Classical Hollywood Narrative Structure

The Classical Narrative Structure is the way most movies are made in Hollywood. Commonly in mainstream films and blockbusters.

Act 1: The Setup (Equilibrium/stability)

-Audience is introduced to the main characters and the obstacles they might face to achieve their goals.

-The conflict in the story is brought to light, as is the major antagonist (the villain) who stands in the way of the protagonist's (hero's) objectives

-The first act is referred to as the Hook. Sets the story to pull in the audience's attention, takes about one quarter of the film's length

Act 2: The Development (Disruption)

-This is where the difficulties are added to the story. A gradual sense of urgency is created when the main characters face problems that get in the way of their journey 

-Act two takes up the middle two quarters of the film and usually includes a "false resolution". After this point, the film goes to the necessary climax

-"Cause and Effect Relationships" propel the main characters throughout the film. Involves actions that cause a reaction to one of the characters, causing more reactions along the duration of the film

Act 3: The Resolution (Equilibrium re-established)

-The last/final part of the movie concludes the story's main conflict known as the climax. The key struggles are overcome and as far as the Classic Hollywood Narrative goes, the victor is usually the hero and all conflicts are resolved. The typical "Hollywood Ending" is popular in the narrative sense where the protagonist lives happily ever after

Voyeurism and The Male Gaze (Psycho shower scene)

-"The Male Gaze"= movies that are filmed from a man's perspective; women are portrayed as weak and vulnerable
-Alfred Hitchcock used re-occurring themes of the "morbid variety-sex", death, murder, suspense and voyeurism. In Psycho, he uses unique methods and themes to switch the audience's views.
-In Psycho before she is murdered, she is looking distressed whilst writing something in her journal. "When people are distressed, their minds tend to be at their weakest". Women being seen as helpless

Shower Scene analysis
-Marion (the girl in the film Psycho) is in the center frame to focus on the emotion and intensity on her face.
-She is later followed by a tracking shot, demonstrating she's a character of importance
-Low lighting in her room to create an atmosphere of tranquility, seduction and suspense. Bright lighting in the bathroom to give her focus and the audience's attention
-High-pitched music when she's in the bedroom, creating an essence of suspense and fear in both the audience and the character. Normal/everyday sound effects in the bathroom (turning of the shower knob, water pouring down). No music is used for this part of the scene, close-up shot of her body to draw attention to her. As she takes off her clothes, an essence of both vulnerability and sexuality is created. Male Gaze becomes apparent and visual here; there is nothing to protect her, metaphorically and physically - being naked is a very private and intimate thing. An intrusion of her privacy - voyeurism
-Washing herself sensually in the shower, implying that women are sexual objects and are there to be adored by men. Possible symbolism for washing away her impurities

-Medium shot of Marion - rake focus to emphasize the killer's shadow. Facial close-ups to depict her thoughts and emotions, extreme close up of the mouth and a high angle to suggest she is belittled and inferior. 

 

-As she grabs the curtain, she is "holding on for dear life"

Class notes - Friday 20th September 2013

V for Vendetta - Relationship between characters
"I killed you ten minutes ago"

Narrative aspects
-The coroner regrets the contribution she made to V's life
-V has no remorse and kills her anyway
-His memory was erased in the process of him being experimented on, he also became disfigured and burnt

-Style of the film = fascism
-Action film? Thriller? Sci-fi? Hybrid genre

-The coroner is suggested to be a mother figure to V
-In some cases, V is a psychopath = post modern narrative
-V is getting his "justified revenge"
-"I killed you ten minutes ago" mercy killing. Was she less at fault than others who experimented on him? All the other people involved at Larkhill knew what was entailed, whereas the coroner was only following orders
-V gives all his victims a red rose. The colour red represents passion, romance, danger and revolution. The rose V gives the coroner could represent yonic imagery.
-This death scene is a lot more calmer and dignified.
-Slow-paced editing
-Dark and cold colours in the scene could be a representation of death
-V appears out of the dark in this scene, having a grim reaper essence about him

post modern narrative = told from Evey's point of view

V for Vendetta - Analysing the Narrative aspects

-The man on the large screen, the Chancellor, is of significance and is being reported to. All men at the table are looking up at the chancellor, showing he is above them, superior and claims a high status of power. The men who are working for Chancellor Sutler are attentive, submissive and ask no questions when commands/orders are given; suggestion that they're challenging the male stereotype and taking on feminine characteristics of servitude.

-V is happy with the anarchy. Enhanced spacial awareness. Close up shot shows that he's of importance
-Evey conveys the audience's current emotions: shock, terror, confusion
-V and Evey are on top of a roof, being "on top of the world" for a brief amount of time

Close up of V
-Protagonist or antagonist? Hero or villain?
-Vigilante
-Terrorist or revolutionary?
-Activist
-Anti-hero
-The story of the film is told in a way that the audience sides with the terrorist
-Loves the chaos and destruction - what does that say about his mentality?

Themes in V for Vendetta
-Dictatorship
-Thriller/dystopian film
-Voyeurism

The scene of Evey's Torture
-When her hair is being shaved, she loses and becomes stripped of her femininity. This is one of the most significant scenes in V for Vendetta because not only does her appearance change, but her mentality and the stereotype of her gender.

-The close up of Evey's face shows her terror. When she is looking straight into the camera, there's an inference that she's trying to plea to the audience and connect with them
-In the scene where Evey sits in the corner of a dark room, there's a realization that she's completely isolated, alone and vulnerable
-The other woman who was in the prison years before, Valarie, didn't fight her torture, but dealt with it in a silent and dignified manner
-This sequence in the film was an implication that Evey has to stop being fragile and adopt masculine qualities

Analysing camera angles in cinematography

In groups, we looked at screenshots of different films and had to analyse what camera angles we saw what the the suggested representation could be.

1) Medium close-up. Business type/professional relationship, having an in depth discussion. No physical contact is made. The two men are level with each other in partnership. One person is slightly forward than the other. Deep focus, clearly able to see both characters

2) Extreme close-up. Darkness on the left side of the eye, brightness on the right. Looking out into the distance, watching helplessly. "All-seeing eye". The world is in the eye of the beholder. Possibly a victim of destruction.

3) Following the main character. The man seems more dominant and important. With the camera focused on his face, the woman is blurry and appears insignificant. Is he displeased about the conversation? Is he focusing on something more important?

4) Close-up camera shot. He clearly has injuries, showing there is danger around the protagonist. Possibly been in a fight. Raining and cold weather. Blue is a strong colour, suggesting that he could be either sad, depressed or ill. The pale blue could be a representation of a banal setting.

5) High angle/level of framing. Almost looking up at the camera. Seemingly expectant. Wide angle, loads of space in the shot.

6) Following the characters. Switches the audience's attention with different frames and camera angles. Following the characters to show they're of importance, people want to shadow them. Tracking shot causes the audience to empathize for the character.

Class notes - Tuesday 10th September 2013

Macro (meaning)
-Narrative
-Style
-Genre
-Representation

Planet of the Apes final scene
-Sound? Camera work? Editing?

This week we focus on Cinematography
Last week we worked on mise-en-scene
-Tool-kit for film analysis includes editing and sound

Representation
-Statue of liberty is destroyed, representation of the fall of man-kind, civilisation
-Role reversal; man breaks down and becomes emotional, woman stays vigil, almost motion-less. The look on her face was more confused instead of concerned

Camera Angles
-Long shots and close ups
-Movements (pans from the guy to the statue)
-Over shadowing
-High angle (eye-line)
-Longshots make the character look small and insignificant - foreshadowing something that's about to happen. "Atomic bomb" blowing up all form of humanity
-Cliffhanger ending sends a message

-The guy was looking weak and powerless "brought him to his knees"
-Camera angles the guy to look small on a large beach, feeling lost and isolated

-Starts off with the two characters on a beach together, thinking it may be a romantic film
-Character driven
-Post-apocalyptic. Everything has collapsed. The future reverses to a stone-age setting
-Atmosphere presents an essence of emptiness

What we look at in cinematography
-Capturing photographic images
-Deep focus = small aperture and lots of light
-Focus of the lens to shift the audience's attention
-Strange people/objects to show discomfort in the scene
-High or low angle = camera's point of view on the situation
-Following = focuses on the character(s)
-Wide angle = emphasize the amount of space
-Medium close up = takes up most of the screen
-Close-ups = takes up whole screen, focuses on the character's emotions

Class notes - Friday 6th September 2013

The Godfather last scene evaluation

1) What does the location tell you about the character?
Set in an office, he wants to appear as a business man

2) What does the lighting tell you about the character?
Lighting around him is dark, suggesting that he has a past full of bad things. Bright characters around his wife, stating innocence and purity.
-Shutting the door on his wife, hiding his dark deeds from her

Mise-en-scene clips for analysis
-All the elements of the scene within the frame
-Creates symbolism
-Location/setting/set design
-costume
-props
-acting
-colours
-lighting
-space

Alice in Wonderland
-Mellow and unsettling/intimidating lighting. Dim lights to not give an eerie atmosphere but a mysterious one
-costume shows she's upper class and well-off
-Themes of fantasy
-Trying to convey themes that girls are naive
-Looking up at the table when she's shrunken, she's looking up at the table that has an upright bottle. Suggestion of phallic imagery

Narrative: Alice possibly has middle or upper class up-bringing. Victorian and ancient setting/location
Style: Fantasy
Genre: mild thriller vs fantasy
Representation: Alice being a female, shows that young girls are presented as naive innocent

The "wonderland" could be inside her mind. She could either be hallucinating or finally exploring her personal views on the world

Class notes - Tuesday 3rd September 2013

-Mise-en-scene = Location/costume/props/body language
-Everything in the scene

Macro Analysis is an evaluation of the:
Narrative: background of the character
Style: themes of the film
Genre: horror/comedy/sci-fi/hybrid
Representation: how men and women are portrayed and what suggestions are being made
Meaning: what is the message of the film

Blade Runner clip
-Busy high-street with futuristic features/aspects. Flying cars and glow in the dark umbrellas. Sci-fi style of film
-"Helping America in your new world". Drastic changes have been made and the people are still adapting.
-Dirty, smokey and unsanitary location
-Poor quality suggesting it's an old film
-Dystopian elements show how the world is meant to be better but the streets are crowded and everything is too close together

Nosferatu
1) What type of film is it?
Horror film

2) How are men and women represented?
Women are seen as vulnerable victims, "damsels in distress"

3) What descriptive words/adjectives would be used to describe how it works?
Creating the atmosphere that something suspicious is about to happen

Fast and Furious evaluation/brainstorm
-Vin Diesel was wiped out by a care just as he dodged a train
-Green truck symbolising the nature wiping him out and the "new" beginning
-Confrontation between the characters
-The difference in the two cars represents the dominance. Black car, white shirt symbolises being rough on the outside and sentimental on the inside
-Reflection of the orange car shows how Vin Diesel used to be
-Explosion in the car symbolises his racing days might be over before he injuries himself trying too hard
-Black is the more dominant colour
-Levels with the cars, trying to portray superiority
-Won't let his ego get in the way of his fear