Narrative Theory

1.Vladimir Propps Theory

His theory includes the following:
A Hero – a character that seeks something.
A Villain – who opposes or actively blocks the hero’s quest.
A Donor – who provides an object with magical properties.
A Dispatcher – who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message.
A False Hero – who disrupts the hero’s success by making false claims.
A Helper – who aids the hero
A Princess – acts as the reward for the hero and the object of the villain’s plots.
A Father – who acts to reward the hero for his effort

This theory applies to fairy tale stories, and to other similar narratives that are based around 'quests' his theory does not apply to all narratives, there needs to be some sort of preparation within the narrative for example; the victim unwittingly helps the villain, then a complication where the villain harms a member of the community/family/kingdom, A transference where the hero reacts to the donor, A struggle where the hero is branded, A return where the task is accomplished, Then finally the hero attains a reward for example the princess/kingdom.

2. Todorov's Narrative Theory

There are five stages the narrative can progress through:

A state of equilibrium (all is as it should be)A disruption of that order by an event. A recognition that the disorder has occurred. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption. A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium

Todorov's theory can be applied to most films and even some music video's.
Finding Nemo is a good example of a film where Todorov's theory applies to all the stages within the film. 

A music video that follows todorov's theory would be 'Foo Fighters - Learn to fly'

1. Equilibrium – Everyone getting onto the plane.
2. Disruption – The crew take some drinks which makes them fall over and go to sleep.
3. Realisation – Everyone is thrown around the plane as it gets out of control.
4. Attempt to repair the damage – The singer goes to the front of the plane and manages to land.
5. Restoration of the equilibrium – Everyone gets off of the plane safely.

3. Aristotle
 Headings that are used by some producers and screenwriters include:

• Inciting incident
• Dramatic Question
• Character goal
• Antagonist/Protagonist
• Stakes
• Resolution
• Sympathy and empathy

These headings are very close to those suggested by Aristotle. Aristotle's literary criticism is probably most famous for the 'unities': time, place, and action. Aristotle's most complete analysis is of the 'tragedy', which is arguably the basis of the most 'serious drama'. 

Our thriller is based around Todorov's Theory of narrative structure, We will be sure to include a equilibrium, disruption, realisation, an attempt to repair the damage but not a restore of equilibrium as it is only an opening scene and it would be silly to give away the stories enigma so quickly. EQUILIBRIUM - train moving, normal working woman returning from her job

DISRUPTION - the woman is drugged and dragged away by a police officer

RECOGNITION - protagonist views this happening and goes out to save her 

ATTEMPT TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE - the protagonist runs after the antagonist and woman.

We also tend to follow Aristotle's theory and overlap into using both as our thriller contains a clear hero and villain (protagonist and antagonist) There is the question as which is un-answered as to why this police officer is going around and drugging young women and how it may or may not be solved within the film. The audience are questioned where are the characters going to achieve their goals and how, So within my thriller it would be is the victim going to die? Is the protagonist going to save her? What is the drug being injected? Why is he doing it? Is he going to get caught eventually? All these questions enable my story to be able to be successful in both Todorov's and Aristotle's Theories.  

Preliminary Task - Miss Georgiou

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDxBGwLVhcU

For my groups preliminary task we created a short edited sequence using various different conventions. It had to be between 30 seconds to a minute. The reason for doing this task was to see what strengths and weakness' we had as a group and to generally become more familiar with using a camera. This task helped us notify what type of elements are essential when planning a film. This is so we would be prepared when it came down to making the real thing. There was a balance of different inputs and we managed to create a 45 second clip with both flaws and good qualities.

A flaw of our task was that we used a hand-held camera this meant that our camera movement was not stable and our shots where off balance and not exactly what we wanted. The camera was therefore not only effected by the movement of the shot within filming but also the sound from having to move the camera so often, this could be avoided if a tripod was used. Another fault we found was that there was background noises within our filming which we had to cut out because you couldn't hear the actors or the movements they was making and the footage looked very unprofessional and it lowered the realness of our task it looked like it had been filmed by students instead of having the right sounds in the right places. This weakness can be avoided by making sure there is no people around when filming and try to get the weather just right so that wind also does not effect the sound on the microphones and the camera microphone itself.

A positive about our preliminary task is the different types of camera shots we used, we managed to use most shots apart from birds eye view and underneath profile shots. These are useful within thriller films as it allows the audience to know when someone is going to be in danger at that moment or very soon. If a person is filmed from above it usually means they are vulnerable and if it is from below it usually means they are powerful. To add more of a narrative to my task we should have filmed Luke from below and Britney from above it would have added well to the story line and would have helped my group understand how camera shots guide the audience through a film.

By doing this task it has helped my group come to grasps with how to simply use a camera correctly, adjust and use a tripod productively and over all prepare us for making our own thriller. We have started to think a lot more about shots and placement and sound within our thriller now and this task has shown us that each piece needs to be filmed accurately and individually in order to make a good thriller opening. We hope by doing this task it has allowed us to make mistakes and learn from them so that in the real thriller filming we will have as little faults as possible and be able to use all of our footage as this time some of our footage was such bad quality you could not here the actors or it was too bad of quality. We know to plan before starting our thriller now and to leave ourselves time to edit and re-shoot footage if anything goes wrong. We made a good first task, and i think we was able to discover our problems and solve them with ease. We need to be prepared for all of the faults we found within this task and make sure they do not reflect in our next.

Psycho shower scene - Miss Hartt

Hitchcock uses point-of-view and direct address editing preceding the famous shower scene in Psycho, during which the camera manipulates the spectator's perspective through cutting. The enhancing of the conventions 

Hitchcock uses the editing in Psycho to enhance the codes and conventions of the thriller genre this is done by using different camera shots to signify importance and creating a flowing scene. Hitchcock uses point-of-view and direct address editing. In the famous shower scene in Psycho Hitchcock connects with the audience on equal grounds, by showing the characters point of view (POV) it is allowing the audience to engage with that character and puts them in their perspective. This is conventional to a thriller film as it gives the audience a taste of the characters fear at that point; it keeps the audience on the edge of their seat and allows them to identify the danger and surroundings on a more intimate level. During which the camera manipulates the spectator’s perspective through cutting. The audience are limited as to what they can see, the killers identity has been hidden by dark shadows, this is conventional to the thriller genre as it is keeping the killers identity unknown and mysterious. The dark shadows are conventional to the genre as it creates a dark and creepy atmosphere.

Fast editing is used when Marion is getting stabbed in the shower, the cuts include shots of her hands feet and stomach getting stabbed one after another, this is done within about 20 seconds of filming. It is conventional to a thriller film to have fast paste editing this is to keep the audience engaged and alert. In this instant the main character has just died this begins to trigger questions in the audience’s head as to what is going to happen in the rest of the film and to who the mysterious killer is and what their intentions are, this sets the stories enigma and allows the audience’s minds to flow.

Slow editing is used in the beginning and end of the shower stabbing, it is used at the beginning to create the beginning equilibrium. This is when the shower is turned on and when stepping into the shower. The audience do not know at this point that Marion is stepping into the cause of her death the shower knob could be used as a trigger of Marion’s death. After the stabbing, the camera tracks the blood going down the plug whole this is to signify the characters life going down the drain and the close up of the eye is to trigger what the audience have just witnessed in her POV.

The blood is highlighted as a convention as it is an essential aspect of a thriller film, it creates realness and reality to a shot and is there to exaggerate what the characters are feeling and to creep out the audience. Blood is used as a gore aspect to grab the audience’s attention and keep them on guard. ‘Normans mother’ is shown using a black silhouette her knife is shown using a close-up exaggerating its significance to the thriller genre and keeping the audience alert. The knife is a form of weaponry and is used in thriller films to scare the audience and cause drama.

During the stabbing, Marion uses her hands to try and prevent ‘Normans mother’ from cutting her, this highlights the convention of there being a ‘victim’ and a ‘murderer’ this is conventional as most thrillers have these two characters, the victim is usually a young woman who is in a venerable place and has no protection usually ‘on the run’. The murderer usually has a weapon of some sort and is in their comfort zone. This makes the villain the more dominant character and makes the audience feel uncomfortable. 

Most conventional themes are either about greed, envy, jealousy, pursuit etc. ‘Normans mother’ is jealous of the young girl’s effect on Norman and wants to put an end to it. This is what triggers the start of the stabbing and creates the enigma to the rest of the story line.  

The role of the BBFC - Hartt

The BBFC stands for British Boards of Film Classification, it sets specific boundaries for age groups so that only audience members of the correct age view the film and young people do not view anything unsuitable. The BBFC restricts ages and is a form of protection for the community, it allows the audience to look up into a film before actually watching it, this is useful as it lets the audience know what they are about to watch without them having to actually watch it allowing them to make a decision before hand whether themselves or other audience members will be able to cope with the movie. It is a good guide for parental use as they may not always be sure on what is suitable for their children, the IMDB page has film classifications/parental guides to all their movies this is because of the BBFC.

There are 6 main film certificates given to films once they are released.

U - The 'U' symbol stands for Universal. This means the film is suitable for all ages usually ranged from four years and over. This film rating is aimed at very young viewers, for a film to receive a 'U' certificate it must contain no significant issues in terms of discrimination, drugs, horror, imitable behavior, language, nudity, sex, theme or violence.
Language - There is very mild bad language if any used in 'U' rated movies such as 'damn' or 'bugger'. This is only allowed when justified by the context.
Sexual Activity- Characters may only be seen kissing or cuddling and there may be some references to sexual behavior, however this is never allowed to be a main focus. Heterosexual and homosexual  behavior are treated the same very mild gay references can be shown on a 'U' film.
Violence- Brief fight scenes or dangerous activities are allowed, however they must be solved very quickly and the outcome must be reassuring to the audience. 'Baddie's' are allowed weapons but there is not allowed to be any emphasis on these weapons at all, the 'Hero' usually will not have a weapon to balance this out.
Example - 'Murder 3' was given a 'U' certificate this is because of it's moderate tension and threat.

PG-  The 'PG' symbol stands for Parental Guidance. This means the film is suitable for most viewers but some scene's within the film may not be suitable for slightly younger viewers. If a parents child is slightly sensitive or in a lower age bracket, this is where parental guidance is needed when viewing. Some PG films are not made for younger audiences unlike the majority of U certificate films. A recent example of this would be 'The Artist'. This should not upset a child over the age of 8 at all.
Language - Slightly less mild language is allowed to be used within a PG movie, words such as 'shit' and 'bitch' would be acceptable, the context is important though while using this language. This means that if the language is used in a aggressive way or if there is too much of it the film will then be passed up to the next category.
Sexual Activity- References to sex in itself is acceptable, this is if is talked about or implied without too much detail. It may be placed inside comedy if is is unlikely to be understood by a child. The same applies to heterosexual and homosexual sex and sexual references.
Violence - There is allowed to be some blood in a PG movie, however the audience is not allowed to see how the injury was inflicted in strong detail if any. Some 'jump' movements and scary scenes are allowed, however if the sequence involves realistic violence then it is not allowed to be prolonged.
Example - 'Jurassic Park' was given a 'PG' certificate this is because of it's mild profanity and well reasoned violence/gore.

12/12A - The only difference between 12 and 12A is that 12A's are only used to certificate movies in the cinema otherwise 12 is used to certificate videos, DVD and Blu-rays. 12A means that anyone over the age of 12 can go and view the movie in cinema, the A stands for advisory, children under the age of 12 may see the film if they are accompanied by an adult (someone over the age of 18) who must watch the film with them. The reason why 12A was created was so films that some parents may think their children should be able to view that are rated 12 can be viewed under their warrant.
Language - Words such as 'bitch' and 'twat' may be used in a 12A movie but it must be infrequent. Aggressive uses of strong language may result in a film being risen into the 15 bracket. However there are some allowances.
Sexual Activity - Sex references may go no further than what is suitable for young teenagers. If innuendo's and moderate sex references are used then comedy needs to be used to lessen the impact. There may be some nudity in a 12A film but sexual nudity should be very brief and discrete.
Violence - There is not allowed to be any emphasis on injuries or blood, there is however allowed to be some gore when it is permitted and justified by context.
Example - The first 12A certificate was given to Batman this allowed the film to be a massive Blockbuster hit with a massive age variety because every 'little boy' wants to be a super hero. The film was allowed this certificate because it has mildly used bad language and very little emphasis on injuries or blood. This however was argued for some time as to whether the certificate should have been allowed.

15 - No-one under the age of 15 is allowed to view a 15 rated film in the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated DVD. The BBFC say that these films are not suitable for anyone under the age of 15.
Language - There is allowed to be a great deal of bad language in a 15 movie, there is no limit o the number of uses of a strong word for example 'fuck'. They may also use the word 'cunt' although if this word is repeated too much or too aggressively it may be changed into the 18 age bracket.
Sexual Activity- As long as there is no strong graphical detail sexual activity can be portrayed.
Violence- Sexual violence can be allowed and may be detailed for example rape or assault, but only in court. But any portrayal of it must be discreet and have strong justification.
Example- 'House at the End of the Street' this has been given a 15 certificate because of its use of continuous bad language and sexual violence.

18 - An 18 rated film is for adults only, no-one under the age of 18 is allowed to buy/rent or view a film that is rated 18 if they are under this age, they are unsuitable for children. Adults are allowed to pick their own entertainment within the law, the themes therefore may be offensive to some adult viewers.
Language - Very strong language is used in most 18 rated movies, this allows the extreme use of the words 'fuck' and 'cunt'. There is no limit on how many times strong language can be used. Uses can be aggressive, directed, violent and frequent.
Sexual Activity- There can be strong and detailed portrayals of sex at 18 this includes full nudity. Crude and very strong explicit sex references.
Violence - The pain is allowed to be strong and in detail, there even may be some dwelling on the infliction of the pain or strong sadistic or sexual violence
Example - 'The Shining' has been given an 18 certificate because of its crude language and infliction on pain and very strong dwelling on violence.

R18 - The 'R18' category is a special and restricted classification used to protect children and teenagers from seeing anything consenting explicit sex or strong fetish involving adults. They are only allowed to be viewed in licensed cinemas and video works may supply them to adults but only in licensed sex shops. 'R18' videos are not allowed to be set out via post.

History of a thriller genre - Hartt

History of the thriller genre 

The three main sub-genres that thriller films are usually organised into are mystery, suspense and detective thrillers. Thriller films create tension, anxiety, and ambiguity, an increase on expectations, high levels of expectancy, suspense and excitement. A thriller genre has a narrative aim to pursue a single minded goal of thrills towards the audience as well as tension to keep the audience ‘on the edge of their seats’. Thrillers usually take place in settings like ordinary suburb/cities. However sometimes they may take place partly or wholly in exotic settings such as foreign cities, Polar Regions, deserts or the high seas. The heroes in most thrillers are frequently ordinary citizens unfamiliar to danger. Though more common in crime thrillers, there may be a mob or a gang of men accustomed to danger, like police officers and detectives for example. While heroes have traditionally been men, woman lead characters has increased and become fairly popular. For example: Lost the television show is based on a desert island whereas the television show 24 is set in New York city. 

In many sentiments the media believe that the thriller genre has changed from being more psychological to blood and gore based. The horror genre has slightly influenced the thriller genre in the recent years; they have more gore/sadistic violence, terror, brutality and death counts. Recent thrillers that went down this path were Funny Games, Untraceable, The last house on the left and P2. Thriller genres can correspondingly mix into the sub-genre conspiracy thrillers, mystery thrillers, political thrillers, psychological thrillers, disaster thrillers and religious thrillers. While most thrillers are formed in some combination of the above sub-genres they have recently been mixed with the horror genre, spy genre and action/adventure. 

Heavy rain was a well selling video game related to the thriller genre made for PlayStation 3. Heavy rain allows you the audience to make your own decisions as to where the story will lead you giving you four perspectives, and one task. The gaming character has to track down a killer that is on the loose. This game is full of exciting, tense and anxious situations leaving the player on edge and with high levels of suspense. This is probably one of the most appealing games on the market as part of the allure is the act in which that the story isn’t just told but is given a chance to be directed into how it is told. The plot is usually taken by the villain character who dowries obstacles that the hero or heroine must over look and get through. Suspense novels are the key to thrillers, one could argue that a film without a suspense filled enigma is not made for success. Thriller films are packed with non-stop action, high stakes, red herrings, plot twists that all not only surprise but excite the audience, in settings that are exotic and vibrant and have a constant pace that builds up throughout the film this explodes at the adrenalin packed climax. 

A few examples of thriller films that have followed this theory of evolution of the thriller genre are movies such as 'Sinister' which was made in 2012. Sinister was given a 34 out of 50 on the IMDB page for parental guidance. In both categories 'Violence and Gore' and 'Frightening/Intense Scenes' the film was rated 8 or more out of 10 this is high in comparison to a films such as Psycho made in 1960 which was not even rated out of 50 on the IMDB and was simply noted as 'suitable for anyone over the age of around 10 by today's standards' These two movies are examples of how the Horror/Thriller genre has developed and taken gore scene's to the next level, some people may have different views on how thriller movies are influencing serial killers and crimes and how disturbing they might be to a young audience yet other's praise the director for his handy work and realist acting within the films. 

Alfred Hitchcock once said: “The purpose of a thriller is to put their toe in the cold water of fear to see what it’s like.” As the years have gone on do you think people have taken this point a little too far? 

Sub-Genres of Thriller - Hartt

Sub-genres

Conspiracy Thriller 

This type of genre consists of some sort of hero or heroine (protagonist) who are stereotypically journalists or armature investigators who find themselves trapped in a very powerful organisation. The companies are usually brought down by the protagonist character. This is all about Good vs. Evil. Conspiracy thrillers often play with the secrecy of governments and major organisations in history.

An example of a conspiracy thriller is 'The Fugitive' Dr. Richard Kimble, unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt.

Crime Thriller

The hybrid between crime and thriller has created a more suspenseful account to showing successful and failed crime acts on film. Crime thrillers emphasise action over psychological aspects although there is also a psychological part to this genre as-well. Topics covered are usually double-crosses, heists, shootouts, chases, robberies, killers &murders. Crime thrillers focus more on the criminals and their actives.

An example of a crime thriller is Se7en. Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi.
Disaster Thriller

This sub-genre follows a certain groups or persons survival in conflict with natural or artificial disaster like floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes eruptions. Some disaster films have also had causes of human activity that has brought mankind on the fence of extinction through nuclear disasters which are artificial. This genre is all about the future and what could happen to mankind if such disasters were to happen.

 An example of a disaster thriller is 'I am Legend'. Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.

Mystery Thriller 

This sub-genre clashes with the crime sub-genre. However it focuses mostly on the efforts of the detective or the private investigator in order to solve the films enigma. The sub-genre looks at the happenings of the enigma or the crime itself in order to try and figure out what the clues add up to. Audiences are made to take part of the search as they usually follow the protagonise and grow a strong bond with them. This brings a more dramatic effect to the films mystery during the investigation.

An example of a mystery thriller is 'The Game'. Wealthy financier Nicholas Van Orton gets a strange birthday present from wayward brother Conrad: a live-action game that consumes his life.

Political Thriller

This sub-genre looks into the hopes and stability of the government and the reliance on a hero or heroine (protagonist) who must ensure the stability of the government that employs him in order to prevent a bad things from happening. Repeatedly used scenarios are the US presidential elections and the preventions of world wars occurring .

An example of a political thriller is 'The Manchurian Candidate'. A former Korean War POW is brainwashed by Communists into becoming a political assassin. But another former prisoner may know how to save him. 

Religious Thriller

This sub-genre looks at the plots closely religious objects, institutions and questions. Many religious related films usually unravel the positive and the negative points about religion and how it overcomes the bad in films, through a quest to finding out the truth.

An example of a religious thriller is 'Constantine'. Constantine tells the story of irreverent supernatural detective John Constantine, who has literally been to hell and back. (121 mins.)
Supernatural Thriller

This sub-genre often brings an otherworldly element that shows something out of the ordinary happening to a protagonist that had to overcome this powerful factor. Supernatural thrillers are also mixed in with tension and suspense in addition to having unsuspected twist during the film. The hero and the villain usually have a close link to religious thrillers as usually daemons entering the human body, alien life form, apparitions or the possession of a pivotal character is a element of a super natural thriller film.

An example of a supernatural thriller is 'The Twilight Zone'. Rod Serling's seminal anthology series focused on ordinary folks who suddenly found themselves in extraordinary, usually supernatural, situations. The stories would typically end with an ironic twist that would see the guilty punished.
Techno Thriller

This sub-genre is all out the sophisticated technology playing a prominent part in taking over the world, giving the new world order where mankind is then run by robots. This subgenre is mainly based on fictional speculations on life that tend to follow a science fiction trend. There are many common themes that fall well into this category like world wars, action and science fictional occurrences like aliens taking over with a new manipulation of technologies.

An example of a techno thriller is