Todorov produced a theory which he believed to be able to be applied to any film. He believed all films went though 5 stages of narrative, equilibrium, disequilibrium, acknowledgement, solving and again equilibrium.
There are five stages the narrative can progress through:
1. A state of equilibrium (All is as it should be.)
2. A disruption of that order by an event.
3. A recognition that the disorder has occurred.
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption.
5. A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium
My film is about a boy who believes that relationships fail not because of what men do or what he does but because of what girls do. He goes on to date several different girls at the same time. The girls then realise that he has been dating them all at the same time and all approach him about it.
This theory can be applied to my film.
1. The equilibrium = Elliot believing that relationships fail not because of what men do or what he does but because of what girls do.
2. When Elliot goes on several dates with several different girls
3. When the girls all get the same text from Elliot
4. When the girls all approach Elliot
5. He's forced to reassess his vision of the world and the women have put him in his place.
Propp
Where short films differ to full length films is in length but also they have a twist so characters aren't always who you think they are. There are likely to be a much smaller range of characters in a short film like mine therefore are unlikely to find a full range of characters as in Propps complex plots. My short film for example has 1 central character (protagonist) his friend the side kick (helper) with 4 girls who make cameo appearances and appear initially to be 4 princesses, that is the reward for his masculine charm charisma. However when they turn on him emmasse like a group of Furies exposing how casual a cheater he is towards women. They reject him and put him in his place. From being the passive recipients of his largesse they seize control and with feminist flourishes expose and shame him for the sexual predator that he is. The tables are turned.
The main advantage of having very clear cut roles in a film is that audiences need to grasp the character very quickly within the first minute but the characters cant afford to be over simplistic because that might mean sacrificing the chance for enigma or the twist.
Levi-Strauss
Narrative is reduced down to binary opposites. In my film there's the battle of the sexes in that the man starts off by asserting that its women who cant be trusted and that they always cheat on their partners so men are in a constant state of anxious and distrust about how women behave. However, in my film we see the protagonist playing the field and stringing along 4 different women who only by chance discover that he isn't being exclusive with them. A new type of conflict emerges as they united against a common enemy, their former boyfriend to unmask and shame him. The balance of power has changed at the end and a new equilibrium forged, that is the unity of the women and they defeat of the man.
Roland Barthes
Developed idea there's 2 different codes
Hermeneutic code - crime detective genre - want to find out what happened, mystery needs to be unraveled and all the lose ends tied up. Our desire to see the mystery explained drives the narrative.
Proairetic code - explains plots which are a series of linked events where one action leads to another action. The audience is curious of whats gonna be the result, how is x or y going to react to the event.
Propp
Where short films differ to full length films is in length but also they have a twist so characters aren't always who you think they are. There are likely to be a much smaller range of characters in a short film like mine therefore are unlikely to find a full range of characters as in Propps complex plots. My short film for example has 1 central character (protagonist) his friend the side kick (helper) with 4 girls who make cameo appearances and appear initially to be 4 princesses, that is the reward for his masculine charm charisma. However when they turn on him emmasse like a group of Furies exposing how casual a cheater he is towards women. They reject him and put him in his place. From being the passive recipients of his largesse they seize control and with feminist flourishes expose and shame him for the sexual predator that he is. The tables are turned.
The main advantage of having very clear cut roles in a film is that audiences need to grasp the character very quickly within the first minute but the characters cant afford to be over simplistic because that might mean sacrificing the chance for enigma or the twist.
Levi-Strauss
Narrative is reduced down to binary opposites. In my film there's the battle of the sexes in that the man starts off by asserting that its women who cant be trusted and that they always cheat on their partners so men are in a constant state of anxious and distrust about how women behave. However, in my film we see the protagonist playing the field and stringing along 4 different women who only by chance discover that he isn't being exclusive with them. A new type of conflict emerges as they united against a common enemy, their former boyfriend to unmask and shame him. The balance of power has changed at the end and a new equilibrium forged, that is the unity of the women and they defeat of the man.
Roland Barthes
Developed idea there's 2 different codes
Hermeneutic code - crime detective genre - want to find out what happened, mystery needs to be unraveled and all the lose ends tied up. Our desire to see the mystery explained drives the narrative.
Proairetic code - explains plots which are a series of linked events where one action leads to another action. The audience is curious of whats gonna be the result, how is x or y going to react to the event.
You have done the spadework and are now in a position to analyse the ways in which these narrative frameworks apply to your own film.
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