Textual Analysis

Popular Narrative Theories 

Levi-Strauss and Binary Opposition

Narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict. This can be as simple as two characters fighting, bur more often functions at an ideological level. 
(i.e. Good vs Evil, Animals vs Humans, Rich vs Poor, Black vs White, East vs West, Protagonist vs Antagonist, Humanity vs Technology, Man vs Woman)

Vladimir Plopp
was a Russian and Soviet formalist scholar. 

He analysed the plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their basic narrative elements. He looked at one hundred folk tales and come to the conclusion they were all made up of 31 plot elements, which he called functions. 

He also found that despite the large number of characters which appeared in folk tales, there were only 8 character types:

1. The Hero - Who goes on a quest and usually ends up with the princess.
2. The Villain - Who is against the hero.
3. The Dispatcher - Who sets the hero off on their quest.
4. The Donor - Helps the hero and sometimes has a magical power/object to help.
5. The Princess - Is usually the prize for the hero. The hero deserves her throughout the story and must overcome a task/defeat the villain to get her. 
6. Her Father - Rewards the hero. Usually identifies the false hero.
7. The False Hero - Takes credit for the hero's actions and tries to marry/end up with the princess. 
8. The Helper - Someone who helps the hero on their mission. 

MONSTERS INC.

Hero - Solly

Helper - Mike Wazowski 

Villain - Randy

Todorov's Theory

Proposed a basic structure for all narratives. All films begin with an equilibrium, a calm period. Then agents of disruption cause disequilibrium, a period of unsettlement. Then followed by a renewed state of peace and harmony for the protagonists and a new equilibrium brings the chaos to an end. 

Equilibrium → Disruption to the Equilibrium → Recognition → Attempt of Repair → New Equilibrium 

Roland Barthes and Action + Enigma Codes

Action codes - What will happen next... 

(she falls over, will he catch her?)

(she has been caught, what will he do with her?)

Enigma codes - The audience question why...

(why is there a shoe on the floor?)

Altman and Genre + Audience Pleasures

Rick Altman argues that genre offer audiences a set of pleasures:

Emotional Pleasures - How does the text make you feel? - happy, sad, nostalgic

Visceral Pleasures - Gut responses such as excitement, fear, laughter

Intellectual Pleasures - Does it make the audience think?

Micro Features

Mise-en-scene

• Costume
• Props
• Lighting
• Setting 
• Colour palette
• Hair and Makeup
• Performance

Camerawork

• Camera movement
• Camera angle
• Shot size
• Depth of Field
• Framing

Editing

• Pacing
• Length of Cuts
• Transition
• Elliptical editing

Sound

• Sound FX
• Diegetic
• Non-diegetic
• Parallel
• Contrapuntal

KEY CONCEPTS

Mise-en-scene 

Foreground and background

- depicts the focal point of the viewer

Lighting

- a standard lighting set-up

- the key light is the brightest and most influential 

- the back light helps counteract the effect of the key light or creates an outline/silhouette

- the filler light helps to soften the harsh shadows that the use of key and back lights create

Props

Setting location

- helps viewer identify where you are

Colour Palette

- different colours establishing the setting (outside, prominent green light)

- filters for lighting

- post-production edits (colour grading)

Hair and Makeup

Perfomance

- body language

- facial expressions

Camerawork

Camera movement 

- Pan (camera moves from side to side. left to right)

- Tilt (camera moves from up to down)

- Crane shot (starts zoomed in, goes up and all the way out)

- Tracking shot (tracks the person, forward, backward)

- Steadicam/Handheld (used in horror movies, holding camera, unstable)

Camera angle

- Low angle (puts the character in position of power, viewer feels inferior)

- High angle (makes character seems vulnerable, viewer in position of power)

- Over the shoulder (to reveal what the character is looking at)

Shot size/type

- Close-up (used to emphasise how important the character is)

- Extreme close-up (small section of character to really emphasise an object)

- Long shot (the whole of the body is visible)

- Wide shot (depending on where it appears in a sequence. shows a vast area)

- Medium shot (a figure from the waist up 

- Point of view (allows us to see through the eyes of the character)

Depth of field

Framing (not necessary for exam)

Editing

Speed of Editing

- The length of each sequence in a film establishes the pace of the film moving the action along

- The speed of editing will help to determine the mood of what is taking place on screen 

- If filmmakers want the audience to feel anxiety and suspense, the editing will be quick and the scenes/shots changing frequently
Cross-cutting: 
- Used to very effectively develop a sense of drama. It can be used to create tension, increase anxiety, direct emotion, make subtle links between character.

Transitions: how shots are linked together. The movement from one shot to the next is called a transition. 

Basic transitions include:

straight cut, fade, dissolve, wipe.

• Straight cuts: most common and "invisible" form of transition. One shot moves instantaneously to the next without attracting the audience's attention.
• Fades: A gradual darkening or lightening of an image until the screen becomes completely black or white. Used to indicate the beginning or end of a particular section of time within the narrative, can show the passing of time. 
• Dissolves: Dissolving one shot off the screen while other shot is fading in. The audience will be able to see both shots on the screen at the mid-point of the dissolve. Used if the film maker wants to show a connection between two characters, places or objects. 
• Wipes: One image is pushed off the screen by another. Images can be pushed left or right. Used to signal a movement between different locations that are experiencing the same time.

Sound

Diegetic/Non-Diegetic

Diegetic: refers to the world of the text

• Examples: dialogue, sound effects, music with a source within the text e.g. a radio

Non-diegetic: refers to everything outside the world of the text 

• Examples: voiceover, soundtrack, caption, titles, subtitles 

On/Off-Screen

On-screen sound: the audience can see the source of the sound.

Off-screen sound: the audience can't see the source of the sound.

Parallel/Contrapuntal

Parallel sound matches the action

Contrapuntal sound does not match the action