DC 205 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Dramatic Structure
28 views2 pages
DC 205 – Week 3 – Narratives
The story, the structure, & the dramatic elements
Narratives
Classical Hollywood Narrative
o Follows a specific structure
o Narrative moves toward resolution of story’s conflict
o Exposition, Conflict, Climax, Resolution
Paradigm of Dramatic Structure
Act 1
o Exposition pg. 1-30
Act 2
o Conflict/Confrontation pg. 30-90
Climax
Act 3
o Resolution pg. 90-110
Exposition (EX)
The beginning of the story
o Who are the main characters?
o What are they doing?
o What is the setting?
o What details do we learn?
o How are details given to us? (Narration? Title cards?)
o What do we see visually?
Conflict (CO)
Rising action
Increasing intensity
o External conflict?
o Internal conflict?
o Physical conflict?
o Emotional struggle?
o What do we see happening that represents conflict?
Resolution (R)
After the climax
o Recovery from climax
o Story details are resolved
o Secondary events and character stories are completed
o May be quick and simple
o What does the film show us? (Characters riding off into the sunset…?)
Multiple Sequences
Films may have multiple points of EX, CO, CX, R – sequences in a film may each have
this rise and fall
There may be multiple conflicts within each sequence or film
Narratives
Formalistic
o Author is overtly manipulative
o May scramble chronology
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com