1. AS Film Studies
Narrative
For a film to be a ‘narrative’ it must present us with a series of events in ways that suggests
connections between one event and the next. Narratives must be made up of parts that are
related, usually in a ‘cause-and-effect’ way. The study of narrative focuses on what is told
(the represented story) and how it is told – the narration. Cinematic narration is one of the
most sophisticated forms of narrative media as it is audio-visual.
Cinematic narration uses ‘rules’ or codes to communicate meaning to the audience. Film
uses both visual codes (mise-en-scene, editing, cinematography) and audio codes (speech,
music, noise). Narrative codes rely on the audience’s expectations.
Story and Plot
Story refers to the events of the narrative (what happens), whereas plot refers to how the
story is presented in terms of order and narrative logic. ‘the story is the what in a narrative
that is depicted…and the plot is the how’ (Chatman 1980). The most significant way plot
shapes story is through chronology – the order in which the story is told.
Classical Hollywood cinema
A series of narrative conventions emerged out of the classical Hollywood period (1930s1940s) which prioritise entertainment and so seek to arouse and maintain the audience’s
interests. Hollywood narrative codes aim to make the story easily understood by the
audience, as a result they developed a sophisticated set of conventions that guide the
viewers through the story. Classical narrative codes are transparent because they want to
keep the viewer’s focused on the story, so the audience maintain focus on what is
happening rather that how it is being told. Classical Hollywood narrative codes aim for
invisibility.Cause and effect narratives are used, with the characters usually providing the
causal elements. Hollywood heroes have clear goals and obstacles. Classical narration
progresses through psychological motivation, i.e. by the will of a human character and its
struggle with obstacles towards a defined goal. The aspects of space and time are
subordinated to the narrative element which is usually composed of two lines of action: a
romance intertwined with a more generic one such, solving a crime.
Time in classical Hollywood is continuous, since non-linearity calls attention to the
constructed nature of the film. The only accepted manipulation of time in this format is
the flashback. The classic Hollywood narrative is structured with an unmistakable
beginning, middle and end, and generally there is a distinct resolution at the end.
It has been argues that classic Hollywood narrative codes have become the dominant
approach to film style, with filmmakers facing a choice between using classical narrative
codes of deliberately rebelling against them.
Maybe the single most important and most influential element of cinematic form that
characterizes classical Hollywood cinema is continuity editing. The most important goal of
continuity editing is to make the cut invisible. This is achieved by devices such as the shot /
reverse-shot or the eyeline match, and other match cuts. The editing is subservient to the
flow of the narrative and is usually constructed in a way that it does not draw attention onto
itself.

2. AS Film Studies
Both space and time are constructed in cinema. In the classical Hollywood style space and
time are unified, continuous and linear. They appear as a unified whole to match our
perception of time and space in reality. This is for example achieved by the 180º rule or by
the relative lack of jump cuts.
The unifying force behind the classical Hollywood style is motivation and conventions. In the
development of the narrative every event is motivated, i.e. follows a causal relationship. In
the same way the use of cinematic style is generally motivated by the narrative. The
connection between narrative and cinematic style is highly conventional. Due to the
dominance of the style viewers come to expect certain stylistic choices for certain narrative
situations. For example if you have a hostage situation there will invariably be a crosscutting between the rescuers and the hostage. All of the above results in what David
Bordwellhas called "an excessively obvious cinema" in that it follows a set of norms,
paradigms, and standards that match and gratify viewers expectations. In other words by
the end of a classical Hollywood film answers for all questions have been provided and one
doesn’t leave the cinema perplexed and startled as one would after some New Hollywood
films or European Art films.
Cinematic Codes
Mise-en-scene (setting, props, costume, performance, lighting)
Cinematography
Sound
Editing
Editing is one of the most powerful ways in which cinematic narratives are constructed.
This can be achieved through juxtapositions which create meaning. This is known as the
Kuleshov effect.
Art Cinema Narratives
As art cinema is less governed by financial needs narratives are less focused on providing
entertainment and pleasure. Art film narratives make less use of cause and effect, and may
be fragmented and confusing. The pace of the narrative is often slower than in Hollywood
or mainstream films. The narratives often avoid closed endings. Art cinema often deploys a
modernist or self-reflexive approach drawing attention to how the story is being told (the
narration). This is often expressed through technical choices such as editing.
Narrative Theory
Propp – character functions – hero, villain, helper, etc.
Todorov – equilibrium, disequilibrium, resolution.
Vogler and Campbell – the Hero’s Journey.