Todorov's Narrative Theory and Props Theory

Todorovs Narrative theory;

Todorovs narrative theory was created by a bulgarian structuralist called Izetan Todorov, Todorov suggested that at the start of films there is an equilibrium where everything is as it should be and this is therefore established straight away and made evidently clear, this is then followed up by disruption where something goes wrong and takes the turn for the worst, and finally by the end of the equilibrium is created to resolve any previous disruptions. This theory is used in many films to help the audience break down the structure of the film. This is then very clear to the audience and very easily established.


There are five stages in todorovs theory:
1 .A state of equilibrium
2. A disruption of this
3. A recognition of the disruption
4. An attempt to repair the disruption
5. New equilibrium established

Props theory:


Vladimir Propp developed a character theory for studying media texts and productions. Propp discovered that all characters fall into 7 broad character types which are:


1. The villain- locked into a constant conflict with the hero, often trying to cause harm to a princess.
2. The Donor- gives the hero an object or a source of information which helps the hero prepare for what is about to enfold.
3.The helper- Assists the hero with his task, often referred to as the 'sidekick'.
4.The princess- damsel in distress who needs assistance from the hero, because they are in some form of danger, typically the princess is the victim within the narrative.
5.The dispatcher- is the character whom sends the hero on their mission or quest.
6.Hero- reacts to the donor and saves the princess, often falling in love with the princess.
7.False hero- may appear as a good character but has an ulterior motive or attempts to take credit for the hero's actions.

Hitchcock

Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock was an English film maker and producer and his most famous genre was thriller. Alfred Hitchcock liked to think of himself  as unique and therefore used a variety of technical devices when creating his films. The way in which he used the camera was to mimic a persons gaze and framed shots to manipulate the feelings of the audience such as, fear, anxiety and empathy. He was known to his audience as "the master of suspense", what Hitchcock had mastered was not only the art of making films, but also the task of taming his own imagination.


He was the director of works such as, Psycho, Vertigo, The Birds and Strangers on a train. Hitchcock's storylines were planned out through intelligent plots with a witty dialogue and a spoonful of mystery and murder. He helped film to make the transition from silent to sound, encouraging the eclipse from black and white to colour, and directed films which were accessible to the general public.


Bio

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock
Born: August 13th 1899, Leytonstone, England
Education: School of engineering and navigation, St Ignatius, College, London; University of London

Beginning of his career: After Hitchcock had completed his education he went on to work for an engineering firm, the W.T Henley Telegraph Company. There he became the layout man in the advertisement department. In 1920 a film company Famous Players Lasky, opened up a shop in Islington, at the time Hitchcock was looking for some extra work and took a job there designing titles. Gradually overtime Hitchcock began to spend more and more of his time working for Famous Players he became third assistant on set, eventually he left the engineering firm to pursue a career in film full time.

The silent Era: Hitchcocks first nine films were created in the silent era. Although he was the first british director to embrace sound in his films, with his tenth film blackmail(1929), he never lost his fascination with the power of storytelling through the use of images.

The 1930s thrillers seem more politically aware and attuned to that period time. For Hitchcock, being a director meant being the primary source for the film working on everything from the scripts to the props.

Golden Period(1950s): Hitchcock's most inspiring time was during the 1950s to 60s this was the era Hitchcock created his most memorable films, including "I Confess, Catch a thief, The man who knew too much". 

1955- his visibility was increased by the uproar from the film psycho, which upon its initial release sparked endless debate about the violence onscreen.

Hitchcock's legacy: More than 70 years after his directorial debut, Hitchcock still combines popular appeal and critical acclaim to a degree unsurpassed by any other film makers. An important clue to his wide range of success lies in his ability to create personal statements. He was a gifted entertainment, an extroverted celebrity, a crafted businessman and a consummate wheeler-dealer in the worlds most competitive industry. At the same time he was a philosopher poet of our age, enriching our hearts and spirits through undreamed of transformations of Hollywoods trips and tropes.

AS Preliminary Task

A preliminary task is a continuity task which involves filming and editing a character, opening a door, crossing across a room and sitting down opposite another character. They then exchange a couple of words of dialogue to create a sense of realism whilst sticking to the 180 degree rule.

The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline which states two characters which are seen to be in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship. The camera should be positioned within 180 degrees. If this rule is broken as there would be no sense of realism which could also confuse the audience. 

Shot reverse Shot: Shot reverse shot is an editing technique where two characters are shown to be having a conversation whilst the shot is reversed between the two characters, to represent which character is speaking. This then allows the audience to be aware of the conversation but also what character is saying what within the conversation also carrying on the sense of realism.

Match of action: This is another editing technique but this technique shows continuity between the shots, for example if a character is walking in a shot, it will be edited to show the character continuing walking in the next shot.    

For my preliminary task there were three key features i focused on, pre production, post production and filming. Pre production was mainly a brief brain storm and mind mapping ideas for our task that included the three main shots. The 180 degree rule, shot reverse shot and action match.

In my preliminary task I had to include: A character opening a door, cutting across a room and sitting down opposite another character. The characters then exchange couple of lines of dialogue, showing shot reverse shot. 

I planned our task well making structured lines, meaning the task would run smoothly as the characters would know their movements and lines. 

 In these screenshot you can see one of the characters outside of the door, with another screenshot which shows an extreme close up of the characters hand on the door handle showing he is about to enter the room creating the sense of realism. It then cuts to the character entering the room this represents action match as it shows two sides of something as it is being done. 

In these screen shots it is showing shot reverse shot, as the camera switch sides to show the two characters. This makes the dialogue being exchanged much easier to see as you are able to see which character is speaking at the time but also keeping the feel of continuity as it keeps the flow of shots.