Most media theories suggest that a successful film abides by certain rules. In order to see whether our film followed these suggestions set by theorists I conducted some research into narrative theories.
After researching Todorov's theory of equilibrium I decided to create a short video condensing what I had learnt,which I then applied to Just My Luck (a film similar to ours):
I then applied it to our film:
I then researched into Propp's Character Theory, in order to benefit from this research I created a short Prezi on the information I felt was relevant:
Equilibrium- Sarah visits her Grandma’s house, everything is like a
typical day. They start coin collecting.
Disruption-
Dorothy gives Sarah the
lucky penny, and a series of bad events happen to her.
Recognition-
She realises that these
events are happening to her and that she is unlucky.
Attempt
to repair – She visits
her best friend Leah for comfort.
Restoration-
She learns that Leah
stole from her, and the bad luck she is experiencing is a result of Leah’s actions
and not a result of the penny.
I then researched into Propp's Character Theory, in order to benefit from this research I created a short Prezi on the information I felt was relevant:
I then applied Propp's theory to our characters:
Hero
is Sarah; she is given
the magic coin by her Grandma and seeks the luck it possesses. She is motivated
by her perceived lack of luck and is dispatched by the penny
Villain
is Leah; as she is in a
struggle with Sarah at the end of the film. Leah attempts to block Sarah’s luck
by stealing from her and then lying about it.
Donor
is Dorothy; as she
provides Sarah with the magical object as a child.
Helper
is the lucky coin; the
coin helps Sarah find out what her best friend did and helps her realise that
she is lucky. Lucy is also the helper as she tells Sarah that Leah is upstairs
which allows her to go on and find out that Leah stole from her.
Dispatcher
is the lucky coin as it
sends Sarah in the right direction. Following her unlucky events, as a
consequence of the coin, she visits her friend Leah in which she finds out the
truth. Dorothy is also the dispatcher as she provides Sarah with the penny,
which sends her in the direction of revealing what her best friend is really
like. Diane also sends Sarah on her way as she acts as the main catalyst for
encouraging Sarah to visit Leah as she accuses her of stealing £20, which
upsets Sarah.
However, we do
not have characters that assume the roles of the Princess, Princess’ father or
False Hero, because we do not have scenarios that have developed these
characters. From this it is very clear that our film abides by Propp's theory of narrative, but without completely mirroring it, allowing us to keep our originality.
I then created another Prezi on Propp's idea of narrative functions:
I then followed Propp's suggestions and applied it to our film where possible:
It is clear that our
film involves several of these functions. However, our film doesn't include all of these functions and they are not in the chronological order. However, I believe that our film abides by Propp's theory, in a way that keeps our films originality.
In our film,
we only really meet certain functions suggested by Propp:
1. A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced); Sarah visits her Grandma’s house
12. Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, and preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor); Sarah collects coins with her Grandma.
14. Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters); Dorothy gives Sarah the lucky penny.
12. Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, and preparing the way for his /her receiving magical agent or helper (donor); Sarah faces a series of unlucky events
1. A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced); Sarah visits her Grandma’s house
12. Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, and preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor); Sarah collects coins with her Grandma.
14. Hero acquires use of a magical agent (directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, eaten/drunk, help offered by other characters); Dorothy gives Sarah the lucky penny.
12. Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, and preparing the way for his /her receiving magical agent or helper (donor); Sarah faces a series of unlucky events
15.
Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the
search; the unlucky events
drive Sarah to Leah in hope for comfort.
19.
Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell
broken, slain person revived, captive freed); Sarah finds all her missing items and learns the truth about
Leah.
Barthes narrative code is another narrative theory. I decided to conduct some research into the narrative theory and condense it onto a short PowerPoint:
From researching Barthes narrative codes I've had attempted to apply his theory to our short film. I believe that our film does consist of several codes described by Barthes-
Enigma code:
this can be applied to our short film as our narrative continually keeps the
audience guessing what will happen next. For instance, Dorothy gives Sarah the
penny and as a result the audience wants to know what impact it will have on
plot and on Sarah. Sarah is also the victim of lots of unlucky but lucky
events. The audience wish to see this resolved and want to find out whether the
penny is bringing her luck or not. Throughout our film the audience’s knowledge
is extremely restricted as they don’t know any more than Sarah does throughout.
When Sarah learns of the coin’s luck and Leah’s antics, the audience learn of
it at the same time.
Action code: this can be applied to our short film as Sarah loses her Ipod and her mum accuses her of stealing £20. The audience knows that Sarah didn't steal these items and because of this, it foreshadows that somebody else must have stolen them or some event must have resulted in their disappearance. This foreshadowing keeps the audience intrigued as they want to find out how these events have occurred and what Sarah will do to resolve the issue. They also want to keep watching to witness this reveal. Also Leah’s reveal that she stole from her and Sarah’s mum also keeps the audience watching as they want to see how Sarah will react to this. The audience want to find out if their friendship will continue or if this marks the end of their friendship. They predict that this decision must occur, however, in our film, we leave the audience guessing whether or not they remain friends.
Action code: this can be applied to our short film as Sarah loses her Ipod and her mum accuses her of stealing £20. The audience knows that Sarah didn't steal these items and because of this, it foreshadows that somebody else must have stolen them or some event must have resulted in their disappearance. This foreshadowing keeps the audience intrigued as they want to find out how these events have occurred and what Sarah will do to resolve the issue. They also want to keep watching to witness this reveal. Also Leah’s reveal that she stole from her and Sarah’s mum also keeps the audience watching as they want to see how Sarah will react to this. The audience want to find out if their friendship will continue or if this marks the end of their friendship. They predict that this decision must occur, however, in our film, we leave the audience guessing whether or not they remain friends.
They act as a main source of suspense!
I then conducted some research into Syd Field's 3 Act Plot, in which I converted my notes into a powerpoint-
I then applied the theory to our own short film:
Act 1-
the setup the audience is
introduced to Sarah, the main character, straight away. The film establishes
her relationship with Dorothy, the location (Barnsley) and time (Afternoon).
Plot point one- is Dorothy giving Sarah the penny. This poses the question to the audience why is it so lucky? Will it be lucky for Sarah? The penny sets up the narrative and is the driving force for pushing the narrative forward.
Plot point one- is Dorothy giving Sarah the penny. This poses the question to the audience why is it so lucky? Will it be lucky for Sarah? The penny sets up the narrative and is the driving force for pushing the narrative forward.
Act 2-
the confrontation Sarah
faces several events that give her bad luck, such as losing Kandi, breaking her
phone and her mum accusing her of stealing. She is pretty helpless to these
events and is simply a victim to them.
Mid-point- Sarah gets upset by the events and attempts to seek comfort in her best friend Leah by visiting her.
Mid-point- Sarah gets upset by the events and attempts to seek comfort in her best friend Leah by visiting her.
Act 3-
the resolution
Plot point two- in our film is Sarah realising that Leah has stolen from her and her mum.
They then argue and Sarah has a flashback of her unlucky/lucky events. She realises that the penny did bring her luck, and that it was Leah who was unlucky. She resolves her issues as she finally comes to terms with the events, understands her feelings towards Leah and the penny. However, there is no denouement section as our narrative ends with Sarah slamming the penny down in front of Leah.
Plot point two- in our film is Sarah realising that Leah has stolen from her and her mum.
They then argue and Sarah has a flashback of her unlucky/lucky events. She realises that the penny did bring her luck, and that it was Leah who was unlucky. She resolves her issues as she finally comes to terms with the events, understands her feelings towards Leah and the penny. However, there is no denouement section as our narrative ends with Sarah slamming the penny down in front of Leah.
I then researched into Levi-Strauss Binary Opposites theory, and made another Prezi as a way to condense my notes:
I then applied it to our film:
Luck vs. misfortune binary opposite drives our narrative forward as the penny brings Sarah both luck and misfortune. She embodies both sides which is unconventional, as it almost acts as an inner conflict within her. This binary opposite causes Sarah to encounter several lucky and unlucky events which drive the narrative forward to the reveal at the end as she turns to her best friend, Leah in hope for comfort. However as a result of the clash, she finds out what Leah is like.
Good vs. evil is clearly present in our narrative, as Sarah enters a conflict with Leah. This binary opposite is not present until the end of our film, in which the audience realise what has happened. Because they clash it makes the narrative end interestingly. However, we don’t resolve the clash between the two as neither side is removed and there is not a compromise between them as we do not reveal what happens next.
I believe researching these narrative theories has allowed me to understand what is suggested and expected in a successful film. The ones I've chosen to research I also linked to our film. By doing this I am now able to completely understand where our film abides by them and where it challenges them. Researching into this has provided me with a deeper understanding of film narratives, and although some elements of our film do not follow the theories due to its short length, I believe we have been able to abide by them effectively, in our way that allows our film to make sense, stay original and keep the audience interested.
