Narrative codes

Through the use of narrative codes, the storyline and the narrative of a text is able to move. Most importantly action and enigma codes, it's these codes that allow the audience to question the text, some questions are answered earlier than others. For example in a film, some questions are answered very early on, where as others are answered later in the film. This keeps the audience hooked and makes them what to keep watching in hope that their questions will find an answer. By using the codes, it hints to the audience which path or way the plot is moving and shaping up to be.

Action codes

Actions codes are important events that move the narrative of a text in a certain way. For example some post comes through the letter box or a car alarm goes off. Both examples can be used to keep the narrative and or scene alive. They give the audience useful information that maybe helpful and possibly reveal something about a character. This type of code helps to move the narrative along from one point to another.

Enigma codes

Enigma codes pose question to the audience which are either answered soon after being posed or later on in the text. The questions intrigue the audience and is they're not answered then it'll make the audience want to continue watching to find out more.

Such as, in the 'Silence of the Lambs' there are many examples that pose questions, answer them and then most the narrative along. The scene starts in a woodland area with a woman running, we as the audience do not know who she is or why she's running. It becomes clear that she is training for something once we see the obstacle course. We hear another character call her name "Sterling", we now know her name and as she is one of the first characters to be revealed/introduced we can suspect that she plays a main part and is very significant to the text. As the character approaches we see he's wearing a FBI cap, from this it shows who both characters work for and answers the question as to why she was running and training.

As the the click progresses Sterling enter the building we later get a shot of and we wonder why shes been called in. Several characters interact with her before she enters a lift. In the lift the she stands in the middle of a group of men, this could symbolise and or foreshadow future evens and in the lift she looks slightly uncomfortable and out of place which could mean that later in the narrative she'll be placed out of her comfort zone. After getting out of the lift she walks down a corridor and another member who works there tells Sterlin that someone is waiting to see her and to wait in his office. As she waits we get several different shots of the room such as long and close ups of different newspaper article revolving around a certain investigation. This poses another question, why so much focus on the case? This could suggest that this will be the next case Sterlin is put on.

Narrative structure

When it comes to the narrative there are four famous theorists, Vladmir Propp, Todorov, Roland Barthes and Levi Straus. Each with there own different theory of narrative. Todorov suggested that most narratives start with the state equilibrium in which life is and the protagonist is happy and well. This state of normality is disrupted by an outside force, which has to be fought against in order to return to the state of equilibrium otherwise known as new equilibrium, as it's a state of normality but thing maybe different to how they were before due to past events.

Todorov came up with the idea of the narrative theory diagram. there are five elements to the diagram, the protagonist, agent of change, problem, resolution and the quest. the protagonist is the main character the story follows as it's his or her actions that influence the story. The agent of change is the element of the story that makes it go in another direction in the terms of the plot. The Problem is one of the most important parts of a text as it influences the rest of the text. The Quest is the thing the protagonist has to go or and or complete in order to restore normality. Finally, the resolution is the last thing in any text. This is the point when the protagonist has completed the quest and normality is restored.
Narrative structure:

The model can be easily applied to a wide range of films, such as 'Taken'.

The model can be easily applied to a wide range of films, such as 'taken'. In this text, the equilibrium is when the protagonist Bryan is happy living his life in American with his daughter. He doesn't see his daughter as much as he'd like as him and his wife are separated so he's very distant from his daughter. The disequilibrium and or the agent of change is when his daughter and her friend travel to France for what she says is to see different museums but actually she plans on following the band 'U2'. Once they both arrive in France her and her friend suggest on taking pictures when a random man starts talking them and mentions a party later that night. Not long after the girls enter their apartment a group of men enter the building and take the girls, this is the problem in the narrative. The men are part of an organisation who are involved in prostitution and drug trafficking.

Bryan then decides head to Paris and try to retrieve his daughter and her friend this is the quest for the protagonist as it's the thing he must do in order to set or bring back equilibrium. Bryan has to gather several parts of information for him to have a lead on the where abouts of the two girls such as, the name of the organisation, where they're based and any smaller groups that maybe involved to help give him the edge. A long the way he encounters someone he used to work with who he thinks may have something to do with the situation. He manages to find out somewhere in Paris many different companies are going meeting up as a new set of girls are being bought in. Refered to as 'new talent', Bryan sneeks in and finds out the companies have to bid on the girls. To his shock his daughter was next, Bryan goes into one of the members room and forces the man to bid until he has won. The men realise it's his daughter and take him away but due to Bryan's background, he's able to escape but his daughter has already been shipped off with the other girls. He finds out where the yatch is going and jumps sneeks on. 

The resolution in the end is when Bryan rescues his daughter from the boat and free's all of the other girls left on the boat. Him and his daughter both return home to America, this is the new equilibrium. It's the 'new' equilibrim as due to the past events nothing will ever be the same again, so the characters have to live in this new state.

Taken Narrative Structure:

Opening Sequences

Opening sequences are the very first thing the audience get to see when watching a text. it will include many different elements that will set up the audiences exceptions of the plot, character(s), mood, location and genre. The opening will include some sort of credits at the start that have the same theme as the genre. They're designed to grab the audience's attention and integer them with the help of action and enigma codes. Within the credits there will be some sort of element that will help to convey the plot, themes and other traits in the text. In most cases usually the protagonist who is introduced first but it could be the antagonist.

For example, in the opening sequence of 'Jaws'. It starts with a point of view shot from 'Jaws' in the ocean slowly swimming along the bottom of the water bed. Later in the clip the shot is then  accompanied by the sound motif that enters almost every time there's a scene with the shark, which helps to build and sets up the mood/tone as it has a very eerie and tense feel to it, it could possibly also set up the location of the film. It then cuts to a group of people sitting, talking and playing guitar around a campfire. This sets the scene, makes it feel very real, natural and relaxed. Through the use of non-dietetic sound and the camera work it shows it's night which emphasizes there danger. Which forces the idea that there will be moments of unsuspecting danger within the text. This is then followed by a girl and boy running somewhere, we're currently unsure where this is but as they get closer to wherever it maybe, we start to here the noise of water and seagulls which hints the next location. As they're running the boy repeatedly asks the girl to "slow down". At one point when the girl is in the water he is still at shore fully dressed, this emphasises he wont wont be able to do anything/help her as he cant help himself. This sets up the fact that there will be times in the film when people are helpless and unable to do anything.

The scene of the girl in the water sugguests that the film will start very slow with small moments of fast pace but towards the end it will pick up. This is backed up with the water scene as she moves very slowly in the water but is then attacked once or twice. She is then pulled under several times before it goes quiet and she is gone.

Introduction

This blog is for my coursework on all things planning and understanding of film, this will then help me create a noteworthy two minute opening based on a text of my own creation. I have based my idea around the thriller genre. After choosing a genre i had to look up the codes and conventions as well as the characteristics/traits for my chosen genre to see what makes the genre unique to the others out there. This will then help me with things to include in my two minute opening as well as my synopsis. Task-wise I'm going to create synopsis, write a detailed two minute opening and finally film and edited it to make the finished product.