Single Camera Techniques
Television Story Telling Methods
Serial:
Serials are a sequence of television shows (can also include
radio) that depend on a plot that continues in an order episode by episode.
There is usually a main story arc which the show follows throughout the seasons
and can even run though the whole of the episodes. The story can also change throughout
different series and switch from story to story throughout. This makes the
format different from the television shows that rely on each standalone
episode. One of the main traits of a serial is that it keeps the full nature of
the story hidden and as each episode goes along it reveals a piece of the
puzzle. This keeps the viewer intrigued, interested and wanting more. These
shows can offer recap the previous episode at the beginning of the next so you
can keep up with the plot of the story or get the jist of you are new viewer.
At the end of each episode the story is usually left as a cliff hanger making
viewer want to follow the plot. Serials usually have a open ending and never
really come to end The most prominent for of Serial is the soap opera.
Soap Opera
Also known as a soap for short a so opera is a serial drama
which can be seen or heard on the television or the radio. They tend to focus
on a variety of different characters lives and highlights the emotional relationships
and experiences between them.
Example – EastEnders
This is the perfect example of a Serial, the show has been
running for a total of 29 years. It has
displayed a wide variety of characters over the years with some characters
growing up on the set it has been running so long. EastEnders is famous for its
open ending cliff hangers which keep the viewer’s speculating and wanting more.
Series:
A television series is usually intended to be a limited
number of episodes to tell a specific series of events. If the television show doesn't
have a certain fixed length it is usually split up into series (or Seasons in
the United Stated) which are aired yearly or semi-annually. Series can also
have a onetime broadcast which is known as a ‘Special’. Series can have a
variety of subjects such as the life’s of people like the soap opera. Unlike
serials and series must come to an end and at some point will have a closed ending.
Like the serials the episode are usually in sequence and have a recap at the beginning
of every episode.
Example – How I Met Your Mother
How I met your mother is an example of a TV series, it
follows the story of a man telling his children how he met their mother. Unlike
the previous example EastEnders which doesn't end. Eventually this TV series will
finally end with the children finding out how the man met their mother
therefore having a closed ending.
Drama:
Formally known as Dramatic Programming in the United Kingdom
or as a Television Drama in the United States. This is a type of television
program that is usually a fictional story line and has a script. Excluding
sports television, television news, reality shows and stand-up comedy. The
story usually follows a group of people going through a certain problem or
issue that they have to overcome. There has to be some form action or ‘drama’
to include it in this category. Most of the issues in the drama can be related
to by the viewers and are usually problems of day to day life.
TV dramas can be divided into a variety of sub sectors
depending on the genre of their content:
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Action-adventure
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Thriller
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Comedy-drama
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Medical drama
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Legal drama
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Political drama
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Soap opera
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Teen drama
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Police procedural
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Fantasy drama
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Historical drama
Example – Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is based in a mythical land called Westeros.
It shows the lives of seven differtent families who lust for the control of the
land. It shows the issues. Problems and dramas of the families and the journey
they take to gain the crown.
Genre
All TV shows and Movies have a
genre which is a style in that the story is written, below is a list of the majority
of genres in function today:
Action
Animation
Comedy
Documentary
Family
Film-Noir
Horror
Musical
Romance
Sport
War
Biography
Adventure
Crime
Drama
Fantasy
History
Music
Mystery
Sci-Fi
Western
Thriller
Erotica
Anime
Urban
Speculative
Spoof
Bollywood
Nollywood
Sport
Martial Arts
Teen
Genres can also be blended into
hybrids such as:
Rom com
Alien Action
Space War
Examples – Horror
A horror story is told with the
primary motive to scare its audience.
The film normally contains an antagonist
which has a negative motive.
This genre would undertake an
eerie feel to keep viewers on edge and would use all the elements necessary to
create the scary atmosphere such as haunted land marks.
An example of a great horror
movie is the Exorcist.
This is a story about a young girl possessed by a evil
demon. The demon pursues to torment and abuse the girl whist religious figures
try to extract the demon from the young girl. This is one of most popular and feared movies of all time and had stood the test of time with numerous squeals and prequels of the movie Below is a short video clip of
the movie to give you a feel of the genre.
Comedy
Within the different genre comedy
is a story told to be humorous and make the audience laugh, the story can carry
any plot as long as it contains humor. The genre is normally up beat with ups
and downs to the story.
An example of a fantastic comedy movie is Superbad.
Superbad is an American comedy about three not so popular young teenagers who are in pursuit of women and alcohol as their time at high school comes to an end. The story shows us a life in the day of the three friends attending a high school party and the crazy events that take place.
Sci-Fi
Formally known as Science Fiction
this genre of fiction is very creative with its content and usually has a
futuristic setting, futuristic technology, intergalactic travel time travel and
extra terrestrial life. it normally explores the consequence of scientific
innovations. Sci-Fi movies are known for the use of unusual alien characters,
vehicles and locations.
A amazing example of a Sci-Fi movie and one of my personal favorite is Predator.
Predator is a Sci-Fi movie about a military unit put in place to rescue hostages from a guerrilla territory in the jungle. Whilst pursuing their mission the unit a thrown of track when they come in contact with extra terrestrial life in the area. below is a clip of the movie Predator.
Narrative Structure
3 Act Structure
Narrative structure is the frame work of the story being told and maps out the order the narrative is presented to the reader, viewer or listener. Three things a narrative usually have, a plot, theme and resolution or set up conflict and resolution. these are basically the start of the narrative the middle and the end. which are also know as the 3 acts.
The set up is the first act, this is is where most of the characters in the story are introduced to the audience, the location of the story and the situation the characters are in at the end of the set up a problem is normally introduced to the character which pushes the narrative onto the next act.
The conflict or the second act is the main chunk of the narrative it begins when the initial problem from the set up comes into play and begins to affect the narrative. characters usually go through different dramatic changes due to the problem or issue at hand as the characters are force to react to the catalyst. this can sometimes be referred to as the character arc.
The resolution which is also know as the third act is when the problem reaches its peak and when characters have to act to over come the issue at hand this allows all aspects of the story come together and leads to the end of the narrative.
Diagram of a 3 arc structure:
One example of a 3 act structured narrative is The Exorcist.
The first act in The Exorcist is when the characters are introduced to the viewer giving you and insight to their background. The priest is introduced and it is brought to your attention that he is losing faith in his religion. In the second act it shows the young girl Regan become possessed by a demonic entity which is the catalyst in this narrative. When the priest is faced with this phenomenon which has no logical or scientific or explanation he has to accept his faith and over come the demon. The third act is when the exorcism takes place which the whole story has been leading up to.
5 Act Structure
Although the 3 act structure is the most popular of structures some people do choose a broader structure with five acts. One very famous person who wrote using a 5 act structure was William Shakespeare. The two structures are very similar but have subtle changes to them.
Exposition, this is the set up of the narrative story this explains the context of the story. It also introduces the characters, there is then a inciting moment in the narrative that sets the story in motion and forces the protagonist to react and requires a resolution.
Rising action is the second act in this narrative, this act shows the objects or catalyst that is placed in front of the protagonist as they attempt to resolve the inciting moment.
The third act in this narrative structure is the climax. This is the turning point of the story This act has the highest tension. In three act narrative this is the section with the most action/showdown.
The fourth part of the structure is the falling action, this is when the main climax had finished and tensions calm down after the climax. This is when the conclusion is approaching.
The fifth part is the denouement, and the conflict is over and all the loose ends are tied together. this gives the viewer a release of emotion as all is over.
A diagram of a 5 arc structure:
An example of a 5 arc structure is Shakespeare's Macbeth.
- Exposition
– The exposition is very vague since the characters are introduced throughout
the first part of the play. It can be considered that the entire first act is
the exposition. Inciting incident – The three witches start the play off with a
prophecy that Macbeth will become king and that Banquo’s children will become
kings after Macbeth.
- Crisis /
Climax – The climax is the actual murder of Duncan.
- Rising
action – The rising action is when some of the prophecies are coming true and
Lady Macbeth is trying to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan.
- Falling
action – The falling action is all the events occurring after the murder where
Macbeth tries to hide his crime and cement his position as king by killing
other would-be kings. Lady Macbeth goes insane.
- Denouement
– Lady Macbeth dies and Macbeth is executed. Malcolm becomes the King.
Linear & Non-Linear Narrative Structures
Linear
A linear narrative structures is a structure in which the events happen in chronological order. e.g. beginning, middle and end. It runs smoothly in a straight line and is not broken up. This is the most used structure when it comes to narrative with the majority of story's told in this way.
An example of a linear narrative is Jurassic Park.
This film has a linear structure because it starts of with the characters being introduced and being taken to the Jurassic park. The characters are then faced with the park and its dangers. The dinosaurs then break free to bring the narrative its climax. The narrative ends with the characters getting to safety and being rescued.
Non-Linear
A non-linear structure is a narrative which does not occur in chronological order. The narrative may have flash backs or start in the middle of a narrative and then go back to reveal the beginning. This is not as popular as the linear narrative but over the years has become more frequent and produced some of the most amazing narratives.
An example of a non-linear narrative is Pulp Fiction.
Pulp Fiction is a non-linear narrative written by Quentin Tarantino, it connects intersecting story lines of some of Los Angeles gangsters. The story had a very unconventional structure, and dips in and out of different story lines that run along side each other in different places in the story.
Open & Closed Endings
Closed Endings in a movie, book, play etc is when the movie comes to a complete end. There as also such things as open endings, this leaves the ending unresolved an to the viewer/readers imagination. This can be very infuriating to an audience at time because they are unsure as to whether the story has been resolved. Some open endings can be closing by the following squeal and some open ending remain open leaving the audience speculating.
An example of an open ending is The Italian Job.
In my opinion this has to be one of the most frustrating open endings I have seen within a movie. The story is about a group of criminals who aim to steal 4 million in Chinese gold in Italy and escape to Switzerland. After stealing the gold and transporting it Mini Cooper S's after sucessfully stealing the gold and getting it onto a coach the driver skids and leaves the coach hanging off the end of the cliff. With the thief's on one side and the gold on the other the coach is perfectly balanced. they can either get off the coach safely of attempt to retrieve the gold risking the coach falling off the clip. A clip of the end scene is shown below.
Flashbacks & Flash Forwards
In a narrative a story writher may use flashbacks to tell part of the story, it is an interjected scene which takes the current narrative back in time to a previous key point in the story. They are used to bring previous plots of curtail parts of the plot which will help the viewer piece the story together. The opposite techniques to this are Flashforwards this reveals a part of the plot that will occur in the future before it has happened. These techniques are usually used to create suspense in a story.
Examples of Flashback: The Lion King
Examples of Flashback: The Lion King
Example of Flash Forward: Sherlock Holmes
Camera Techniques
Over the Camera Shot
The over the shoulder shot is just what it says on the tin. it is a shot over the shoulder giving some perspective on the persons point of view. The actors shoulder is in the foreground out of focus and the other character takes up most of the scene. People say this is narratively essential when shooting because going from what to the other helps the flow of dialogue. it draws the viewer in because it gives the shot a feel of intimacy depending on how much of the shoulder is in the shot.
Video Example:
Tilt Shot
A tilt shot it one of the simplest shots you can get when it comes to various camera techniques. It either tilts the camera up or down. Because it is so simple it is often over used by film makers. This shot is usually combined with a interesting or important action by the character or in the scene.
An example of a tilt shot is shown at the beginning of the video below.
Panning shot
Example of Panning shot:
Antagonist
The antagonist in a story is also know as the competitor, rival, and opponent. They can be a group of people which represent the opposition of the protagonist or in other words the villain. They are normally the people causing problems for the protagonist. Above is a classic example of a antagonist with 'The Joker' who causes numerous problems in The Dark Night movie.
Protagonist
The opposite to the antagonist is the protagonist. This is usually the main character of the story and is also know as the hero who comes to face the antagonist at some part of the story. The protagonist usually has to deal with and over come problems in the movie and defeat the antagonist.
