The Use of Narrative in Film
The use of Narrative in film and other forms of media is commonplace; it has become such that the media viewer has not only come to expect it but rely on it somewhat. There are two elements in narrative film today that combine in the engaging of the audience; 'story' and 'production' elements. One example in the Australian film industry of the use of production and story elements in such a way as to engage the audiences' attention is the film 'Two Hands'.
The film Two Hands was directed in 1999 by Gregor Jordan, a then virtual nobody. The film boasts an all-Australian cast and is full of Australian humor and irony. It is a film that was loved by critics and the public alike and has been affectionately dubbed 'The Australian answer to Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'. The film isn't your standard linear narrative in the sense that the beginning, middle and end don't necessarily go in that order.
Synopsis
In the film the lead character Jim (Heath Ledger) gets himself mixed up with Pando (Brian Brown) and his gang of King's Cross thugs when $10,000 of Pando's money goes missing, money that Jim had been given to deliver. Jim is then forced to rob a bank in a desperate attempt to replace Pando's money however he still manages to fall in love with the sister of one of his friends, Alex (Rose Byrne).
THE OPENING SEQUENCE
The opening sequence to the film establishes through both Production and story elements the following:
By showing us the characters of Pando and his gang in what appears to be a secluded section of scrub late at night, holding a bloodied and bruised Jim at gun point sets the scene for the genre of film we are about to see. The lighting, more accurately the lack of proper li...
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...l of the storyline elements from the opening sequence that were left unanswered have now been explored if not resolved.
The next scene, the scene after Jim returns to his apartment and is seen at the airport with Alex is another example of storyline elements being resolved. The way in which the pair were portrayed in the Kings Cross scene implied that their relationship in the film would be more than just friends. The assumptions from the scene in the cross made by the viewer have been developed as the movie progressed.
To conclude I would simply like to add that all the things I have been talking about have been purposefully put into the film. None of these things have been done so accidentally as it was the Director, Gregor Jordan's intention to make the viewer more interested through incorporating the aforementioned combination of Production and Story elements.
The use of cinematography throughout this film helps to get the point of the film across to the audience. One of the most iconic scenes in this film features near the ending, in the background there is sound of an ongoing war which represents the war against the indigenous culture, while ‘Dave’ and ‘Gail’ are in a tent together holding hands. The camera zooms in on their hands, and the audience can see the difference between the skin colours, it shows how close they are regardless of what has happened in the past.
Neill, Alex. “Empathy and (Film) Fiction.” Philosophy of film and motion pictures : an anthology. Ed. Noel Carrol and Jinhee Choi. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 247-259. Print.
Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...
David O. Russell weaves all of these strings, with good help from Linus Sandgren's great camerawork, very nicely together into a dynamic, melodic, multi-dimensional and intelligent entertaining movie, which by no means lacks a final decisive scam with everyone included.
Despite the major exterior differences, however, there is a strong correlation between the characters of Jim and Georgiana. Both are relatively weak people who allow another person to direct, dominate, and exploit them. In both cases this willingness to submit to a will other than their own is based on some incarnation of love or lust. Jim is immediately attracted to Alena, and that attraction grows into an addiction to the exciting life she leads. In the midst of his narrative he reflects on his feelin...
Jim is also on the run at the time for his own freedom and the pair make quite a team throughout the novel.
The film’s story does not simply shines forth, but is also the foundation of the plot. The film’s plot makes the traditional guidelines applicable...
Whenever books are adapted for film, changes inevitably have to be made. The medium of film offers several advantages and disadvantages over the book: it is not as adept at exploring the inner workings of people - it cannot explore their minds so easily; however, the added visual and audio capabilities of film open whole new areas of the imagination which, in the hands of a competent writer-director, can more than compensate.
The film Wendy and Lucy, directed by Kelly Reichardt, presents a sparse narrative. The film has been criticised for its lack of background story, and as a short film, much of the story is left to the viewer to infer from what is presented in the plot. However, Wendy and Lucy is able to depict the intimate relationship between Wendy and her dog as well as reflecting more broadly on the everyday, and commenting on the current economic state of the film’s setting in America. This essay will examine how film form contributes to the viewer’s awareness of the story in Wendy and Lucy and allows a deeper understanding of the themes presented. The aspects of mise-en-scene, shot and editing and sound in the film will be explored.
The Classical Hollywood style, according to David Bordwell remains “bound by rules that set stringent limits on individual innovation; that telling a story is the basic formal concern.” Every element of the film works in the service of the narrative, which should be ideally comprehensible and unambiguous to the audience. The typical Hollywood film revolves around a protagonist, whose struggle to achieve a specific goal or resolve a conflict becomes the foundation for the story. André Bazin, in his “On the politique des auteurs,” argues that this particular system of filmmaking, despite all its limitations and constrictions, represented a productive force creating commercial art. From the Hollywood film derived transnational and transcultural works of art that evoked spectatorial identification with its characters and emotional investment into its narrative. The Philadelphia Story, directed by George Cukor in 1940, is one of the many works of mass-produced art evolving out of the studio system. The film revolves around Tracy Lord who, on the eve of her second wedding, must confront the return of her ex-husband, two newspaper reporters entering into her home, and her own hubris. The opening sequence of The Philadelphia Story represents a microcosm of the dynamic between the two protagonists Tracy Lord and C.K. Dexter Haven, played by Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Through the use of costume and music, the opening sequence operates as a means to aesthetically reveal narrative themes and character traits, while simultaneously setting up the disturbance that must be resolved.
Then the question is posed to Mr. Lockwood, "How did it all begin?" The answering of this question is what my paper will explain. I will attempt to break down the opening scene and show how it all started. By using tools of film such as sound, editing, mise en scene, and cinematography, this paper will show how the scene was made as well. Mise en scene played an important role in this movie as with any other movie.
...r, with investigation into the visual elements of this film, meanings of this film expand beyond the literal dialog and -- existing in the film.
...successful collaboration of sound, colour, camera positioning and lighting are instrumental in portraying these themes. The techniques used heighten the suspense, drama and mood of each scene and enhance the film in order to convey to the spectator the intended messages.
...verything around us is made by our actions. Positive or negative they cause an effect that will ultimately lead to a different story base on how we interpret life. Narrative elements are used as a bridge by the directors in their film to create any master plot that is currently known. Any modification at any narrative element used by the director at important moments inside the story can help you portray a different master plot. This used of narrative elements can be best described as an ever changing process that takes place inside an individual’s head. Depending on the individual that may be exposed to those narrative elements can create different meanings. This new interpretation can be different for everyone. We have to be aware that one change in the surface scenery can lead to many ideal outcomes in our minds and that is the main power the audience has.
...movie that I fell in love with. But most of all I love how the story line is a great overlap into the cinematically engaging movie. There is a great use of camera, timing, shots and story line that are portrayed in this movie without being too overwhelming. This allows the audience to relax during the movie and just take in the scenes as a story from reality. To this day, and even still doing this paper I still come to find different aspects of the movie that I missed the previous times I have watched it.