Narrative structures

Narrative is an extremely important element of film, since it serves the basis of the story being told - it is about the content of the story and the from in which the story is told. Narrative can be shaped and twisted in lots of different ways, with different theorists proposing different ideas about it, but a general three act structure is often widely accepted as the best form for a story to follow, both in literature and in film.

The first act of the three act structure is widely known as the Set Up. In this act, the main characters in the story are introduced as well as the world that they live in and the confrontation that is going to drive the story forwards. This is often initiated with an inciting incident, that really begins the plot of the story. The Set Up should also have a strong hook - this means that it should get the audience member watching excited, and interested to see what happens next. It should end with the first plot point, where something might happen that completely changes the course of the story.

The second act is often called the Confrontation. This is the middle act, and is usually the longest, taking up half of the screen time. In this act, many different events should happen, but it is often difficult for the writer because the characters and conflicts are all established. The plot has to keep moving forward and not get boring. In this section, the stakes for the characters should rise, and by the midpoint, the protagonist should have a clear goal. This act often introduces subplots to keep the story interesting. It should also have a second plot point, which throws the narrative into the third act.

The third act can be called the resolution. In this act, we have the final confrontation, and the conclusion of the aftermath. It is usually the shortest act but also the most intense. During the resolutions, loose ends should also be tied up to create a satisfying ending to the film.

Vladimir Propp believed that in Russian folklore, there were 31 functions that appeared in each story, creating a narrative. These had variations within each story, but the basics of the structure was usually there in some form. He also resolved that there were 7 broader character types that most stories included - The Hero, The Villain, The Dispatcher, The Helper, The Princess (or prize), The Donor and The False Hero.

Claude Levi-Strauss examined the idea of narrative by looking at binary opposites in stories, for instance good and evil. Instead of looking at the linear arrangement of plot points, he focused more deeply of the differences between themes.

Tzvetan Todorov found that in many stories, the narrative starts out in a state of equilibrium before something disrupts this state, and that this begins a chain of events that drives the story forwards. The story is then only resolved when that state of equilibrium is re-achieved, or alternatively, a new one is created. In many ways this is similar to the three act structure.

Roland Barthes thought that audience members coming from different perspectives when viewing the story should be able to create different meanings for the narrative by looking at it from specific viewpoints and with different background experiences. He also said that narratives are interwoven with five codes that encourage one to maintain interest in a story - The Hermeneutic Code, The Proairetic Code, Th Semic Code, The Symbolic Code and The Cultural Code.

The narrative of a short film will clearly take a different shape to a feature, purely because it is shorter. Most, however, still take on the idea of the three act structure in some way, but just in a much more condensed manner. Characters are often stereotypes or ones that are relatable, since there isn't as much time to develop them, and there may not be all of the character types that longer narratives may have - it would most likely have one to three of these character types, or sometimes none at all. Subplots would also be disregarded, since for a small space of time all of the action will want to be focused on the main plot of the story.