverse or combine the thematic elements of order and chaos. Lawmen, cowboys, indians. Western hero is typically a man of action rather than words.

Time/space - condense*

Making the action happen faster than it really did

Time/space - expand*

Movies can move seamlessly from one space to another or make space move, or fragment time in many ways unlike other art forms. Making the action take longer than it did in reality.

non-linear narrative*

Narrative story told in non chronological order

color*

New naturalism has become the norm where what we see on the screen looks very much like what we would see in real life -Color film can be manipulated to capture realistic, surrealistic, imaginary, or expressionistic images

plot order*

One of the most important decisions that filmmakers make about relaying story information through the plot -Plot order can be manipulated so that events are not chronologically presented

stretch relationship

a time relationship in which screen duration is longer than than plot duration

proximity*

Process by which the director and his team plan the positions and movements of the actors and the cameras for each scene.

summary relationship

a time relationship in which screen duration is shorter than plot duration

musical*

Tells its story using characters that express themselves with song and/or dance. Actors sing every line of dialogue in a few musicals, some focus more on dancing than singing. Not born out of any specific political or cultural moment. Typically occurred in performance setting (backstage musicals). Revolved around a promising young performer searching for her big show-business break, or a talented singer/dancer protagonist pressured by a love interest or family member to leave show business, or a struggling company of singers and dancers determined to mount a big show. includes characters like the hard-bitten producer, the gifted ingenue, the insecure/less talented star, and the faltering veteran with a heart of gold.

Antirealism

a treatment that is against or the opposite of realism. However, realism and antirealism are not strict polarities like realism and fantasy.

extreme close-up

a very close shot of a particular detail, such as a person's eye, a ring on a finger, or a watch face

Cinematic invisibility*

We experience a movie shot, which is capable of delivering multiple layers of visual and auditory information for the briefest of moments

german expressionism*

Weimar Republic newly established in Germany after suffering a humiliating defeat. Seeking to revitalize the film industry and create a new image for the country, the government subsidized the film conglomerate UFA, which allowed German film industry to compete with those of other countries and attract filmmakers. German film artists entered the postwar period determined to reject the cinematic past and enthusiastically embrace the avant-garde. Reflected general atmosphere in postwar Germany of cynicism, alienation, and disillusionment. Presents physical world on the screen as a projection, or expression, of the subjective world, usually that of the film's protagonist. Chief characteristics are distorted and exaggerated settings, compositions of unnatural spaces, the use of oblique angles and nonparallel lines, a moving and subjective camera, unnatural costumes, hairstyles, and makeup, and highly stylized acting.

design

\the process by which the look of the settings, props, lighting, and actors is determined. Set design, decor, prop selection, lighting setup, costuming, makeup, and hairstyle design all play a role in shaping the overall aesthetics

character POV

a POV that is captured by a shot made with the camera close to the line of sight of one character (or animal or surveillance camera), showing what that person would be seeing of the action

Narrative

a cinematic structure in which content is selected and arranged in a cause-and-effect sequence of events occurring over time

narrative

a cinematic structure in which content is selected and arranged in a cause-and-effect sequence of events occurring over time

Verisimilitude

a convincing appearance of truth; movies are verisimilar when they convicne you that the things on the screen- people, places, and so on, no matter how fantastic or antirealistic- are really there.

long shot

also known as full-body shot. a shot that shows the full human body, usually filling the frame, and some of its surroundings.

persuasive

a documentary film concerned with presenting a particular perspective on social issues, or with corporate and governmental injustice

instructional

a documentary film that seeks to educate viewers about common interests, rather than persuading them with particular ideas.

propoganda

a documentary film that systematically disseminates deceptive or distorted information

factual

a documentary film that, usually, presents people, places, or processes in a straightforward way meant to entertain and instruct without unduly influencing audiences

documentary

a film that purports to be nonfictional. Documentary films take many forms, including instructional, persuasive, and propaganda.

direct address

a form of narration in which an on-screen character looks and speaks directly to the audience

group POV

a point of view captured by a shot that shows what a group of characters would see, but at the group's level, not from the much higher omniscient point of view

rule of thirds

a principle of composition that enables filmmakers to maximize the potential of the image, balance its elements, and create the illusion of depth. A grid pattern, when superimposed on the image, divides the image into horizontal thirds representing the foreground, middle ground, and background planes and into vertical thirds that break up those planes into additional elements

repetition: motif

a recurring visual, sound, or narrative element that imparts meaning or significance

Montage

a sequence of shots, often with superimpositions and optical effects, showing a condensed series of events

fetishism*

a sexual focus on a nonliving object or nongenital body part. The object of interest is called the fetish, the person who has a fetish for that object is a fetishist.

repetition: themes

a shared, public idea, such as a metaphor, an adage, a myth, or a familiar conflict or personality type. alerted by film's explicit details: recurring images/objects/details that define, in some way, the movie.

medium shot

a shot showing the human body, usually from the waist up

extreme long shot

a shot that is typically photographed far enough away from the subject that the subject is too small to be recognized, except through the context we see, which usually includes a wide view of the location, as well as general background information. When it is used to provide such informative context, the extreme long shot is also referred to as an establishing shot.

close-up

a shot that often shows a part of the body filling the frame-- traditionally a face, but possibly a hand, eye, or mouth

medium close-up

a shot that shows a character from the middle of the chest to the top of the head. provides a view of the face that catches minor changes in expression, as well as some detail about the character's posture.

mechanical effects

a special effect created by an object or event mechanically on the set and in front of the camera

in-camera effects

a special effect that is created in the production camera (the regular camera used for shooting the rest of the film) on the original negative. Examples of in-camera effects include montage and split-screen.

stop motion cinematography

a technique that allows the camera operator to stop and start the camera in order to facilitate changing the subject while the camera is not shooting. Frequently used for claymation and other forms of physical animation. Records the movement of objects with a motion-picture camera; the animator moves the objects slightly for each recorded frame.

deep space composition

an approach to composition within the frame that places figures in all three planes (background, middle-ground, and foreground) of the frame, thus creating an illusion of depth. often, though not always, shot with deep-focus cinematography.

direct cinema

an approach to documentary filmmaking that employs an unobtrusive stye in an attempt to give viewers as truthful and "direct" an experience of events as possible

capitalism*

an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state

characters

an essential element of film narrative; any of the beings who play functional roles within the plot, either acting or being acted on.

Realism

an interest in or concern for the actual or real; a tendency to view or represent things as they really are

anti-heroes

an outwardly unsympathetic protagonist pursuing a morally objectionable or otherwise undesirable goal

subtext*

an underlying and often distinct theme in a piece of writing or conversation

digital animation

animation that employs computer software to create the images used in the animation process (as opposed to analog techniques that rely on stop-motion photography, hand-drawn cels, etc.) Toy Story was the first feature-length digitally animated film. May begin with drawings, storyboards, puppets, etc, but uses the virtual world of computer-modeling software to generate the animation.

Familiar Image

any image that a director periodically repeats in a movie (with or without variations) to help stabilize the narrative

figure

any significant thing that moves on the screen-- person, animal, object

hand-drawn

artists draw or paint images that are then photographed one frame at a time in a film camera. cartoons like Mickey Mouse

character types

can be flat or round; major, minor, or marginal; or protagonists or antagonists

film stock

celluloid used to record movies. There are two types: one for black and white films, the other for color. Each type is manufactured in several standard formats.

presentation

certain elements of cinematic language that communicate tone and atmosphere. Lighting techniques, special effects, setting, camera angles, etc. ex: horror films take advantage of lighting schemes that accentuate and deepened shadows. Resulting gloom creates eerie mood.

fast motion

cinematographic technique that accelerates action on-screen. It is achieved by filming the action at a rate less than the normal 24 frames per second. When the shot is then played back at the standard 24 fps, cinematic time proceeds at a more rapid rate than the real action that took place in front of the camera.

slow motion

cinematographic technique that decelerates action on-screen. It is achieved by filming the action at a rate greater than the normal 24 frames per second. when the shot is then played back at the standard 24 fps, cinematic time proceeds at a slower rate than the real action that took place in front of the camera.

hybrid film

cross-pollination among experimental, documentary, and narrative. Ex: Roger Beebe's The Strip Mall Trilogy

Cultural Invisibility

cultural attitudes that shape cinematic stories/favored stories and themes that reinforce viewers' shared belief systems. So much of it occurs on an unconscious, emotional level which can cause the viewer to be blind to the implied political, cultural, and ideological messages. ex: Juno addresses issues of abortion and pregnancy, yet diverges from the ways that movies traditionally represent family structures and teenage girls/resists cultural values. Juno reinforces our culture's celebration of the individual (promiscuous, forceful, and charming persona displays traits we often associate with Hollywood's dominant view of the rogue hero). Both the movie and its protagonist side with the traditional values of motherhood and responsibility embodied by Vanessa and reject Mark's rock-star ambitions as immature and self-centered.

italian neo-realism*

developed during WWII. Influenced by French poetic realism, a movement that consisted of filmmakers seeking freedom in the increasingly repressive french society of the 1930s. often an elusive concept, nothing more or less than the depiction of subjects as they appear to the artist in every day life, without adornment or interpretation. movement deliberately broke with the Fascist past and adopted a ideology that reflects Marxist, Christian, and humanist values. highest value placed on the lives of ordinary working people; decried such postwar conditions as widespread unemployment, poverty, child labor, government corruption, and inadequate housing (results of Fascist rule); and focused on the struggle for a decent life in the postwar world Neorealism is antiauthoritarian, skeptical of the Catholic church, antibureaucratic, and socialist. But because it does not have an inherent political purpose, it is often regarded as a style rather than ideology. Used actual locations rather than studios, nonprofessional actors, documentary visual style, long takes to preserve real time, and deep-space cinematography to maintain look of the actual spaces in which shooting occurred.

diegetic/non-diegetic elements

diegetic: an element- event, character, object, setting, sound- that helps form the world in which the story occurs non-diegetic: something that we see and hear on the screen that comes from outside the world of the story (including background music, titles and credits, and voice-over narration)

animation

different form of filmmaking: not a necessarily a single type of movie. 24 pictures = 1 second of animation. Three types: hand-drawn, digital, stop-motion

obstacles

events, circumstances, and actions that impede a protagonist's pursuit of a goal. Obstacles often originate from an antagonist and are central to a narrative conflict.

explicit meaning

everything that a movie presents on its surface. What the movie is about.

five act structure:

exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement

narrative structure*

exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement

camera angle and height: eye level/high/low/dutch/aerial/scale

eye level: a shot that is made from the observer's eye level and usually implies that the observer's attitude is neutral toward the subject being photographed high angle shot: also known as high shot or down shot: a shot that is made with the camera above the action and that typically implies the observer's sense of superiority to the subject being photographed low angle shot: also known as low shot: a shot that is made with the camera below the action and that typically places the observer in a position of inferiority dutch angle shot: AKA dutch shot or oblique-angle shot. A shot in which the camera is tilted from its normal horizontal and vertical positions so that it is no longer straight, giving the viewer the impression that the world in the frame is out of balance aerial-view shot: also known as bird's-eye-view: an omniscient-point-of-view shot that is taken from an aircraft or extremely high crane and implies that the observer can see all scale: the size and placement of a particular object or a part of a scene in relation to the rest: a relationship determined by the type of shot used and the placement of the camera

flat/round characters

flat: a relatively uncomplicated character exhibiting few distinct traits. Flat characters do not change significantly as the story progresses. round: a complex character possessing numerous, subtle, repressed, or contradictory traits. Round characters often develop over the course of a story

voice-over

narration heard concurrently and over a scene but not synchronized to any character who may be talking on the screen. It can come from many sources, including a third person (who is not a character) bringing us up-to-date, a first-person narrator commenting on the action, or in a nonfiction film, a commentator.

framing: off-screen/on-screen space

framing: the process by which the cinematographer determines what will appear within the borders of the moving image (the frame) during the shot off-screen space: cinematic space that exists outside the frame on-screen space: cinematic space that exists inside the frame open frame: a frame around a motion-picture image that, theoretically, characters and objects can enter and leave closed frame: an approach to framing a shot that implies that neither characters nor objects may enter or leave the frame-- rendering them hemmed in and constrained

ideology

ideological meaning: meaning expressed by a film that reflects beliefs on the part of filmmakers, characters, or the time and place of the movie's setting. Ideological meaning is the product of social, political, economic, religious, philosophical, psychological, and sexual forces that shape the filmmakers' perspectives

story

in a movie, all the events we see or hear on the screen, and all the events that are implicit or that we infer to have happened but that are not explicitly presented

framing: kinesis-camera movement and movement within the frame: figures-blocking/proximity

kinesis: the aspect of composition that takes into account everything that moves on the screen

implied meaning

lies below the surface of a movie's story and presentation. closest to our everyday sense of the word meaning. An association, connection, or inference that a viewer makes on the basis of explicit meanings conveyed by the story and form of a film. What the movie means. Closest to our everyday use of the word meaning.

low-key lighting

lighting that creates strong contrasts; sharp, dark shadows; and an overall gloomy atmosphere. Its contrasts between light and dark often imply ethical judgements. Seen in horror films, dramas, mysteries, film noirs.

high-key lighting

lighting that produces an image with very little contrast between darks and lights. Its even, flat illumination expresses virtually no opinions about the subject being photographed

major/minor/marginal characters

major: one of the main characters in a movie. Major characters make the most things happen or have the most things happen to them minor: a supporting character in a movie. Minor characters have fewer traits than major characters, so we know less about them. They may also be so lacking in definition and screen time that we can consider them marginal characters marginal: a minor character that lacks both definition and screen time

first person

narration by an actual character in the movie

third person

narration delivered from outside of the diegesis by a narrator who is not a character in the movie

Falling action/resolution

occurs once the goal is either gained or lost- the third act of falling action, in which the narrative wraps up loose ends and moves toward a conclusion.

shot

one uninterrupted run of the camera. a shot can be as short or as long as the director wants, but it cannot exceed the length of the film stock in the camera

camera movement: pan, tilt, dolly, tracking, zoom, crane, handheld, steadicam***

pan shot: the horizontal movement of a camera mounted on the gyroscopic head of a stationary tripod; like the tilt shot, the pan shot is a simple movement with dynamic possibilities for creating meaning tilt shot: the vertical movement of a camera mounted on the gyroscopic head of a stationary tripod. Like the pan shot, the tilt shot is a simple movement with dynamic possibilities for creating meaning. dolly: a wheeled support for a camera that permits the cinematographer to make noiseless moving shots dolly in: slow movement of the camera toward a subject, making the subject appear larger and more significant. Such gradual intensification is commonly used at moments of a character's realization and/or decision, or as a point-of-view shot to indicate the reason for the character's realization. dolly out: movement of the camera away from the subject that is often used for slow disclosure, which occurs when an edited succession of images leads from A to B to C as they gradually reveal the elements of a scene. Each image expands on the one before, thereby changing its significance with new information dolly shot: AKA traveling shot: a shot taken by a camera fixed to a wheeled support called a dolly. When the dolly runs on tracks (or when the camera is mounted to a crane or an aerial device such as an airplane, a helicopter, or a balloon) the shot is called a tracking shot. tracking shot: see above zoom: a shot in which the image is magnified by movement of the camera's lens only, without the camera itself moving. This magnification is the essential difference between the zoom in and the dolly in. crane: a shot that is created by movement of a camera mounted on an elevating arm (crane) that, in turn, is mounted on a vehicle that, if shooting requires it, can move on its own power or be pushed along tracks hand held*** steadicam: a camera suspended from an articulated arm that is attached to a vest strapped to the cameraperson's body, permitting the operator to remain steady during "handheld" shots. The steadicam removes jumpiness and is now often used for smooth, fast, and intimate camera movement

bohemianism*

practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic, or literary pursuits.

italian neorealism: long take

preserves real time

protagonists/antagonists

protagonist: the primary character whose pursuit of the goal provides the structural foundation of a movie's story antagonist: the character, creature, or force that obstructs or resists the protagonist's pursuit of their goal

omniscient

providing a third-person view of all aspects of a movie's action or characters

restricted narration

providing a view from the perspective of a single character. for example, restricted narration reveals information to the audience only as a specific character learns of it.

repetition: familiar image

repetition: the number of times that a story element recurs in a plot. Repetition signals that a particular event has noteworthy meaning or significance. familiar image: any image that a director periodically repeats in a movie (with or without variations) to help stabilize the narrative

voyeurism*

sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions usually considered to be of a private nature

italian neorealism: on-location shooting

shooting in an actual interior or exterior location away from the studio

patriarchy*

social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line; broadly : control by men of a disproportionately large share of power

special effect

technology for creating images that would be too dangerous, too expensive, or in some cases simply impossible to achieve with traditional cinematographic materials. The goal of special effects cinematography is to create verisimilitude within the imaginative world of even the most fanciful movie.

narration

the act of telling the story of the film. The primary source of a movie's narration is the camera, which narrates the story by showing us the events of the narrative on-screen. When the word "narration" is used to refer more narrowly to spoken narration, the reference is to commentary spoken by either an offscreen or on-screen voice. When that commentary is not spoken by one of the characters in the movie, it is omniscient. When spoken by a character within the movie, the commentary is first person narration.

blocking

the actual physical relationships among figures and settings. Also, the process during rehearsal of establishing those relationships

real-time

the actual time during which something takes place. In real-time, screen duration and plot duration are exactly the same. Many directors use real time within films to create uninterrupted "reality" on the screen, but they rarely use it for entire films.

duration: screen duration

the amount of time that it has taken to present the movie's plot on-screen, i.e., the movie's running time

duration: story

the amount of time that the entire narrative arc of a movie's story-- whether explicitly presented on-screen or not-- is implied to have taken to occur

suspense

the anxiety brought on by partial uncertainty: the end is certain, but the means are not

genre

the categorization of narrative films by form, content, or both. Examples are musical, comedy, biography, Western, etc.

Rising Action

the development of the action of the narrative toward a climax

duration: plot

the elapsed time of the events within a story that a film chooses to tell

irony*

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect

denouement

the final outcome of the story. All secrets are revealed and loose ends are tied up. Generally occurs after the climax.

Climax

the highest point of conflict in a conventional narrative; the protagonist's ultimate attempt to attain the goal. Protagonist usually must take a great risk, make a significant sacrifice, or overcome personal flaw.

Exposition

the images, action, and dialogue necessary to give the audience the background of the characters and the nature of their situation, laying the foundation for the rest of the narrative

Form

the means by which a subject is expressed. The form for poetry is words; for drama, it is speech and action; for movies, it is pictures and sound, etc.

omniscient POV

the most common POV portrayed in movies. An omniscient POV allows the camera to travel freely within the world of the film, showing us the narrative's events from a god-like, unlimited perspective that no single character in the film could possible have

composition

the organization, distribution, balance, and general relationship of stationary objects and figures, as well as of light, shade, line, and color, within the frame

scope

the overall range of a story

cinematic time

the passage of time within a movie, as conveyed and manipulated by editing

point of view

the position from which a film presents the actions of the story, not only the relation of the narrators to the story but also the camera's act of seeing and hearing. The two fundamental types are omniscient and restricted.

generic transformation

the process by which a particular genre is adapted to meet the expectations of a changing society. Changes with times and audience expectations, which are in turn effected by a large number of factors-- technological, cultural, social, political, economic, etc.

cinematography

the process of capturing moving images on film or some other medium

deep focus photography

the process of rendering the figures on all planes (background, middle-ground, and foreground) of a deep-space composition in focus

consumerism*

the protection or promotion of the interests of consumers

moving frame

the result of the dynamic functions of the frame around a motion-picture image, which can contain moving action but can also move and thus change its viewpoint

plot

the specific actions and events that the filmmakers select and the order in which they arrange those events and actions to effectively convey on-screen the movie's narrative to a viewer

Content

the subject of an artwork

setting

the time and space in which a story takes place. Where a movie's action is located and how that environment is portrayed. Goes beyond geography: time zone, historical context,

german expressionism: chiaroscuro lighting

the use of deep gradations and subtle variations of lights and darks within an image

story formulas

the way a movie is structured/its plot. helps viewers determine genre. American Gangster: share plot structure of an underprivileged and disrespected immigrant joins/forms an organized crime syndicate, works his way to the top with a combination of savvy, innovation, and ruthlessness, becomes corrupted by his newfound power and the fruits of his labors, and is then betrayed, killed, or captured. Rom coms: structured around characters in love as they couple, break up, and reconnect. They are at odds when they first meet and then fall in love in spite of this seeming incompatibility, then must overcome obstacles to their relationship in the form of misunderstandings, competing partners, social pressures, or friction caused by the aforementioned incompatibility.

narrator

who or what tells the story of a film. the primary narrator in cinema is the camera, which narrates the film by showing us events in the movie's narrative. When referring to the more specific action of voice-narration, the narrator may be either a character in the movie (a first-person narrator) or a person who is not a character (an omniscient narrator)