Chapter 4

round character

A complex character possessing numerous, subtle, repressed, or contradictory traits. Round characters often develop over the course of a story.

crisis

A critical turning point in a story in which the protagonist must engage a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

backstory

A fictional history behind the cinematic narrative that is presented onscreen. Elements of it can be hinted at in a movie, presented through narration, or not revealed at all.

direct address

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

goal

A narratively significant objective pursued by the protagonist.

flat character

A relatively uncomplicated character exhibiting few distinct traits. Flat characters do not change significantly as the story progresses.

surprise

A taking unawares that is potentially shocking. Compare suspense.

stretch relationship

A time relationship in which screen duration is longer than plot duration. Compare real time and summary relationship.

summary relationship

A time relationship in which screen duration is shorter than plot duration. Compare real time and stretch relationship.

narrative film

Also known as fiction film. A movie that tells a story—with characters, places, and events—that is conceived in the mind of the film's creator. Stories in narrative films may be wholly imaginary or based on true occurrences, and they may be realistic, unrealistic, or both.

diegetic element

An element—event, character, object, setting, sound—that helps form the world in which the story occurs

character

An essential element of film narrative; any of the beings who play functional roles within the plot, either acting or being acted on. Characters can be flat or round; major, minor, or marginal

anti-hero

An outwardly unsympathetic protagonist pursuing a morally objectionable or otherwise undesirable goal.

familiar image

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

obstacles

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

stakes

In a conventional narrative, that which is at risk as a consequence of the protagonist's pursuit of the goal.

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.

normal world

In a narrative screenplay, the state of the character and setting before the inciting incident.

first-person narration

Narration by an actual character in the movie.

third-person narration

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

voice-over narration

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

omniscient

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

restricted

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.

nondiegetic element

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).

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. Compare cinematic time, stretch relationship, and summary relationship.

suspense

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

antagonist

The character, creature, or force that obstructs or resists the protagonist's pursuit of their goal.

resolution

The concluding narrative events that follow the climax and celebrate or otherwise reflect upon story outcomes.

rising action

The development of the action of the narrative toward a climax

catalyst

The event or situation during the exposition stage of the narrative that sets the rest of the narrative in motion

climax

The highest point of conflict in a conventional narrative; the protagonist's ultimate attempt to attain the goal.

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

repetition

The number of times that a story element recurs in a plot. Repetition signals that a particular event has noteworthy meaning or significance.

cinematic time

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

setting

The time and space in which a story takes place.

diegesis (adj. diegetic)

The total world of a story—the events, characters, objects, settings, and sounds that form the world in which the story occurs

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).