Sec A THEORETICAL EVALUATION OF PRODUCTION : NARRATIVE

Make a 'page' for this exam work, entitled Sec A THEORETICAL EVALUATION OF PRODUCTION
Deadline for work: Tuesday 16 January
 
At A2, I made a trailer for the film Broken Dreams, Pain Perdu, Immanent Threat as part of a promo pack consisting of a trailer, film poster and film magazine cover.

My trailer shows the audience ......

My film genre is....... As such, there are genre codes and conventions that shape the narrative, such as....

Narrative (character and plot) is handled significantly differently in a trailer from the way that it is done in a film because....

A trailer must convey to its target audience who the central characters are very rapidly and efficiently, in particular,  major narrative frameworks such the heroes and villains, the central protagonist and his / her concerns, the central thrust of the plot. For Bordwell and Thompson, narrative is ......

This theoretical framework fits with the way that I have handled my narrative because....

It reflects what Barthes called the action code of narrative / the enigma code of narrative because...

A trailer must establish rapidly the values and beliefs of the central characters, to draw in the audience. For Levi-Strauss, this means establishing a set of binary oppositions that are clear, such as, in my film trailer, the tension between.... the conflict between....

Character 'types' are often used as part of the narrative framework as a short cut to help  audiences grasp complex narrative. In a film, this often means stereotypes (such as in my trailer, the role of the detective / villain / bent cop / innocent girl / vindictive older woman / foreigner who presents a national threat to security). For Propp, all narrative had  a set of recurring character types. In my trailer, .....

Sound and vision editing are important in shaping the narrative structure of a trailer: the audience has only a couple of minutes to identify who the central characters are and what their aims and plans are. I achieved this in my narrative by using devices such as privileging my central character (name him /her) in the frame and through the use of close up. For instance, .....

I also used sound carefully - there is precious little room for diegetic sound in terms of  dialogue in a trailer, so my central character is heard to say.... the voice over speaks for my central character to reveal his innermost thought when....... the intertitles clearly position my central character's concerns by.....

All trailers use elliptical narrative, that is, present the broad brush strokes of the action (in order to hook the audience) whilst deliberately withholding the detailed mechanics (which would constitute a spoiler). In my trailer, .....

As Todorov suggests, narrative starts in a state of equilibrium (the status quo) which is disrupted (disequilibrium) before a series of challenges and upheavals that finally settle into a new, often hard-won equilibrium. The satisfaction of know 'how it all turns out' and the 'whodunnit' element are important to audiences, but a trailer must both intrigue or engage an audience but never reveal the final twists and turns of the plot. In my trailer, ....

Trailer editing is very specific to the genre as it must build a sense of compelling urgency and invite audiences into the world of the film by hooking them through the narrative. I used sound codes to support my narrative when .....