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Single Camera Drama Lesson 4. The Goal Orientated Plot and N arrative T heory. What drives a narrative forward?. Why is a goal orientated plot good for a short single camera production?. Examples. Kill Bill – Kill Bill The Hangover/2 – Find friend Children of Men – Save the girl
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Single Camera DramaLesson 4 The Goal Orientated Plot and Narrative Theory
Why is a goal orientated plot good for a short single camera production?
Examples • Kill Bill – Kill Bill • The Hangover/2 – Find friend • Children of Men – Save the girl • Inglorious Basterds – Kill Hitler • The Bicycle Thieves – Replace the bicycle • Scott Pilgrim Vs The World – Defeat the evil ex’s
VladmirPropp theory of characters • Vladimir Propp’s theory was formed in the early twentieth Century. • 8 types of characters: the hero, the villain, the donor, the dispatcher, the false hero, the helper, the princess and her father. • He did not state these characters were all separate people e.g. the provider could also be the helper. • There are only 8 different character types and only 31 things they ever do (makes stories predictable) • Todays film and TV: The hero, the villain and the damsel in distress.
IzetanTodorov • Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages: 1. A state of equilibrium at the outset; 2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action; 3. A recognition that there has been a disruption; 4. An attempt to repair the disruption; 5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium
Allan Cameron Theory • Anachronic – Flashback (Kill Bill, The Butterfly Effect) • Forking Paths – Contradictory narrative, alternative story (Sliding Doors) • Episodic – a series of shorter stories that appear to be disconnected (Heroes, Pulp Fiction, Thirteen Conversations about one Thing) • Split Screen – screen split into two or more times to show separate events (24 and Time Code) – American Experimental Film
Levi Strauss Theory • Binary Opposition • Narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict. • This can be as simple as two characters fighting, but more often functions at an ideological level – e.g., in Westerns, what do the cowboys and Indians each represent? What ideologies are embodied by the opposed sides in LOTR or Star Wars? • The Wickerman shows key elements of Binary Opposition