For the next part of my research I will be looking at the narrative structure of a short film, the narratology, the plot and the narrative design.
The narrative structure of a short film is not too different to that of a full feature film. The narrative structure is used to help define the basic plot, also the content of the film. The foundation of the film is usually based on the introduction of the film as it is usually used to entice the viewer into watching the rest of the film giving the basic plot and the main characters and circumstances. Vladimir Propp is a Russian formalist who studied the structural elements of Russian fairy tales, he ended up with ‘typology’ of narrative structures, he said that all fairy tale end up with a sequence of 31 stages starting with absentation which is the loss of a family member or confliction with a family, and ends with wedding where the hero marries and ascends the throne. With 7 basic characters; the villain, the donor, the (magical) helper, the princess and her father, the dispatcher, the hero or victim/seeker hero and the false hero. Vladimir studied for many years and found that these basic plots were used in all fairly or folk tales.
Herman Northrop Frye is a literary theorist he was made famous by his theory of literacy criticism and the development of the ‘anatomy of criticism’ starting with this explanation “The purpose of the introduction is to defend the need for literary criticism, to distinguish the nature of genuine literary criticism from other forms of criticism, and to clarify the difference between direct experience of literature and the systematic study of literary criticism.” He was honored with his ‘four essays’ explaining the need for literacy criticism.
