Narrative

Narrative

What is narrative theory?

Music video theories
applying these theories to videos
other narrative theories
applying them to existing products
applying them to your own
products

what is
narrative?

Narrative is the media

term for story telling.
!

It is the way that different

elements come together to
make a meaningful story.

what is
narrative structure?

Narrative structure is the way the

story is told or happens.
!

An open structure is one that

means that it has no final ending;
the story is left open.
What examples of these can you
think of?

what is
narrative structure?

Narrative structure is the way

the story is told or happens.
!

A closed structure is one that

means that the story is
concluded, usually satisfactorily.

what is
narrative structure?

Narrative structure is the way the

story is told or happens.
!

An interactive structure is one that

means that the story is not fixed and will
change depending on different factors.
!

What examples can you think of?

YOUR NARRATIVE
STRUCTURES

You can discuss the narrative structures and theories

of your own products in various ways, but make sure
its relevant.
For example, if your music video does not feature a
narrative, you cannot apply an open, closed or
interactive structure to it.
Make sure you know what narrative structure or
theory is applicable to your products before you go
into the exam.

DO THIS NOW!
Which of your products feature an open, closed or
interactive narrative structure?

music video
narrative theory
Andrew

Goodwin stated that there were

three different ways in which the music
video can connect back to the song itself
These are:
!

Illustration
Amplification
Disjuncture

music video
narrative theory - Illustration
Illustration is the simplest and easiest
concept to base a music video around as it
is just a literal meaning to the songs lyrics
in visual form. This can be seen in the
actions of the people in the video acting
out what has been sung, or the actual
lyrics being used on screen. These are
often performance videos.
!

What examples can you think of?

music video
narrative theory - Amplification
Amplification is second. These type of music
videos may use both performance and narrative,
with connotations of the meanings. These are
designed to be a creative and artistic endeavour
that seeks to create a form of story or artistic
statement, informed by the lyrics or meaning
from the song. For this reason, amplification
videos often have elements of performance or
illustrative elements in them.
!

What examples can you think of?

music video
narrative theory - Disjuncture
Disjuncture is the final type. These videos
intentionally ignore the content of the song and
genre of the music and tries to create a whole new
set of meanings. These music videos don't tend to
make a lot of sense and can often use abstract
imagery. This is a radical technique used and
applied by arty bands in order to assert their
difference and originality. They usually contain
performance from the artist/s, but have no
recognisable link to the lyrics.
!

What examples can you think of?

YOUR NARRATIVE
STRUCTURES

You can discuss the narrative structures and

theories of your own products in various ways, but
make sure its relevant.
For example, your music video should broadly
adhere to Goodwins theory of music videos.
Make sure you know what narrative type of
Goodwins theory is applicable to your products
before you go into the exam.

DO THIS NOW!
Your music video is what kind of music video?
Illustrative, amplification or disjuncture?

Task:

find 2 examples for

each of goodwins
music video types.
for each, explain what
type of video it is and
why it is that type.

Task 2:

what type of music

video is your video?
!

using a 9-still box,

explain how your video
fits one of the 3 types.

Basic narrative theory

narrative structure can be split

into 3 simplified categories. these
are:
!

Linear
circular
episodic

Basic narrative theory Linear

A linear narrative is one

that follows a line, it
starts at the beginning
and finishes at the end.

Start of story

Story

End of story

Basic narrative theory Linear

A linear narrative is one that

follows a line, it starts at the
beginning and finishes at the end.

Start of story

Story

End of story

What examples of linear narrative

structures can you think of in film?

Basic narrative theory episodic

An episodic narrative is one that

follows a line, and starts at the
beginning and finishes at the end, but is
broken up into smaller episodes or
sections. These are usually clearly
marked.

Start of story

Story

End of story

Basic narrative theory episodic

What examples of
episodic narrative can
you think of in film?

Start of story

Story

End of story

Basic narrative theory circular

A circular narrative is one

that follows a circle; the
story finishes where it
started. Start of story
End of story
Story

Story
Story

Basic narrative theory circular

Start of story
End of story
Story

Story
Story

You can have some element of these narrative styles being mixed
however. For example, you could have an episodic, circular narrative.

Basic narrative theory

your as studies project is a small section of a

film, so does not easily fit one of the narrative
structures.
However, your section should be part of a
bigger film.
With this in mind, you should know both where
your section would fit within this larger project
and also, because of this, what narrative
structure your larger film would be.
therefore, you should be able to explain what
narrative structure the overall film would be
and why.

YOUR NARRATIVE
STRUCTURES

You can discuss the narrative structures and

theories of your own products in various ways, but
make sure its relevant.
For example, you must know what narrative
structure is the most suitable for both products.
Make sure you know what narrative structure or
theory is applicable to your products before you
go into the exam.

DO THIS NOW!
Which of your products feature a linear, circular or
episodic narrative structure?

classic narrative theories

todorov
Propp
Barthes
Levi-strauss

classic narrative theories

Narrative Structure
Visual texts adopt different ways of
constructing stories, called narrative
structures and these fall into five main
categories:

classic narrative theories

1. Open / Closed narratives
Stories that are part of a series are open narratives (eg Soaps).
Stories with endings are closed narratives (eg Documentaries).
!

2. Single / Multi-strand narratives

Stories developing same plot are single strand narratives (eg Many
dramas).

Stories with more than one plot line are multi-strand narratives (eg
Soaps).

classic narrative theories

3. Linear / Non-linear narratives
Stories following chronological order are linear narratives (eg Soaps).
Stories jumping around in time are non-linear narratives (eg Many whodunnits).
!

4. Investigative narratives
Stories involving investigations of some kind are investigative narratives (eg
Who-dunnits, Documentaries).
!

5. Realist & anti-realist narratives

Stories featuring real life situations are realist narratives (eg Soaps, The News).
Stories that do not feature real life situations are anti-realist (eg Cartoons).

classic narrative theories

REVISION:
Make sure that you can clearly, easily and quickly
define what narrative type your product/s are.
THEN, you can begin to bring in a narrative
theory to IF relevant.

classic narrative theories

todorov
Propp
Barthes
Levi-strauss

TZVETAN TODOROV

Todorov proposed that

narrative structure has 5
main stages.
However, these can be
summarised as 3 key
points:

TZVETAN TODOROV
Beginning:
A state of equilibrium
Middle:
Disruption to the equilibrium
End:
Reinstating of the equilibrium

TZVETAN TODOROV
Stage 1
A state of equilibrium is defined.
Stage 2
Disruption to the equilibrium by some action or
crisis.
Stage 3
The Character(s) recognition that there has been a
disruption, setting goals to resolve problem.

TZVETAN TODOROV
Stage 4
The Character(s) attempt to repair the disruption,
obstacles need to be overcome to restore order.
Stage 5
Reinstatment to the equilibrium. Situation is
resolved, a conclusion is announced.

TZVETAN TODOROV

TZVETAN TODOROV
Can you add an example of a film that suits
Todorovs narrative structure?
!

Hint:
Make sure its a fairly standard Hollywood
film in order to really see the accuracy of
the theory.

vladimir propp
During the 1920s, Russian analyst Vladimir
Propp discovered that a storys format was
key to its success. Basing his studies on
traditional Russian fairy tales, he argued
that a successful story had 6 stages of
narrative action:

vladimir propp
1. Preparation (the scene is set)
2. Complication (a problem / evil occurs)
3. Transference (hero gets help and leaves on quest)
4. Struggle (there is a fight between hero and some kind of villain)
5. Return (the hero returns, his quest fulfilled)
6. Recognition (villains punished, hero rewarded)

vladimir propp

Propp also discovered that Russian

fairytales often involved much the same
stock characters.
These are also known as the Seven
Spheres of Action.

Seven Spheres of Action

vladimir propp
Hero: Individual(s) whos quest is to restore the equilibrium.
Villain: Individual(s) whos task is to disrupt the equilibrium.
Donor: Individual(s) who gives the hero(s) something, advice,
information or an object.
Helper: Individual(s) who aids the hero(s) with their set task.
Princess (Prince): Individual(s) which needs help, protecting and
saving.
Dispatcher: Individual(s) who send the hero(s) on their quest.
False Hero: Individual(s) who set out to undermine the heros quest
by pretending to aid them, often unmasked at the end of the film.

vladimir propp

REVISION
Using the Seven Spheres of Action, can you
attribute a character to each from a film that
already exists?
Make sure you use a film you know really
well that has lots of characters in.
Or just use Star Wars, like everyone does.

vladimir propp

REVISION
For either of your two products (but probably the
film extract), try to fit the 6 stages of action
around it. You may need to consider that your
extract was just the start of the narrative, so may
need to extent this to what your film could have
done.
Using the Seven Spheres of Action, can you attribute
a character to each from a film that already exists?

roland barthes
Roland Barthes was a French literary
theorist, philosopher, critic and semiotician
(study of cultural signs and symbols). He
suggested that media texts with a narrative
were essentially forms of storytelling ( la
Propp).

roland barthes

Barthes proposed the Open and Closed

narrative structure (Interactive came much
later and not from him, incidentally).
!

Barthes said that all narratives share similar

structures but are moulded in different ways.
!

roland barthes

He believed that a text was essentially a tangled ball of

threads that needs to be unravelled.
!

Once unravelled, it is obvious that we can begin to look

at a text at any angle we choose.
!

We start to look at a text in one specific way, from one

viewpoint and because of this, one meaning for a text.
!

But this can be repeated several times. By continuing to

unravel texts, different meanings appear.

roland barthes

Barthes suggested that meaning is made in

fiction by the use of Five Codesc. They can be
woven into any text and they are integral to
interpreting them to create different meanings:
!

The Hermeneutic/Enigma Code (HER)

The Action/Proairetic Code (ACT)
The Semantic Code (SEM)
The Symbolic Code (SYM)
The Referential/Cultural Code (REF)

roland barthes

The Hermeneutic/Enigma code (HER):

!

The enigma code: things within the text that

make the audience ask themselves questions
about what will happen. The answers to the
questions can be found by consuming the text.
For example, will Charlie Bucket find a golden
ticket?

roland barthes

The Action/Proairetic Code (ACT):

!

The events and actions code: each action and event

within a text can be linked to nameable sequences
operating in the narrative. Barthes asserts that each
effect could be named giving a series of titles to the
text. These are often made very explicit on the DVD
casing the chapter titles are generally based on events
or actions.

roland barthes

The Symbolic Code (SYM):

!

Is the process of representing an object, idea or feeling

by something else. For example, a fence between two
characters may symbolise their emotional distance. Some
have suggested that the infamous adrenaline shot in
Pulp Fiction is the symbolic penetration of Mia by Vince.

roland barthes

The Semantic Code (SEM):

!

This code refers to the use of connotation to give the

audience an insight into characters, objects or events. For
example, conventional car advertisements feature the car
in an open, green landscape. The connotations created by
the setting are of freedom and escape.

roland barthes

The Referential/Cultural Code (REF):

!

The cultural code concerns all the culturally specific

knowledge used to make meaning in a text. For example,
the Coronation Street title sequence features
stereotypically northern streets and houses, connoting
traditional communities and family values. The audience
must be familiar with such northern typification to
associate particular meanings with the text.

roland barthes
REVISION:

!
CODE

HER
ACT
SYM
SEM
REF

TEXT

EXPLANATION

roland barthes
REVISION:

!
CODE

HER
ACT
SYM
SEM
REF

FILM OR
MUSIC VIDEO

EXPLANATION

claude levi-strauss
Claude Levi-Strauss is most noted for his theory
of Binary Oppositions. He observed that all
narratives are organised around the conflict
between the oppositions.
!

He used the Western genre to identify and

provide a clear example of how this works:

claude levi-strauss
Homesteaders - Native Americans
Christian - Pagan
Domsetic - Savage
Weak - Strong
Garden - Wilderness
Inside society - Outside society

claude levi-strauss
This applies to other genres of course:
Sci$Fi&
Good$

Bad$

Humans$

Aliens$

Earth$

Space$

Past$

Present$

Normal$

Strange$

Known$

Unknown$$

claude levi-strauss
REVISION

In either of your products, can you identify a range of

binary oppositions?
!

For your AS work, could you expand upon how there

could be binary oppositions between what you
created for your introduction and what would be
happening later in the film, for example?