CCS 101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Dramatic Structure, Fourth Wall
7 Jun 2018
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CCS 101
Chapter 4: Elements of Narrative
• a narrative is a story
o narrative movies are fiction films
• narration - the act of telling the story
• narrator - who or what tells the story
• the narrator delivers the narration that conveys the narrative
• first-person narrator - a character in the narrative who typically imparts information in the form of
voice-over narration
• voice-over narration - when we hear a character's voice over the picture without actually seeing
the character speak the words
• direct address narration - the first-person narrator character interrupts the narrative to deliver
narration directly to the audience, thus breaking the "fourth wall" that traditionally separates the
viewer from the two-dimensional fictional on-screen
• third-person narrator - voice outside of the narrative that provides information not accessible to a
narrator who is also a participant in the story; knows all and can thus provide objective context to
any situation
• omniscient narration - narrator knows all and can tell us whatever it wants us to know; has
unrestricted access to all aspects of the narrative; can provide any character's experiences and
perceptions, as well as information that no character knows
• restricted narration - limits the information it provides the audience to things known only to a
single character
• every film narrative depends upon two essential elements: a character pursuing a goal
• round characters - complex characters who may possess numerous subtle, repressed, or even
contradictory traits that can change significantly over the course of the story; perceived as more
lifelike
• flat characters - relatively uncomplicated characters who exhibit few distinct traits and do not
change significantly as the story progresses
• protagonist - the primary character who pursues the goal
• anti-heroes - seemingly unsympathetic protagonists chasing less than noble goals
• obstacles - an essential building block of storytelling
• normal world - the setup in the first act has to tell us what kind of a story we're about to
experience; the first few minutes lay out the rules of the universe that we will inhabit/witness
• catalyst - the inciting incident that presents the character with the goal that will drive the rest of
the narrative
• plot points - significant events that turn the narrative in a new direction
• antagonist - the person, people, creature, or force responsible for obstructing the protagonist
• stakes - risk to the protagonist
• rising action - conflict intensifies and the goal remains out of reach
• climax - comes when the protagonist faces their major obstacle
• resolution - the third act of falling action, in which the narrative wraps up loose ends and moves
toward a conclusion
• story - consists of (1) all the narrative events that are explicitly presented on-screen plus (2) all the
events that are implicit or that we infer to have happened but are not explicitly presented
• diegesis - the total world of the story - the events, characters, objects, settings, and sounds that
form the world in which the story occurs
• diegetic elements - the elements that make up the diegesis
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