Comprehending time

In the feature film, jack reacher, released in 2012, the plot is that:

1. Firstly 5 people are shot dead by a elite sniper who has left the army.
2. Police evntually arrive on the scene and start to investigate, and eventually interrogate a man named James Barr
3. Barr then tells the detectives to talk to Jack Reacher.
4.  Reacher soon shows up on the scene and begins gathering clues with the aid of talented defense attorney Helen Rodin, the daughter of the DA. 
5. Meanwhile, when Reacher is assaulted in a local bar, he correctly thinks that someone is determined to interupt his investigation..
6.   His suspicion plays out when he becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a young woman shortly after. Now, with the police closing in from one side and a gang of ruthless killers gaining ground on the other, Reacher must use his formidable detective skills in order to catch the gunman 
7. Then his heroin (Helen) gets caputred by her father, who is actually a villain
8. Reacher then enters a shooting range where he finds out more information about the investigation from the shooting ranges owner, Cash.
9. He puts his life in danger to go and rescue her, fighting Emerson (Helens father), who Reacher eventually shoots and saves Helen.
10. Helen then tells Barr that she has enough evidence to prove Barr innocent from shooting the 5 people. which was shown at the beginning and that it was Emerson who actually killed the 5 people. All thanks to Jack Reacher.

• Jack Reacher finds out about the shootings in the beginning of the film, when he sees the shootings on a news report at the start of the film.
• Helen finds out about the shootings when she is told about the story when she becomes a lawyer for James Barr, (the suspected killer).
• James Barr finds out about the shootings at the very start of the film, as he is the original suspect of the shootings. But, towards the end, he finds out that he is not guilty of the crime.

The plot is what keeps the audience intrested on what is going to happen during the film, like in 'Jack Reacher', we don't know that James Barr is innocent and Emerson is guilty, until the very end of the film.

The Narrator is also a key part of a film because, when we discover who is telling the story, our point of view among characters can change, and the narrator also holds vital answers to questions that the audience whats to know. However the narrator will always:

• reveal the events which make up the story
• consider those events for the audience 

• sum up those events for the audience 

• The narrator also tends to position the audience into a particular relationship with the characters on the screen.

Aristotle

His famous quote:

"...the most important is the plot, the ordering of the incidents; for tragedy is a representation, not of men, but of action and life, of happiness and unhappiness - and happiness and unhappiness are bound up with action. ...it is their characters indeed, that make men what they are, but it is by reason of their actions that they are happy or the reverse."

Audiences

Audience

Audience - An individual or group of people who read or consume any text
                - Al texts made around an audience, When the film is being made, it is important to think about whether a film has an audience, and if not why not.
                Audiences also bring in money and therefore profit to a company.

Demographic audience - The audiences age, race, gender, class/status, nationality
Psychographic audience - the audiences interest, beliefs, and hobbies.

Without audience there would be no media.
Film makes want to make a profit. But, profit - no audience = no profit
The mass media is becoming more competitive,  so film makes have tried to attract audiences in different ways in order to still maintain a profit.

How audiences use media and the gratification they receive from it
The belief that audiences passively receive messages does not exist anymore
Two theorists Katz and Blumler discovered from their research into audience behaviour that audiences use media texts for a variety of reasons:

1. Information
finding out about events, satisfying curiosity and gaining a sense of security.

E.g.: newspapers

2. Personal Identity
reinforcement for personal values, finding models of behaviour into peoples incite into themselves.

EG: Facebook, Twitter (add people you are interested in) 



3. Integration and social interaction
incite into circumstances of others, social, empathy, identifying with others and gaining a sense of belonging, enabling you to connect with friends and family.

E.g. and TV soap East Enders or Coronation Street


Mass Audience - often termed 'broadcast audience'. Those who consume mainstream media or popular texts like soaps and sitcoms. Media and communication that targets large groups of people like men, women, children, adults, etc.

Examples or mass audience films are - Ice Age, Top Gear, Friends,  Harry potter films, 007 Films, Star Wars.






Niche Audience - A much smaller but very influential group of films or TV dramas. A niche market is a very small, select group of people with a very unique interest.

Examples are: Racecar engineering, Sumarine film, This is England.

















The Impact of New Technology on Audiences

Old media (TV, Print, Radio) which have used high audience numbers, have had to work harder in order to maintain their high audiences

Digital technology has lead to an increase in uncertainty over how we define an audience, with the general agreement that a large group of people reading about the same thing at the same time is outdated and that audiences are now fragmented.




















Fragmented audience - audience that has become divided


Michael Winterbottom
He is a person a director who specialises in many niche films like: 24 hour party people and Butterfly Kiss.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0935863/

Three Act Structure

Three Act Structure

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThreeActStructure

3 act structure, showing tension



Basic 3 Act Structure

Act 1

Act 1 - This is the first quarter of a film also known as a period of equilibrium. So for a 2 hour film, the first act would tend to last around 30 minutes.

What Happens in Act 1 (setup)

This is the part of the story that introduces the main characters, their relationships, and what place and time period they are set in.

 

Act 1 also introduces the main characters, the dramatic premise, and the dramatic situation.

Main character - the person in the story who has an objective to achieve and who's action drive the story.

Dramatic Premise - What the story is about

Dramatic situation - the circumstances surrounding the action

Inciting Incident - An event that changes the plot. It often occurs halfway through a film.

The "Plot Point" - The plot point is  a point that separates one act from another. It is an event that thrusts the plot in a new direction, loading into a new act of the screen play. Experts have suggested that the plot point separating act 1 to act 2 is when the hero takes on the problem. 





Act 2

Act 2 covers half of the film (the middle two quarters of  film). So if the film was 2 hours long,  Act 2 would last for 1 hour, after act 1.

What happens in Act 2 (confrontation)?

Obstacles - Throughout act 2, the hero encounters multiple obstacles that prevent him from achieving his goal.

First Culmination - A point in the film, where the hero is close to achieving his goal, but then everything goes wrong, leading to the midpoint of the film.

Midpoint - The lowest point for the hero in the story, and at this point, he is the furthest he will ever be from achieving his goal.

The "Plot Point" - The plot point is  a point that separates one act from another. It is an event that thrusts the plot in a new direction, loading into a new act of the screen play. Experts have suggested that the plot point separating act 1 to act 2 is when the hero takes on the problem. 

Act 3

Act 3 covers the final quarter of the film. So in a 2 hour film, act 3 would be the last 30 minutes of the film.

What happens in act 3 (resolution)?

Climax - The point at which the plot reaches its maximum tension, and the opposite forces (hero and villain) have either a physical or emotional action.

Denouement - The brief calm part of the film, at the end where equilibrium is restored.





time in narrative

Narrative

Sucessful stories require actions that change the lives of the characters. They also contain some sort of resolution, (where that change is registered), which creates a new equilibrium for the characters involved.  Narratives are not just those we encounter in fiction. Even news stories, advertisements and documentaries also have a constructed narrative.

Narratives are also described as linear and non linear. These are used to describe the sequence in which the story is told.

Codes and Conventions of Narrative

The conventions of narrative that audiences look for in narratives are:

• genre
• character
• form
• time
• We also use our knowledge of these conventions in order to aid us interpret a text. For example, we use time in order to interpret a text by highlighting slow motion shots of scoring a goal. which emphases "the time of the thing told, and also the time of telling."

Comprending time

Very few screen stories happen in real time, usually an entire life sotry can be cut down into a film of just 90 minutes. An 8 month siege can he cut down into only an hour long part of film. An example of how time can be used to represent a long amount of time, within a few minutes, is in Raiders of the Lost Ark, on the plane journey.

http://www.slideshare.net/Hazzagold1/media-flashbacks-flash-forwards-point-of-view-and-rep

Flashbacks
dream sequences
different characters point of views
real time interludes
flash forwards
repetition
pre-figuring of events that have not yet taken place.

Narrative

Narrative
Narrative is the order in which a film is told. It is different from a story as a story tells you what happened, while narrative is the explicit detail or the order in which things happen. This could lead to a film being either really good, or realty bad.

Narrative Enigmas
A narrative enigma is a question that undermines the film, and may or may not be answered at the end. These are used in order to entice the audience into watching the film, and creating a feeling of interest and suspicion
http://www.superglossary.com/Glossary/Technology/Television_(TV)/Narrative_Enigma.html


Technical Code
Takes in anything that goes into the narrative process, such as sound, camera angles, design and editing. This could be to make the audience feel a certain way, for example, a red text would portray a different effect on the audience then a pink text. Also, a low camera angle will make the character seem powerful to the audience in contrast to a high camera angle which makes the character look vulnerable and weak. A good example in 'Rear window'.

Verbal Code
The way language is used in written and spoken to convey the story. This could be through the charcaters, but also through voice overs. A good example of this is 'the Shawshank Redemption'

Symbolic code
Clues with in the narrative, for example, someone driving an old car could be seen as being poor, as he can not afford a more expensive, modern car. A film that is a good example of this is Scrooge in 'A Christmas Carroll' who is always wearing a suit, which represents his vast amounts of money.

Torodoorvs Structure
Usually have a beginning, middle and end. Tordorov's came up with a theory that each narrative was split up into 3 parts:
 1. Equilibrium (When everyone is happy at the start).
2.Disequilibrium (when something disturbs the equilibrium, and could make the characters angry).
3. New equilibrium (when the hero restores equilibrium at the end of the film).
This the stereotypical structure for a film, however, the narrative can change from this structure with the use of flashbacks, and flash forwards.

Character
These are the typical types of character you can expect to see in a film: 
Protagonist - the stories hero
Antagonist - the stories villain.
Heroin - Love interest for the protagonist
Father - commanding figure who rewards the protagonist for storing equilibrium
Helper - Someone who helps the hero, usually a sidekick
Doner - give the protagonist something to help them in there quest (mission/aim)
Mentor - teacher and guide of the hero

Narrative Conflict
Levi Strauss was a 20th century theorist who believed that every narrative is moved forward by conflict and that conflict was derived from two opposing forces, like rich and poor, love and hate.




NARRATIVE - HOW THE STORY IS TOLD



PorppNarative Devices
Vladimir Pro suggests a structure similar to Tordorovs, but in more detail and is more complex.

Preparation - intro to the story
complication - keys or clues to the direction of the story
Transference - the donor events
struggle - dealing with difficult circumstances
return - return home, but issues still remain
recognition - loose ends are solved

Propps theory with regard to character:

the villain
the donor - prepares the hero or gives then a special object
the magical helper - helps the hero throughout the film
the princess - what the hero desires, sought for during the narrative
the princesses father - rewards the hero
the dispatcher - Charcter who sends the hero off.
the hero (victim/seeker) - reacts to the donor, marries the princess completes the quest.
the false hero - anit hero

Genre Typecasting of actors

Thriller Typecasting of Actors
In the thriller genre of films, there are many actors who you will see time and time again. For the thriller genre, the most common actors and actresses are: Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise and Joan Allen along with many others:  http://movies.toptenreviews.com/actors/list_thriller_actor.htm

Harrison Ford is famous for starring in many high profile film series like Star Wars and Indiana Jones. These films series contain multiple films, which gave Harrison Ford the opportunity to star in many thriller films.. this then gave the audience that he was a'typecast' for a thriller film, so he is now often associated with thriller  films, (a thriller typecast).

Similarly, Tom Criuse is often considered a 'thriller typecast' espite appearing in manhy action movies. This is due to his part in 'Rain Man' and 'Risky Business', which has led to him also being thought to be a 'thriller typecast'.

Joan Allen, is considered a 'thriller typecast' because she is often starred in many thriller films, and is therefore often associated with the thriller genre. She is famous for starring in films like the 'Bourne Ultimatum', 'Manhunter' and 'Ice Storm'.











Comedy Typecasting of Actors
In the comedy genre of films, there are many actors and actresses who you will see time and time again. These people are 'comedy typecasts', as they are typically casted in many comedy films. These actors and actresses include: Ben Stiller, Rowan Atkinson and Eddie Murphy among many other.

http://www.imdb.com/list/Mq71J2UTC-Q/

Ben Stiller is often starred in many comedy films, as he is a 'comedy type cast'. He has starred in many films like A 'Night At The Museum' and 'The Heist'. These are all under the comedy genre, along with many of his other films, so he is therefore considered a 'comedy typecast'.








Rowan Atkinson is famous for starring in many comedy films, but his most famous film series was 'The Mr Bean' series in which he plays the main character, Mr Bean, who ends up getting into lots of trouble. Rowan Atkinson has also starred in another comedy series: 'Johnny English', which is a funny re make of The James Bond series.








Eddie Murphy is another 'comedy type cast' because he has made multiple films that are all in the comedy genre. This means that if you see his name in the starring list of a film, you can garuantee that it will be funny. This all down to the fact that he is a 'comedy type cast'. He has starred in many films like: 'Norbit', 'The Nutty Porfessor' and Doctor Do Little'.






Action Typecasting Of Actors
In the action genre of films, there are many actors and actresses who you will see star in a film more than others. These actors and actresses are know as 'action typecasts' because they typically star in action films. Some 'action typecasts' include: Dwayne Johnson, Matt Damon and Bruce Willis, among many others.

http://www.imdb.com/list/rMzuEE_tStc/

Dwayne Johnson is a 'acting typecast' because he is often seen staring in many action films like 'G.I.Joe: Retaliation', 'The Mummy Returns' and 'The Race To Witch Mountain'. These films were very popular, so fans often expected him to be in action films, so that is why Dwayne Johnson is considered an 'action typecast'.





Matt Damon is considered an 'action typecast' because he starred in many action series, like 'The Bourne' series, in which he really got recognized by a mass audience as a 'action type cast'. He has also starred in other films like: 'Saving private Ryan' and 'Oceans Eleven'. These are all under the action genre title so, that is why he is considered an 'action type cast'.





Bruce Willis is another 'action type cast'. He has starred in many action films over the years, and is often associated with action, whenever his name is on the front of a film cover. The most famous series that he took part in was the 'Fast and Furious' series that was full of action. from car chases, to fights. This is one reason why he is an 'action type cast', but he has also starred in many other action films, that would get him recognized as an 'action type cast' like: The 'Die Hard' series, and 'Red'.

Thriller Mood Board

http://www.pinterest.com/harrydenn/thriller-theme-board/