This document discusses various narrative structures and plot devices that are commonly used in movies and television. It describes closed narratives, open narratives, multi-stranded narratives, and point-of-view (POV) narratives. It also defines plot devices such as plot twists, MacGuffins, deus ex machina, red herrings, and in medias res storytelling. The document provides examples for each concept and includes relevant YouTube links.

1. Narrative structure (Task 1)
Closednarrative: thistype of endingiswell structuredandviewerunderstandswhathashappened
inthe movie andeverythingmakessense.Commonlyitends satisfyingly.Goodexample isSherlock.
Sherlockbox setisindicatingthatitisa closednarrative oneachseasonbutsequelscanbe made to
tell newstorylineoneachseason. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBjtJ9GDsVk]
Open narrative:thistype of endingismostcommonintelevisionandsoapoperas.Inthisparticular
endingthe audience hasnosense of endingitfeelslikethe movie couldgoonforever. After
watchinga filmviewerisleftwonderingwhathappened. Forexample Supernatural,because itfeels
like itwill neverend.Deangetssenttohell thenreturns,Sammydiesbutthengetsreturnedbackto
life anditgoeson and on,from seasontoseason.Itfeelslike the TV show will neverend.Atendof
each seasonthere issome twistwithnoanswerandthismakesaudience imagine whatisgoingto
happentothe characters. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z884i1neMcM]
Multi-strandednarrative: thistype of narrative istellingastoryfrom more than one person’spoint
of viewortwostoriesof twodifferentpeople thatintervene. Anexample isThe Avengers;within
thisfilmthe storyisbasedon a team of people andtheirstory,sowithinthisdramaitallowsthe
target audience tobe able tofocuson a group of people andtheirpurpose of the film.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOrNdBpGMv8]
POV or pointof view narrative:story istoldthroughthe eyesorviewpointof aparticularcharacter.
Thistype of narrative oftenfeaturesnarrationbyone of the maincharacters. The exemplarmovieis
P.O.V.thismovie iscarriedthroughthe maincharactereyes.Thismeansyoucan see all the things
youcan see. [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_hAT__KAfw ]
Plot devices (Task 2)
Plot twist: Plottwistshappeninmoviesall the time,one momentyouare convincedone personis
wonderful thensuddenlysomethinghappenstoshow thatthatpersonis the villain.Plottwistsare
basicallywhensomethinghappensthatyoudidn’tevenconsiderasa possibility.Like DarthVader
beingLuke’sfather.The mainvillainturnsouttobe the protagonistfather.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv20ZoBcdO8]
MacGuffin: is a plotdevice inthe formof some goal,desiredobject,orother motivatorthatthe
protagonistpursues,oftenwithlittle ornonarrative explanation.The specificnature of a MacGuffin
istypicallyunimportanttothe overall plot.The mostcommontype of MacGuffinisan object,place,
or person.Othermore abstract typesinclude money,victory,glory,survival,power,love,orsome
unexplaineddrivingforce. Anexample forMacguffincouldbe the Heartof the Oceannecklace in
Titanic.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oAPg5W2t34]

2. Deus ex machina:anunexpectedpoweroreventsavingaseeminglyhopelesssituation,especiallyas
a contrivedplotdevice inaplayor novel. Unsolvableproblemissuddenlyand shortly resolvedby
unexpectedinterventionof some new event,character,abilityorobject. Forexample inShaun and
a deathssuddenlythe neverbefore seenarmycomesandsave the Shaunand Liz
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot_cr1odDkU]
Red herring:A red herringissomethingthatmisleadsordistractsfroma relevantorimportantissue.
It may be eitheralogical fallacyora literarydevice thatleadsreadersoraudiencestowardsafalse
conclusion. Goodexample forthiscouldbe The FamilyGuywhere atfirsteveryone lovedMayor
AdamWest butthenLouisGriffin. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_ttbfTGs48]
In mediares: In mediasresisLatinfor "intothe middle of things."Itusuallydescribesanarrative
that begins,notat the beginningof astory,butsomewhere inthe middle — usuallyatsome crucial
pointinthe action. Whenusedin TV it's generallya preamble toaFlashBack, whichfallsunderHow
We Got Here — where the actionstartsat the middle orendof the story andquicklyflashesbackto
the real beginning. The Life of DavidGale.Itstartsinterestingly,too:Itbasicallystartsbyshowing
the endingfirst,makingyouwonderwhyKate Winsletisrunningasfastas she can, but before it
revealswhy,onlythendoesitgoback,startingat the beginningandshow youthe leadupto that.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnbNu4vl2Q0]
Film overview (Task 3)
Final Destination 5
I have chosen to write about Final Destination 5.
Narrative expositionisthe insertionof importantbackgroundinformationwithinastory;for
example,informationaboutthe setting,characters'backstories,priorplot events,historical context,
etc.In a specificallyliterarycontext,expositionappearsinthe formof expositorywritingembedded
withinthe narrative.Expositionisone of fourrhetorical modesalongwithdescription,
argumentation,andnarration,eachof the rhetorical modesispresentinavarietyof forms,andeach
has itsownpurpose andconventions.InFinal Destinationexpositioniswellshownatthe startof the
film,whenyougetintroducedwithall the characters,theirpersonalitiesandlooks.Thistype of
expositionyoucaneasilysee inall of the Final Destinationseries.
Risingactionina plotis a seriesof relevantincidentsthatcreate suspense,interestandtensionina
narrative.Inliteraryworks,arisingactionincludesall decisions,characters'flawsandbackground
circumstancesthattogethercreate turns and twistsleadingtoaclimax.InFinal Destinationrising

3. actionwas when Sampredictedhis friends’ deathhow theyare goingtodie whenbridge collapsed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prqBLPMjcVw
The climax or turningpointof a narrative workis itspointof highesttensionanddrama,or itis the
time whenthe actionstartsduringwhichthe solutionisgiven.The climax of astoryis a literary
element. Thisiswhenall one by one the survivalsdieinmysteriousdeathshow theytrytosave each
otherbut still can’tdoit, how theyare lookingforcluesjustsotheydon’tdie, Ilike how these
deathsare verynatural,hoe themall can happentous eventhoughwe are careful. Like whenOlivia
diedwhenshe wenttoeye surgeryanddiedfromsteppingonthe buttonandfallingout of the
window. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFYaeqVxN7I
The fallingactionoccursright afterthe climax.Itiswhat happensafterthe mainproblemof the
storyhas beensolved. The SamgoesandsavesMollyinshoppingcentre afterhissecondvisionand
nowtheyboth are alive till theystepinaplane whichexplodedinFinal decision1and now he
doesn’thave the visionanymore andunfortunatelytheydie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrO7Q0LqF38
The resolutionoccurswhenall the problemsare solvedandmovie isabouttoend. Twoweekslater,
Sam and Mollyboarda Volee AirlinesflighttoParis.Astheytake theirseatsa fightbreaksout
betweentwopassengers(AlexBrowningandCarterHorton), whoare removedfromthe plane,
alongwithseveral others.Upontake off,Samoverhearsthatone of the passengershadavisionof
the plane'sdestruction,revealingthatthe plane he andMollyare boardingis revealedtobe Flight
180, but it istoo late to leave andbothof themare killedwhenthe planeexplodes.AtRoy's
memorial,Nathandiscoversfromaco-workerthatRoy's autopsyrevealedhe hadabrainaneurysm
that wouldhave burst"anyday now".AsNathan realizeshe isstill indanger,the landinggearfrom
Flight180 crashesthroughthe roof and crusheshim, settingoff the eventsof the firstfourfilms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrO7Q0LqF38

4. Generic Conventions (Task 4)
Mise-en-scene isanexpressionusedtodescribe
the designaspectsof a theatre or filmproduction,which
essentiallymeansvisual theme ortellingastory.For
example inpicture onrightwe can tell thatthismovie is
setin 90’s because bikesinthispicture are oldandthe
wayhow Vadaand Thomasare dressed.Alsofromthis
picture it’seasyto tell thatthese little kidsare veryclose
friendsandadventurous.
Settinginfictionincludesthe time,location,andeverythinginwhichastorytakesplace,and
initiatesthe mainbackdropandmoodfora story.Elementsof settingmayincludeculture,historical
period,geography,andhour.Alongwithplot,character,
theme,andstyle,settingisconsideredone of the
fundamental componentsof fiction.A settingisthe time,
place and social environmentinwhichastorytakesplace.
Settinginhorrormoviesplaya verybigrole the most
commonare: dark streets,oldhousesinwoods,dirtyrooms,
sometimesevenrottenfloorsinoldhouses,darkishcolour
scenes.Alsotheyhave chosenareaslike thistomake itmore
horrifyingandthatcharacters can’t escape easy. Picture on
the leftistakenfromhorror movie calledFridayThe 13th
. Here youcan see Jason(killers) cabin.You
can see that thisplace isverynasty,and youwouldn’tlike togointhere neitherindayor night.
Visual style includesthingssuchaslow angle shots,low keylightning,shadows,wideangle
shotsand other.The director’svisual style ishow
youcreate the image structure andstyle of the
film. Attimesswitchingtoblackandwhite
photography,andduringone flashbacksequence,
evenswitchingtoanime style animation,KillBill’s
visual patternsandaesthetical devicesare
unpredictableanda joyto watch. On the picture
on rightwe can see it isblackand white tobuilda
tensionandshowitis flashback.Alsothisisclose
up withbridesface toshowhowawful she looks
afterexplosionatherwedding.

5. Theme ismainsubjector ideainpiece of writingorina film. Forexample,take Due Date.
The story ispracticallya carbon copyof Planes,
Trains,and Automobiles.Bothfilmshave
identical storylines,similarcharacters,andthe
same motifs.Yet,the twofilmsare clearly
different.It’snotthe story itself,butthe way
the story istoldthat makesa movie great. There
are manywell-knownthemesbetweenfilms:
man vsnature forexample Dayaftertomorrow
or The Martian etc.followedthisthemescomes
The Loss of Innocence, Revenge, Death as
part of life, The battle, Individual vs society, Love and Good vs Evil. Those are mostcommon
themesinmovies.
Ideologyissometimesidentifiedasa bodyof ideasreflectingthe social needsof an
individual,group,class,andculture.Inotherwords,ideologyreferstoa systematic"worldview"
whichdefinesourconceptsof self andthe relationsof the self tothe state orany formof the
collectivism. Sometimes,thismeansaddingapolitical aspecttothe filmthatmayor maynot be
prominent.Nearlyeveryfilmhasatleastan impliedideology,because the directorhastheirown
sense of whatis rightand wrong.Basedonthe director's
ideology,the filmtellsthe audience eitherimplicitlyor
explicitlywhichwaytobehave basedonthe characters'
actions.Filmsmayalsobe neutral,due totheirmain
purpose beingtoentertainratherthanpersuade the
audience one wayoranother.It isimportantas an
audience membertorecognize ideologiesinfilm, because
oftentheytell youwhatthe directorisreallytrying tosay.
Madagascar 3 communicatesthe ideathatanimalslove
performinginfrontof people ratherthanbeinginthe zoo
or livingaswildlife inAfrica.Thisbelief iscommunicated
implicitlyviavarioustechniquesandrepresentations.In
Africa,the animatedanimalsare boredinthe wild,in
Europe theyenjoya newlife inthe circuswhilstin
America,the zoodoesnot seemasexcitingaproposition
as it usedtobe forthe characters.The animated3Dmovie
isbasedon binaryoppositions.Itshowsthe advantagesof animalslivinginthe circusandthe
disadvantagesof lifeinthe wildandinthe zoo.The filmincorporatessymbolismtocommunicatethe
ideology.Forinstance,more colourful andlivelypicturesare usedwhenthe maincharactersjointhe
circus.
Stereotypingisdefinedasan"oversimplified,usuallypejorative,attitude people holdtoward
those outside one'sownexperience whoare different.Theyare aresultof incomplete ordistorted
informationacceptedasfactwithoutquestion.A stereotype issimplyawidelyheldbelief thatan
individualisamemberof a certaingroup basedoncharacteristics.Due tothe processof
overgeneralizationwithinsocialperception,stereotypingleadstoagreatdeal of inaccuracyin social

6. perception. Sex,race,age,
sexual orientation,religionand
physical abilityare various
categorieswhichexistin
stereotyping.The mostprevalent
and controversial formsare sex
and race. In ‘RockyVI’there is
IvanDrago whoisthe villaininthismovie andyoucan’tsee
that he got many tattoosan d strongaccent. Alsotheywantedthisactorto be bigbecause the USSR
was big.The funfact is that Drago’swife’sfull name isLudmilaVobetDrago,andwe can’tknow
whatthe ‘Vobet’ismeanttobe because inRussiathere isnosuch a patronymic(A patronym, or
patronymic,isa componentof a personal name basedonthe givenname of one'sfather,
grandfather.)
Narrative isthe art of storytelling,somethingwe all doeveryday.Itisan
importantpart of our livesandsomethingthatwe value highly,if you
considerthe amountof time we all spendinfrontof televisionandcinema
screensreceivingnarratives.
IconographyinFilmandTelevisionIconographyisusedwithinfilmstudiestodescribe the
visual language of cinema,particularlywithinthe fieldof genre criticism.Iconographyisan
importantaspectof genre.We expect
to see certainobjectsonscreen when
we see a particulargenre,for
example,inaWestern,dustylonely
roads,saloonbars, cowboyhatsand
horses,jails,sheriffsbadges,guns,
etc.;in a modernhorror film,we
expectyounggirls,‘normal’objects,
use of darkand light,etc.These
‘genre indicators’are calledthe
iconographyof the mise-en-scene or
genre. Iconsforhorror moviesmay
include younggirls,hauntedhouses,andcontrastingshadow andlightindarkenedplaces.Badguys
oftenwearblackto symbolize evil andleatherjackets, oftenblack,are wornbyrebelsortoughguys.
Thrillersare oftenfilmedinurbanneighbourhoodswhereasscarymoviesare oftensetinthe
suburbs.Science fictionmovieshave hightechgadgetsandautomobilesthatfly.

7. Cinematographyisthe artof photographyandcameraworkinfilm-making.The most
obscure membersof the productionteam, isresponsibleforall the visual elementsof afilm.He or
she makeseverycreative choice relatedtocomposition,lighting,andcameramotion—anythingthat
audiencescansee ina givenshot.The Director
of Photography determineseverythingfrom
colourto depth-of-field, how muchof the shot
isin focusversushow muchis blurry, from
zoomto the positioningof people andobjects
withinanygivenframe.
Special effects (SFX) are illusionsorvisual tricksusedinthe film,television, theatre, video
game,and simulatorindustriestosimulatethe
imaginedeventsinastory or virtual world.
Special effectsare traditionallydividedinto the
categoriesof optical effects andmechanical effects.
Withthe emergence of digitalfilmmakingadistinction
betweenspecial effectsand visual effects hasgrown,
withthe latterreferringtodigital post-production
while "specialeffects"referringtomechanical and
optical effects.
Mechanical effects(alsocalledpractical orphysical
effects) are usuallyaccomplishedduringthe live-action
shooting.Thisincludesthe use of mechanizedprops,
scenery,scale models,animatronics,pyrotechnicsand
atmosphericeffects:creatingphysicalwind,rain,fog,
snow,clouds,etc.
Optical effects(also calledphotographiceffects) are
techniquesinwhichimagesorfilmframesare createdphotographically,either"in-camera"using
multiple exposure,mattes,orthe Schüfftanprocess,orinpost-productionusinganoptical printer.
An optical effectmight be usedtoplace actorsor setsagainsta differentbackground.
Sound”referstoeverythingwe hearina movie —
words,soundeffects,andmusic.Soundisusedinfilmto
heightenamood,provide uswithinformationaboutthe
locationof a scene,advance the plot,andtell usabout the
characters inthe story.There are two categoriesof soundin
film:DiegeticandNon-Diegetic. DiegeticSoundreferstoall
those audioelementsthatcome fromsourcesinside the
worldwe see onthe screen,includingdialogue,doors
slamming,footsteps,etc.Non-DiegeticSoundreferstoall
those audioelementsthatcome fromoutside of the fictional worldwe seeonscreen,includingthe

8. musical score and soundeffectslikethe screechesinthe showerscene inPsycho.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WtDmbr9xyY