This document provides information on various film techniques and narrative structures. It discusses different formats for drama like TV serials and series. It also explores genres like crime, comedy and period pieces. Various narrative structures are covered, including linear vs non-linear, Todorov's three-part theory, and examples like flashbacks. Technical aspects like cinematography, lighting, editing and scripting are also summarized. An example short film called "The Crossing" is analyzed in the closing section.

1. SINGLE CAMERA
TECHNIQUES - TASK 1
IPSITA NARULA

2. FORMATS

3. FORMAT
Usually there are different formats of drama, which are made and aimed for
different audiences.
The different formats would include;
• TV Serial
• Series
• Short Films

4. FORMATS - EXAMPLES
Brooklyn 99 is a form of TV Series. This is usually broadcasted on Fox
(channel). Since the show was successful, there are more and more
episodes coming out. This is a form of TV Serial. It is under the genre, of
Crime and Comedy

5. A Serial is when a single story is broken into different episodes whereas a Series
has the same characters throughout the episodes but a different story each time.
SERIES VS SERIAL
• Series Drama Example
Beverly Hills 90210
• Serial Drama Example
Game of Thrones

6. TV SERIES / DRAMA
• A TV Series is split up into different seasons
and different episodes. There is a never ending
narrative. Therefore every episode will have
sort of a new plot, however the plot will have
to link back to some of the previous episodes
plots. This is so that the never ending narrative
keeps going.
• Example of a TV Serial: Pretty Little
Liars
• The genre is mystery thriller

7. GENRE
• A genre is a style of art such as films
or music. There are many different
Genres. For example thriller,
romance and more. However,
Action is NOT a Genre, but it is a
Form.
• The different genres would have
different audiences. Therefore there
are many different genres which exist
and therefore
Genre Form
Romance Adventure
Horror Action
Sci-Fi Comedy
Thriller Drama

8. GENRE - EXAMPLES
There are many examples of serials,
and films with different genres.
• Romance
• Horror
• Crime
• Sci-Fi
• Comedy

9. SINGLE DRAMA
These are not very popular nowadays
however they were very popular in the
olden days. These are almost like short
films, which have an episodic touch to
them. It is basically a one off story for
TV.
Example:
Dirty War
(This released in
2004 and is a movie
about a terrorist attack
in London)

10. PERIOD
Period is a type of Drama, like
historical drama. Its when it refers to
a work set in the earlier time period.
Usually in the form of a film or TV
series or TV Serial.
Examples:
Film: Les Miserable. TV Series:
Downton Abbey

11. DRAMADOC
Example
TV series:
Blonde Charity Mafia
A dramadoc is is basically a Drama
Documentary. It is a type of genre of
radio and TV, which feature as films or
staged theatres. On stage it is
sometimes known as Documentary
Theatre.

12. SOAP OPERA
Soap Opera is a TV or radio drama
serial which deals with mainly the daily
events in the lives of the same group of
characters.
Examples: (TV Serials)
Coronation Street All My Children

13. CRIME
Crime is another type of Genre, which is mainly about criminals and their motives,
additionally also has a factor of mystery in them.
Movie (Crime):
Inferno
TV Series(Crime):
CSI:Cyber
TV Series(Crime):
The Fall
Movie (Crime):
The Dark Knight

14. COMEDY
Comedy is also a type of form however can be considered as a Genre. This is when there is a
main focus on humor. These are made to make the audience laugh and enjoy the film or TV
series.
Film
(Comedy):
White Chicks
Short Film (Comedy):
The Lemonade Stand
TV Series (Comedy):
Modern Family

15. NARRATIVE STRUCTURES
Section 2

16. WHAT IS A NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
A Narrative Structure is all about the content of a film or TV Serial or TV Series
or short films and different forms when used to tell the story. It is when a writer
chooses the different styles or different structures to place different parts of the
story at the different times. There are many different types of Narrative Structures
which you will come across. Some are more complex than others too.

17. VARIETY OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURES
• Linear / Non Linear
• Sequential / Non sequential
• Flashback
• Realist / Non Realist
• Open / Closed

18. TODOROV’S THEORY
• Todorov’ theory suggests that most
narrative structures are followed by
the 3 part structure. Where it begins
with the Equilibrium, which would
show the normal lifestyle of a person.
Until something or someone disrupts
the whole lifestyle, which is called the
Disequilibrium. And then there is the
New Equilibrium which is when
everything goes back to normal or the
plot may be renewed which means that
there maybe a new plot.
Equilibrium
Disequilibrium New Equilibrium

19. TODOROV’S THEORY - EXAMPLE
SHORT FILM: PICTURES
Equilibrium:
Here is the beginning of the
short film. It starts of with
showing the normal life of
this lady, she is just painting
her walls. And asking her
friend for tips between the
colors like a normal person
would. (Happy)
Disequilibrium:
In this part the whole normal
lifestyle gets disrupted by a
problem. Which is that the
lady starts getting images of
the future. As seen in the
photo, on her phone there is
an image of someone’s hand,
which suddenly appears in real
life. (Not Happy)
Equilibrium:
Here is the beginning of the
short film. It starts of with
showing the normal life of
this lady, she is just painting
her walls. And asking her
friend for tips between the
colors like a normal person
would. (Happy)
New Equilibrium:
Here is the new problem which
occurs. The lady asks this guy
for help but he gets killed by a
car running over him on
purpose, and she doesn't
know why he got killed. She
was being attacked before but
now it was this innocent guy
who got killed. (Everything has
changed)

20. LINEAR / SEQUENTIAL
Linear is another type of narrative
structure. Linear Narratives show
stories in a logical manner like A – C.
This is done by telling the audience
what happens time to time without the
use of Flashbacks. Linear Narratives
could also be called Sequential
Narratives because it follows a
sequence which is the same, like A – C.

21. LINEAR EXAMPLE
Most films are Linear (sequential), as
they go in order. Inferno is an example
as it does not have any flashbacks and
follows the sequence.
Inferno

22. NON - LINEAR / NON - SEQUENTIAL
Non – Linear Narratives are also
known as Non Sequential Narratives,
this is because they do NOT follow a
sequence for example, A, C, B. It is
when time is NOT chronologically in
order to present the wanted effects. In
Non – Linear Narratives Flashbacks are
used, this often happens at the
beginning of films / short films. It is
mainly done to show the past and
come back to the present.

23. NON – LINEAR EXAMPLE
Pretty Little Liars
Pretty Little Liars is a TV Series, under
the genre of mystery thriller.
Throughout the seasons and episodes,
they tend to change the plot again and
again which, also throw in flashbacks.
This shows that it is a non linear
narrative because there are a bunch of
flashbacks used throughout.

24. FLASHBACK
Flashbacks are often used in Non-Linear
Narratives. A Flashback is a scene in a
film or short film which is set in a time
earlier that the main story is.
These are very powerful as they can
make big differences to different plots.
However sometimes, a use of too many
flashbacks in one film can ruin the effect
of it.

25. FLASHBACK EXAMPLE
• This is a short film called The
Answers. This film is about this guy
who is dead and is in hell. He gets to
know about his past throw a bunch
of flashbacks. Everytime he asks a
question, he gets the answer through
a few seconds of images or times in
the past which he had.
The Answers (Short
Film)

26. REALIST
A Realist is another type of narrative. It
can be defined as realism too. In
narratives, such as realism, it attempts
to show the lives, appearances,
problems customs and more mainly of
the middle and lower class. It is an
illustration of contemporary life or of
nature.

27. REALIST EXAMPLE
An example of a Realist Narrative Film
is Lion. This movie is based on real life
and situations which makes it a realist
film.
Lion

28. ANTI REALIST
• This is the opposite of a Realist
structure. The films would be
completely out of the reality. This
would make it harder to understand
the ideas as audiences are not likely
to relate to it. The ideas which are
used are not bound around the real
world. This would usually be used in
the genres Horror and Sci-Fi. Often in
these narrative structures there are
supernatural elements.

29. ANTI REALIST EXAMPLE
This is a film which is very famous and
has an Anti Realist narrative. It is based
on an alien. The main character of the
movie was the alien, ET, and was
friendly. Since it involved aliens it is an
element of supernatural, which makes
it an Anti Realist.
E.T.

30. TECHNICAL

31. CINEMATOGRAPHY / CAMERA
There are many different types of camera shots
and movements of cameras used when filming.
The following slides have examples of different
types of movements of cameras and shots.

32. CINEMATOGRAPHY / CAMERA
Camera Shots:
• Close-up shots – when a shot tightly
frames a person or an object
• Wide Shots – one step further than a
close-up, so when the background /
surrounding is seen more
• Hand Held Shot – this is a more free
shot and is more natural, also mainly
used in low budget situations.
• Over-the-shoulder shot – this is a
shot in which the camera is placed on
someone's shoulder to get a small
part of their shoulders while focusing
on the person or object in front of
them
Camera Movements:
• Drawing camera backwards – this
movement is straightforward as it is
basically when someone is walking
backwards steadily with the camera.
• Zoom – this is when the camera is
zooming into a person’s face or into
an object to emphasize on the main
subject.
• Tilt – this is the movement of a
camera tilting slowly to show
unbalanced situations (mainly used in
horror movies)

33. CINEMATOGRAPHY / CAMERA EXAMPLES
On this slide, these are examples from a TV Series called Stranger
Things, with the different techniques used with cameras and
screenshots.
Close-Up shot Medium shot Over-the-Shoulder
shot

34. EFFECTS OF THESE SHOTS
Close-Up
shot
Medium shot Over-the-Shoulder
shot
The effect of this shot is to
create suspense, enigma
and fear. Since it is a close-
up, it would be a type of a
zoomed in shot and it
would show or focus just
on the face of a person or
an important object
The effect of this shot is to
keep some focus on the
character or relevant
object however show the
setting as well, perhaps to
emphasize on the
surrounding or
environment.
The effect of this shot is to
create suspense and
enigma. Also to show who
are the two people who
are having a conversation
in a simpler way.

35. LIGHTING
Lighting is a very important factor
when filming. This is because it can
give very different effects and create
different atmospheres or surroundings
for the particular scenes. There are
many different types of lightings used
too, these will be discussed further in
the next slides.

36. DIFFERENT LIGHTING STYLES
As mentioned there are many different styles of lightings, some of these are:
• Natural Lighting (these are used only when the scene / shot needs a natural look
and feeling to it, therefore there wont be any artificial lights being used for
example flashes.)
• Ambient Lighting (this is a combination of light reflections from different
surfaces to produce an illumination style light)
• Key Light (this is one of the most important type of lighting, its function is
highlight the main subject and it usually includes a 3 point setup)

37. DIFFERENT LIGHTING STYLES
• Chiaroscuro Lighting (this is an Italian term which describes the dramatic effect
of the contrasting, light and dark lights.)
• One Point Lighting (this is they key light which focuses on the dominant
character or object most of the time)
• Practical Lighting (this is the use of light on purpose which achives an aesthetic
effect on the atmosphere)
• Artificial Lighting (this is when there are different types of lights being used for
example, a variety of light fixtures or lamps)

38. EDITING
There are many different styles and
techniques of editing. Editing is very
important in the Films industry as it can
help assemble and make cuts or scenes
look better. For example if it is a single
camera production there would need
to be a lot of editing done in order to
make the transitions flow better in the
film.

39. DIFFERENT EDITING STYLES AND TECHNIQUES
Different Editing techniques:
• Cut on action (this is when a scene is cut on a
particular or specific action to show emphasis)
• Shot Reverse Shot (this is mainly done with
conversations scenes so that the audience can
follow on what is going on and what the characters
are talking about)
• Cross Cutting (this is used when one scene cuts to
another one, also it helps to make it look and flow
more smoothly and to keep relevance to the story)

40. SCRIPTING / BUILDING A SCENE
Scripting is when a writer makes or
writes a story or plans out dialogues
when they are trying to build scenes.
Scripting could also be used as a list of
movements and all the things which
are happening on the set, once again
this also links with building a scene. In
order to build a successful scene there
needs to be a proper script.

41. SCRIPTING / BUILDING A SCENE
La La Land La La Land is a great example for
scripting. This is because the movie is
mainly about songs and dances.
Therefore for the lyrics and dance
movements, a script would be vital.
This film has won many awards and has
been very successful. Also, the script
would’ve helped a lot to build the
different scenes in the movie.

42. BUILDING A STORY
When you are building a story, it is
important to keep in mind about the
settings, venues, cast, and the time in
which it is set in. In this process,
storyboards could be handy.
Storyboards are simple sketches or
drawings which help you lay out all the
scenes of you story, while building it.

43. EXAMPLE OF A SHORT FILM WITH
SHORT ANALYSIS

44. THE CROSSING
This is a short film which has won awards, and is in the Horror category. Since this is a horror
movie, it has been filmed at night, because Horror movies are mostly filled with darkness, and
bad things happen at night. This short film does have enigma, also is a three part narrative
therefore follows Todorov’s theory. The equilibrium is when the women is talking to her
husband and casually walking. The disequilibrium is when she enters a subway and comes
across supernatural senses. The New equilibrium is when she gets trapped and has a new
style of life. There is enigma because the audience doesn not know why this was happening
to her. The setting of the story takes place majority of the time in the dull and haunted
subway.

45. THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!