Narrative Theory : MORE IN-DEPTH INFORMATION/RESEARCH

I have mentioned narrative in my earlier posts but this is one post which I have solely dedicated to researching, describing and explaining narratives. This will range from narrative meaning to Barthes to structuralism.

Narrative Meaning - in the simplest terms narrative is the way a story is told and how this is made for the audience to see and take in. The events in a film (or trailer) will be ordered in a way that makes sense for the audience (or in some cases doesn't to create an enigma and increase the desire from the audience to continue watching). 

5 Stage Narrative Structure

EXPOSITION - sets scene & characters introduced
DEVELOPMENT - more characters introduced, situation develops
COMPLICATION - something happens, creates a complication
CLIMAX - high suspense, in-sighting moment
RESOLUTION - satisfactory ending, things are resolved.

Examples:

An enigma: Memento (2000) - Why did Leonard (Guy Pearce) kill a man and what is happening in the overall plot. The sequence of events in Memento is incredibly unusual as the narrative is given to the viewer the wrong way round (and so they find out what Leonard did earlier on in his life). 

Action Codes: Memento (2000) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vS0E9bBSL0 

In this trailer Leonard has tattoos all over himself that are sometimes shown as extra close ups. These tattoos tell him information about his past (before his accident) so he can remember what someone did to his wife who was raped and murdered. As well as this close ups of Leonard face show his expressions and suggest possible reactions to events. 

I will include enigma and action codes in my trailer to make it more interesting to watch and to give my target audience reasons to keep watching. As well as this my characters may fall into Vladimir Propp's theory based on Russian fairytales. It is also very likely that my trailer will follow Todorov's narrative structure in some way as this has proven to be very effective. 

Below is an image that I downloaded and the edited by putting text on it to explain Roland Barthe's narrative codes further.