Narrative analysis & Theories applications.

Todorov's Narrative theory

In order to better our understanding of a film's structure, and therefore help us structure our own film's introduction. I had to understand how Todorov's theory applies in movies. The film I chose to analyze was 3:10 to yuma as it is a conventional western, and would inspire our film's structure.

3:10 to yuma has a very unconventional start as it begins with a negative equilibrium. The main character's barn is set on fire in the first scene though the audience are not told why, this immediately grips and intrigues the audience, making them want to watch the entire movie. Furthermore, the abrupt start to the movie, and the confusion helps to give the story some history and background, that the audience can discover throughout the movie. This also helps eliminate most of the 'building up' that it would have to do, by pushing the audience right into the action.

First scene in 3:10 to yuma

This equilibrium is disrupted as the main character doesn't have enough money to pay off his debt, and he attempts to repair the damage when he offers to escort an outlaw to a train for money. 3:10 to yuma has a fairly simple structure, the simplicity could be used to focus the audience on characterization and dialogue, one of the movie's main strengths.Since we are only working on a movie's introduction, 3:10 to yuma is a perfect example on how to make audiences interested with just the introduction. Our product will introduce a problem, and would actually be showing the attempt to repair the damage. 

Propp's Narrative theory

Vladimir Propp developed a theory by analysis different media texts and productions, he found that there were 7 main character typed in most of the texts he analyzed. 

1. The villain - Struggles against the hero, tries to stop him from reaching his goal.
2. The donor - prepares the hero for his quest or gives him an item that will help him.
3. The helper - Helps the hero on his quest.
4. The princess - Mainly the hero's motivation, or objective. Marries the hero
5. The false hero - Appears to be a hero usually until after the villain is defeated, then back-stabs the hero. Not the villain. 
6. The dispatcher - Sends the hero on his quest.
7. The hero - Main protagonist, motivated by the princess. 

In 3:10 to yuma, not all the stereotypical character roles are filled, though most are, for example; 

The hero - Dan Evans, this is shown as he is the main character, though since this is a western, the character is motivated mainly by pride instead of the princess.

The helper - William Evans, the hero's son joins during his quest to save him several times. 

The villain - Charlie prince, an outlaw, hunting down Dan Evans for capturing his leader. Although there are several outlaws in the gang, Charlie Prince is the villain as he stands out, he's presented as a ruthless cold blooded killer, more evil than the rest of his gang. 

Our piece consists of only two characters, and therefore they must be 'Binary opposites'. A villain and a hero. Though we don't have enough time to introduce them as such, therefore the introduction will be slightly enigmatic. 

Film schedule

Filming Schedule

We plan on filming our film introduction in a single day, as this helps organise our shots. We're planning on going out to the desert to film on the 12th of December, this is because this is the earliest date we are all able to meet up on. The fact that we have to film it on a single day puts us at a race against time because the sun sets very early. Therefore we plan to leave very early, at around 9AM, which will allow us to film until 5PM.  

James will also have time to edit it over the christmas break as he is our editor. We will also use the whatsapp group to make group editing decisions such as what shots to keep, and which to lose, and therefore develop the final piece together.

Mood board

This mood board is a combination of what inspired us through out the creation of the film piece. Though we had many restrictions such as lack of a similar setting or costume availability.

AJA: Research Mark

Youssef Zine

AO4: Undertake and apply appropriate research

Level 5	16–20	A	The ability to undertake and apply appropriate research is excellent, as evidenced in detail on the blog with relevant examples of film or magazine production elements. The finished product also demonstrates the effectiveness of this research. Research informs the creative critical reflection to a high degree.
Level 4	12–15	B	The ability to undertake and apply appropriate research is competent, as evidenced on the blog with relevant examples of film or magazine production elements. The finished product also demonstrates evidence of this research. Research informs the creative critical reflection to a good degree.
Level 3	8–11	C	The ability to undertake and apply appropriate research is apparent at a satisfactory level, as evidenced on the blog with some examples of film or magazine production elements. The finished product also demonstrates some evidence of this research. Research will inform the creative critical reflection to some degree.
Level 2	4–7	D	The ability to undertake and apply appropriate research is apparent at a limited level, as evidenced on the blog, with limited examples of film or magazine production elements. The finished product also demonstrates limited evidence of this research. Research informs the creative critical reflection to a limited degree.
Level 1	1-3	E	The ability to undertake and apply appropriate research is apparent at a minimal level, as evidenced on the blog with examples of film or magazine production elements barely apparent. The finished product also demonstrates minimal evidence of this research. Research informs the creative critical reflection to a minimal degree.
Level 0	0	U	There is no evidence of ability to undertake and apply appropriate research.

Targets

1. Complete following tasks: Mood board, Narrative analysis, Production company logo, Production schedule
2. Opening credits analysis – add more detail – discuss conventions, font styles, colours etc
3. Locations update – add more detail – discuss conventions, connotations etc  
4. Change of setting update – add more detail and images – discuss how you will incorporate sci-fi elements and use images – you could carry out some research into hybrid Westerns like ‘Cowboys and Aliens’
5. Title analysis – add detail to analysis and post your own film title, explaining your choices (font style colour etc).
6. BBFC Rating – add more detail – why did you choose this rating?
7. Gender representation – add more detail and link to your own product – will you follow conventional gender representation? Refer to more Western examples here (not The Dark Knight).
8. Audience profile – add more detail – age, gender, interests, etc. Also discuss how you intend to appeal to this audience.  Use an images/video to show typical target audience member and similar products they would be interested in.  
9. Focus group video – draw more detailed conclusions from responses – which ideas are you going to use in your own product and why?
10. Analysis of film openings – add more detail to analysis
11. PROOF READ AND CORRECT ALL POSTS – spelling, punctuation, grammar, capitals etc

DEADLINE: January 15 2015