All good trailers and teaser trailers have a good narrative structure. The narrative of the film has been created by the script writers and structured by the director, which is then structured and laid out according to the editing. A narrative structure can be;
- Linear; in chronological order
- Non-Linear; in no particularly order
An example of a narrative that uses a non-linear structure would be Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarintino. This story follows a non-linear narrative and it is based around three distinct but interrelated story lines: mob contract killer Vincent Vega is the lead of the first story, prizefighter Butch Coolidge is the lead of the second, and Vincent's fellow contract killer, Jules Winnfield, is the lead of the third. Although each story line focuses on a different series of incidents set in different periods of time, they connect and intersect in various ways.
Most films conventionally stick to a linear structure, mostly because it is easier for the audience to follow. Some film narrative structures may also use;
- Flashbacks; A scene or moment in the film in which the audience is shown an event that happened earlier in the films narrative.
- Montage; The juxtaposition of seemingly unconnected images in order to create a meaning.
An example of a film narrative that uses flashbacks is Forrest Gump. In the narrative, the protagonist Forrest Gump (played by actor Tom Hanks) tells a story about his childhood growing up in Alabama. To illustrate this, the editing cuts away from him talking about his past to new locations, in which uses a voice over to set the scene for the audience. We then see through use of casting, a younger version of the actor in the previous shot, which tells the audience that this is a flashback sequence to Forrest's childhood.
An example of a film that uses montage is the first Rocky film. The narrative uses a montage sequence to show the audience that the protagonist, Rocky, is training for his big fight, and rather showing hours of footage of him training in gyms, they have used a range of clips of him training to show time has passed and that he is training hard;
Even though narratives tell different tales, the structure and set up is roughly the same. Todorov's narrative theory claims that most narratives follow the same pattern or path. There are 5 steps to this pattern;
1) Equilibrium - The first part of the story will display a setting where the characters are content and everything is how it is and it should be.
2) A disruption - The second part of the story will feature a problem or something that will disrupt the narrative.
3) Realisation - This part of the plot is when everyone realises the problem and it is chaos.
4) Restoring order - In this part of the plot, the characters attempt to repair the damage and restore the problem.
5) Equilibrium - This is the final part of the plot where the problem is resolved and normality can resume again.
To show how Todorov's theory works, we can use an example from Toy Story;
1) Equilibrium - Woody is Andy's favourite toy, which is accepted from the other toys.
2) A disruption - Andy gets a new toy for his birthday, Buzz, and he becomes the new favourite toy which Woody is unhappy about.
3) Realisation - The other toys find out Woody is jealous of Buzz when he gets pushed out the window by Woody and they are mad at him; Woody and Buzz then both get lost at the gas station when arguing over Andy.
4) Restoring Order - Woody and Buzz then try to get home to Andy before he moves house; the other toys then realise that Woody doesn't hate Buzz when they are chasing the moving van and Woody saves Buzz from the dog chasing them down the street.
5) Equilibrium - They arrive at the new house safely and both Woody and Andy share being Andy's favourite toy which the other toys accept.
Another narrative structural theory comes from Syd Field. He has outlined a A paradigm ( a conceptual scheme) most Hollywood film narratives follow. This paradigm is the structure that holds a narrative together. According to Field, a narrative follow a three-act structure, meaning the narrative can be divided into three parts: Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution.
Act I The Set up - comprises the first quarter of the narrative. It is important that a film narrative has a good setup to get the audience interested into the film, in which they learn about the protagonist/ antagonists character and personality (For a two hour movie, Act I would last approximately 30 minutes.)
Act II Confrontation - takes up the next two quarters of the film's narrative. In this part, this is where things would start to get problematic for the main character and they are faced with some kind of problems which could go from bad to worse (For a two hour movie, Act II would last approximately 60 minutes.)
Act III Resolution - comprises the final quarter of the film. The protagonist manages to overcome their problems, potentially by confronting an antagonist, and will achieve a final decisive victory (For a two hour movie, Act III would be the final 30 minutes.)
The Plot Point - According to Syd Field's theory, the three acts are separated by two plot points. A plot point is an event that thrusts the plot in a new direction, leading into a new act of the narrative. Later narrative have built on Field's theory by stating that Plot Point #1, which leads into Act II, is the moment when the hero takes on the problem.
These structures can then be used to create a narrative structure for the audience to follow. The elements from a good, well structured narrative which have the most appeal e.g. excitement, drama, comedy, can be then taken and edited together into a trailer/teaser trailer to make the audience interested and want to watch the film.
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