Question 1B - Narrative

"Media texts rely on culteral experiences in order for audiences to easily make sense of narratives". Explain how you used conventional and/or experimental narrative approaches in one of your production pieces.

How useful is the concept of narrative in understanding your work?
As our AS project was a film opening there wasnt much time to create much of a narative however it is obvious that we need a narative to get our heads round what is going on. one of the most relevent theorys to a film is Todorovs theory stating that every films follows 3 steps; Equilibrium, conflict, new equilibrium. Due to us only creating a film opening we didnt achieve all three steps however if we had gone on to produce a full blockbuster film we would have backed up this thoery. Throughout the pre-production planning we were constantly looking at previous film openings which subconsciously gives us an idea of the type of narrative to use for our filming. This was essential for ensureing that the audience completly understood what our opening was supporting and also makes the aundience want to ask questions.
Barthes: decided that they could be categorised in the following five ways:･Action/proiarectic
code & enigma code (ie Answers & questions)･Symbols & Signs･Points of Cultural Reference
Simple description/reproductio. The conventions we followed within our thoery such as mis-en-scene and camera shots and angles would allow the opening to create enigmas for the audience.

How is narrative and music videos different to narrative and film?
Telling a story in a music video is completly different to doin it in a film, this is because you have much longer for the audience to adjust to the film settings whereas a music video has to be expressed simply by the song and mis-en-scene used. Andrew Godwin quotes;
‘Music Videos are simply an extension of the lyrics; Images add new layers of meaning to the words of the song.’ I believe that this is a very good description of music videos as a music artist has to express what it is trying to show via mis-en-scene nd the actors. However in a film there is much longer for the audience to get to know the characters and create there own opinions of the story line. Todorovs theory states the a film starts in equilibruim, has a moment of conflict and is then transformed into a new equilibrium. In our short film we have to include a mixture of both these theorys, although a short films has very little to do with a music video it must also introduce the characters quickly and get straight to the point. I believe that short films also follow todorovs theory because they always have a conflict in the middle of the short film and it is then solved by the end of the film.