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.

History Of Thriller Genres

History of Thriller Genres 

1920s-30s
1926- a man named Alfred Hitchcock released his third silent called The Lodger, which was a jack the ripper filled with suspense.
1929- he released another thriller film named blackmail which was not only the first film with sound but also the first film with sound in Britain.
1931- the film the chilling german by Fritz Lang was released and starred Peter Lorre in his first film, which was based on a serial killer.
1933- another crime thriller was released called murders In the Zoo, which was based on a murderous zoologist, the character was played by Lionel Atwill. The film was then directed by Sutherland.

There were also others that were well known for directing thriller films within this era such as
                           

-Walter Forde







- George A Cooper





-  Michael Powell








1940s
- Hitchcock, continued to direct thriller films, which became more and more popular.
-1941- Hitchcock released Suspicion which was about a woman who was in danger from her husband. -He then released his favorite of film of them all, called Shadow of a doubt, which was based on a serial killer.
-1944- director George Cukor released two psychological thrillers, one named Gaslight, which was based on a husband trying to make his wife go insane, in order to inherit her inheritance. The second film was called Film Noir, and consisted of a murder investigation.
1946- film based on on people getting terrorised by serial murderers were released.

1950s
- Hitchcock was still directing thriller films, however Technicolour was added to his films.
- He produced more classic thriller films such as 'Strangers on a Train' which was created in 1951, the film is based on two train passengers who have both staged a battle of wits and traded murders with eachother.
- Other films by Hitchcock were made in this era such as; To Catch a Thief(1955) and Vertigo(1958).
-Non Hitchcock thrillers which were also made in the 50s were movies such as 'Niagra' 1953 by Henry Hathaway, this movie starred famous actors such as Marylyn Monroe, who was one of the main characters, who played a wife who planned to kill her husband.

1960s
-Director Michael Powells 'Peeping Tom' was created in 1960, was a storyline based on a psychopathic camera man. This film was released prior to Hitchcocks film 'Psycho', which was about a loner and mother fixated motel owner.
-J.Lee Thompson was released released a production called 'Cape Fear' in 1962, which featured a menace character searching for revenge.
- Stanley Donens stylish thriller of 1963 called 'Charade' which had a variety of twists and plots starring a pair of characters that are on search for hidden loot, which ends up taking them to Paris.
- Roman Polanski in 1965 released his first film in English the frightening and surrealistic 'Repulsion' which featured a young woman who goes increasingly mad.

1970s-1980s
-There was a violent wave of thrillers in this era. In 1972 was 'Frenzy', Hitchcocks first English film in almost two decades.
-Steven Speilburgs low budget early TV movie 'Duel' in 1971
-John Boormans 'Deliverance' followed in 1972
-In this period brought the first film where a character is disturbingly obsessed with their idol, this came in came in Clint Eastwoods 'Play Misty for Me' 1971.
-The 80s approached bringing us 'Dressed to kill' 1980.

1990s
- the 90s started with Rob Reiners 'Misery' 1990 which was absed on a book by Stephen King, then in 1991 came 'Sleeping with the Enemy'.
-'The Hand that Rocks the Cradle' by Curtis Hanson, who was brought to us in 1992, the plot was of a nanny who was seeking revenge against her dead husband patient.
- More thrillers released in this era about obsessions, as they were becoming extremely popular thriller within the film industry.
-Other themes such as FB agents and detectives tracking down serial killers and other criminals, which involve major investigations, is also a popular theme within thrillers.
- David Fincher also released a crime thriller in 1995 and was called Se7en, which was a story based on a major investigation in order to find a serial killer who reinacts the seven deadly sins, which contained many obstacles within the investigation.

Present
- Until this present day thriller films have shared ideas and themes and have similar elements within each which vary but stick to the genre. However, in the recent thrillers that have been made, directors try to maintain the aspect of the genre but also create individuality, by making them stand out from the rest. They do this by adding different themes and other aspects such as gore, horror, violence, blood and brutal behaviour. Thrillers used to be a lot more psychological such as 'Silence of the Lambs' however they are now having more aspects of horror contained in them. Some examples of this are:
1. Eden Lake 2008
2. The Last House on the Left 2009
3. Captivity 2007

 
 
 

 

 

Examples of sub genres of Thrillers

Sci Fi Sub genre Thriller

Source code 2011:  Source Code is based around the antagonist who wakes up in someone else's body and discovers he's part of a experimental government program to find the bomber of a commuter train. An intense thriller as he only has 8 minutes to complete his mission.

Supernatural Thriller
The Dead Zone 1983; A character played by Christopher Walken who awakens from a coma caused by a car accident, he finds the years have passed and he has now gained psychic abilities.

 

Spy Thriller The Tourist 2010; contains the theme of espionage within a government agency.

 

Psychological Thriller: The Usual Suspects 1995

Sub Genre of Thrillers

Analysis of Memento

                                                    Analysis of Memento

Throughout the opening sequence of memento, all the phycological thriller conventions are explored. 

At the start of this opening sequence, a close up is used to set the atmosphere of the film; while the title of the film is introduced also. Consequently, it also creates many enigmas for the audience as the person is kept anonymous, all you can see is a picture of what looks to be like a murder. Therefore this creates an anxious atmosphere, and makes the audience wonder. The photography which is of  a man dead on the floor and his blood on the floor, establishes several important things about the film. Therefore, it establishes the narrative structure because as the picture is shaken it fades instead of develops. The title is in blue in order to stand out, the connotations of blue are usually trust and tranquility. However this contradicts with the protagonist as he is always confused and unstable with his surroundings. 

Here a close up is used, it shows the colour of the picture has changed. Therefore, this would confuse the audience as usually when a polaroid is taken the picture develops. Consequently this could be a a hint to the plot at the protagonist doesn't have a straight path throughout the film. Also on this frame in the opening sequence a flashing light is used, therefore this creates a mysterious scene. 

This shot is a close up, therefore we can both actions and expressions of the character. Consequently, we can clearly see in this shot that the character has took or is taking a picture. This is suspicious as it makes us ask questions as we don't know who he is taking a picture of or why he is taking it. Also it's a polaroid camera, therefore it could think to the pictures above, meaning he could be investigating a murder, or be a murderer.

Here is a extreme close up of blood dripping down a wall. Consequently, this looks sinister as is also suspicious, as no-one is shown therefore the audience doesn't know where the blood is coming from or who's it is. Also, the pace in the opening sequence starts to speed up when this image is shown, this is to build tension and create a scared/daunting atmosphere.