Coursework Research - Character

RESEARCH: CHARACTER

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art (such as a novel, play, or film). 

How important are characters particularly in the opening 2 minutes of a film?

Character introductions are especially important. The moment a character is introduced carries the ability to invoke some of the most powerful emotions: joy, anger, fear, and envy. Not only can this moment inspire an intense audience reaction, but it can also offer a unique opportunity for insight and explanation. We can learn about a character in many different ways. We can learn by what they do and what they say. We can also learn by what other characters say about them and how they react to those characters. The best character introductions in film not only use these means, but they do it in a concise and creative way. 

Character profiles of three different existing feature film characters:

Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003):

The music swells as the great Captain Jack Sparrow sails into Port Royal. It's a dramatic and heroic moment... until the shot reveals his sad, sinking boat. Jack jumps off the mast just before it becomes fully submerged underwater and swaggers past the dockhand. The mere image of his arrival on his sinking boat is enough of an analogy to understand Jack Sparrow. He is a pirate that could be a great Captain, if only he had the means. It could be seen that his entrance could be considered sad - he salutes his dead comrades and then returns to bailing water out of his ratty boat. Instead of coaxing pity out of the audience, this backdrop allows Jack to show the audience style, attitude, charm, and impeccable timing. This introduction relies on the character's personality to turn a depressing situation into a glamorised entrance that leaves the audience wanting to see more of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Sundance in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

It's a scene that shows the importance of character reactions, where Sundance shows his importance during a blackjack game. This scene not only establishes Butch and Sundance's relationship, but it shows the audience that Sundance is a man to be feared. The last part in the character introduction scene includes Macon asking Sundance how good he is with a gun. Sundance responds by shooting Macon's gun belt off of him, without inflicting any injury. With this swift move, Sundance's superiority is secured. 

Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

When Darth Vader made his film debut, he secured his place as one of the greatest villains of all time. His appearance is enough to secure such an honor, but it is his manner that seals his fate in film infamy. The Rebel ship has just seen a laser-gun battle and dead bodies litter the corridor. From the passageway, Darth Vader appears all in black. He immediately commands respect as the Storm Troopers stand at attention. His helmet, cape, and voice make the moment even more dramatic. He strides past the dead bodies and continues on to interrogate a Rebel Officer. He kills the officer with a chilling ease that could make any audience member shudder. His appearance, presence, and actions make him the ultimate image of evil.

What makes these characters so iconic?

These characters are so iconic because they create a vision for the audience of something from imagination to reality. If done correctly, the character introduction can begin the transformation of a character into an icon. Especially Darth Vader and Jack Sparrow, the viewers are bought into a franchise because they either love or hate the character that has been produced. 

What do important characters add to the narrative?

Characters can add and have a great affect on the narrative. This is because everything the character portrays on the screen is with either narrative or no narrative, the former having a greater effect on the audience, mostly due to the viewers wanting to know what the main characters are thinking and this is when narrative can help. When there's no narrative, however, we look and concentrate on the dialogue, body movements and facial expressions of a character, more aware of what the character is going to do an what they say than the narrative of a story. 

How much does the audience find out about them in the opening two minutes?

In the opening two minutes, a viewer can find out a lot about a character, such as an action film or perhaps a crime movie where we are thrown into the chaos. Yet, it is more likely that an audience still have no idea what a character is about after the opening two minutes. This is is because it's only two minutes, and we still have the same characters to develop over hours to come, so the directors don't want to give too much away too quickly, otherwise the plot can't go anywhere. Due to this its very common for the introduction to a character in the opening two minutes to have a couple of lines of narrative, some scenic shots, depending on the genre, but other than that don't expect much to unfold about a character in the opening two minutes. 

Coursework Research - Narration

What is Narration?

Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration encompasses a set of techniques through which the creator of the story presents their story, including:

• Narrative point of view: the perspective (or type of personal or non-personal "lens") through which a story is communicated
• Narrative voice: the format (or type presentational form) through which a story is communicated
• Narrative time: the grammatical placement of the story's time-frame in the past, the present, or the future

A narrator is a personal character or a non-personal voice that the creator (author) of the story develops to deliver information to the audience, particularly about the plot. The narrator may be a voice devised by the author as an anonymous, non-personal, or stand-alone entity; as the author herself/himself as a character; or as some other fictional or non-fictional character appearing and participating within their own story. The narrator is considered participant if he/she is a character within the story, and non-participant if he/she is an implied character or an omniscient or semi-omniscient being or voice that merely relates the story to the audience without being involved in the actual events. Some stories have multiple narrators to illustrate the storylines of various characters at the same, similar, or different times, thus allowing a more complex, non-singular point of view.

Narration encompasses not only who tells the story, but also how the story is told (for example, by using stream of consciousness or unreliable narration). In traditional literary narratives (such as novels, short stories, and memoirs), narration is a required story element; in other types of (chiefly non-literary) narratives, such as plays, television shows, video games, and films, narration is merely optional.

Examples of the use of Narration in each of the following genres:

• COMEDY - usually the narration comedies is witty and humorous. for instance in 'The Inbetweeners' there is narration however it does not deal with meaningful feelings, but it includes funny jibes.
• HORROR - The narration in Horror films usually includes serious and direct dialogue, i believe this is due to the suspension building up throughout the plot. For example, during the film 'The women in black' the dialogue is mature and humorless.  
• ACTION - the narration during an action film is usually fast and quick due to the suspension building up throughout the plot. An example of an action film could be 'Skyfall - James Bond'. This film encourages the audience to want to know what is going to happen next as there are continuously knew things occurring that you want to find out more about. 
• DRAMA - The narrative of a drama film could be any emotion, because when the problem occurs during the middle of the film, it could end happily, or sad. It could leave any emotion. For example, with 'Toy Story' everything is all going well until Andy buys a new toy (Buzz Lightyear) and Andy doesn't like him because he is jealous, causing the audience to possibly feel sorry for Andy. 
• ROMANCE - The narrative for a romance film it to share feelings and emotions between the couple. The problem in a romance film could involve the couple breaking up or having an argument. This would cause the audience to feel upset or sorry for the characters which creates emotion. An example of a romance film could be 'The Fault in Our Stars' which is a sad film as the problem is where both of them have cancer. This is the dilemma which may or may not be solved but it is romantic because the couple are both very loved up.

• 
  

What is required for a good piece of film narration?

I understand that a good piece of film narration requires a clear and loud voice as this allows the listener to easily engage with the speaker. A good piece of film narration should also have appropriate language choice for the subject matter it is narrating. This language choice should be fitting with both the genre of the movie and the target audience of the movie, for instance, a piece of narration for a children's movie would use simple language opposed to more complex dialect as the target audience, that being children need to both understand and engage with the speaker.

Is narration something that you are contemplating for your own coursework?

Currently, we are planning our coursework, however the topic of narration has not occurred. although, having researched about how it can improve films, we may consider it. I believe more thought and discussions should take place before making an important decisions. 

Coursework Research - Dialogue continued

Dialogue:

Cinematic dialogue is oral speech between fictional characters. This distinguishes dialogue from other types of cinematic language such as voice-over narration, internal monologue, or documentary interviews, which have different characteristics. Writing realistic and effective dialogue is a laborious task. Most screenwriters need years of failed attempts and poorly written scripts to finally master the ideal chemistry that dialogues require to entice the audience and push the story forward.

I wanted to focus on dialogue and no dialogue scenes specifically in drama films because this is what we are thinking of doing for our coursework. 

Examples of dialogue scenes in drama films:

1. Dead Poets Society (1989) -

Dead Poets society is one of the seminal classics that is founded on great characters and fantastic dialogue, where more than a few inspirational quotes from Robin Williams are found everywhere. The dialogue, written by Tom Schulman, is clever, quick and classic, with the audience left inspired and moved as Williams' character teaches the students (and us) to learn to break out of their shells, pursue their dreams and seize the day.

2. The Social Network (2010) -

As it follows Harvard undergrad and computer genius Mark Zuckerberg, the dialogue could be no less clever. In fact, Aaron Sorkin won the movie an Academy Award for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, clearly proving why his writing is clearly at the top of the game. The dialogue is so dense and packed tight in everything he does that his scripts are 3 and 4 times longer than most. It's his belief that we don’t need to speak down to the audience that I like so very much.

3. Good Will Hunting (1997) -

Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life. This clip shows some of the brilliantly clever dialogue that is conversed between Will and his peers, tutor and psychologist, throughout the movie. I think this develops the character, shows how clever he comes across on screen and without this, the character wouldn't be the same. 

What are the positive effects of dialogue in the examples?

There is really nothing compared to a well written and intriguing screenplay. Whether it be witty and fast-paced dialogue or intense and foreboding, the writing of a movie can really drive the character development and action. There are many positive effects of using conversation like to create a certain atmosphere or to portray thoughts. For example, it can be to express the feelings of the character, that would have been previously unknown. Dialogue can also have a positive effect on the viewer because a conversation or a speech can be creatively enhancing to the film and make the audience think. In the examples, dialogue helps us understand the characters more, in 'The Social Network' (in the clip above), the dialogue comes across as arrogant and therefore we can sense what kind of character he is. Or, the dialogue is used in sometimes a somewhat confusing yet clever and quick way to get the audience thinking. For instance, in one of 'Good Will Hunting's speech (again, in the clip above), I'm sure people can appreciate the lengthy monologue and the creative writing that, together with the performance, produces a brilliant scene.

What are the negatives effects in the examples?

However, there are some parts of dialogue that aren't particularly helpful or important as some instances in a film can impact the audience in a negative way. This can include occasions where the dialogue can become a little too clever, and complex and confusing conversations, that may seem clever but actually, nobody understands. A negative effect of dialogue in a film is that sometimes filmmakers, especially new up-and-coming ones, fall into a trap where they erroneously believe that dialogue alone is enough to provide enough excitement. However, this is not the case, as other mise-en-scene conditions are just as important. Therefore, dialogue doesn't have to be included just because it's there, but alternatively, it could make the film worse. Is often said amongst screenwriting that if the dialogue doesn't move the movie forward in any way, it should be taken out. Check out the confinement of the jury room of 12 Angry Men, where the actions, gestures, expressions, and objects are used to fill the void that dialogue couldn't.

What are the positive effects of no dialogue?

Using no dialogue in a film sometimes can create a film that just as exciting as a film with dialogue. It, therefore, means that the actions, gestures, expressions, and objects can play a much bigger part, as the audience are more likely to focus on these other mise-en-scene conditions more. I think that in the world of cinema, dialogue can sometimes be a hindrance and films may get bogged down in the foolish words spoken to each other, and meaning may be lost. No dialogue films can also remind us of films around the 1890s to 1920s, and all of them were completely silent, In silent films for entertainment, the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures,mime and title cards which contain a written indication of the plot or key dialogue.

What are the negatives?

It is easy for no dialogue films to go wrong, and that's understandable, seeing too much over-expressive facial acting, too many contrived silent set-ups that obscure character development and motivation, as well as an over-emphatic soundtrack to fill in the gaps, can ruin a good plot. I think its a very fine line between reminding the audience of how minimalist a good film can become when dialogue isn't used, and when dialogue is needed to make the film so much better. Another negative of using no dialogue is simply to make certain the audience understand the film, not relying all the time on facial expressions to guess conversations. 

What issues do I think I would face in my own coursework by using dialogue?

When using dialogue in my own coursework, there could possibly be some issues. For instance, none of our group has ever written any screenplay or have experience with writing scripts and dialogue. This means it could take some time in figuring out how to plan, and then write the conversations, any other monologues or dialogue we want in our film. Becuase we've never done this before, it could be risky to include dialogue as it could come across as 'cheesy', 'ill-done' or too much. 

What issues do I think I would face in my own coursework by not using dialogue?

However, I think not using dialogue could cause just as many problems. For example, the audience could see that its an easy option out of using dialogue if we don't use it and we haven't at least tried. Perhaps not using dialogue could seem as if something is missing in the film. But, if all of the other mise-en-scene conditions went really well then we could pull having no dialogue off. I think it could be really effective depending on the plot to not use any dialogue, but it could be easier for us to use dialogue as it can explain more to the audience than expressions, and gestures can.

Coursework Research - Narrative

What is narrative?

A narrative or story is any report of connected events, real or imaginary, presented in a sequence of written or spoken words, and moving images. It can be organised in a number of thematic or formal categories. Narrative is found in all forms of human creativity, art, and entertainment.

What are the conventions of narratives in each of the following genres:

Comedy- The setting of a comedy film really depends on the type of comedy, the generic places of most comedy films include, bright places, towns, cities and other well populated places. In teen comedy films they are set in high schools and small towns and in a social comedy with a lot of people it is normally set in a house or bar. The technical code for them is that the camera is very natural and goes along with the characters and do include high shots to capture the whole environment. Medium shots to catch all of the characters expressions and then including the editing sounds to add humour. Iconography in comedy films include bright colours, blue and yellow are often used, the lighting is often bright and shot during day time. The character types vary in comedy films there are the idiots that are very stupid and accident prone, the smart people who tend to be socially awkward and then the regular people who have accidents which occur around them, and they tend to be sarcastic. Lastly the themes tend to be one of the following, anarchic comedy, gross-out, parody, romantic comedy, screwball comedy and slapstick.

Horror- The settings tend to be small communities or isolated places, urban environments, dark streets and narrow alleyways. Large cities or run down ghost towns, almost anything that connotes isolation or being alone. The technical codes tend to include camerawork that is very expressive and not natural. High and low angles can connote fear and nightmares. Point of view shots (POV) are important because they allow the audience to see the world from the person/creature, this normally happens at the end or in the middle of a typical horror film. Handheld shots make it difficult for the audience to make out what is happening. Disturbing sounds are very important in a horror movie, diegetic sounds like footsteps and non-diegetic sounds like a heartbeat are commonly used. The editing can create unsettling tension and suspense. If the editing hasn't been paced up in a while then you know that something very bad is about to jump out and scare you. The Iconography often includes dark colours like red and black which links to evil. The lighting is expressive and non-naturalistic. Low-key lighting can help to create dark shadows and unfamiliar shapes in the blackness. Props can help us to further identify the genre of horror, specific props can be identified with a villain or character, common objects include, weapons, masks, icons of supernatural, religious icons etc. The character types in a horror closely identify as a main protagonist often a victim or hero of the movie, a villain often a monster, mutated freak, alien or serial killer, the stupid/immoral teenagers that always get killed, creepy children, police officers that can be good or bad and many more including ghosts, zombies, demons, psychopaths and stalkers. Themes of horror films include good vs evil, depression, religion, childhood issues, revenge, supernatural, beyond death, zombie apocalypse and nightmares.

Action- The characters in action films tend to be believable despite the film itself being unrealistic. The main protagonist who tends to be a 'normal' guy who discovers a hidden power or talent. The hero is always helped by a team of innocent characters who get caught up with the action. Mortal danger arises as a twist in the plot and the characters take it seriously. Exotic locations, mind boggling chases and hair raising adventures keep the audience on their seats. Technically action films use a lot of special effects so to create a bigger impact on the audience watching. Lighting is used to show danger; being very dark and mysterious and happiness; being very bright and light. The camera shots used show the characters from different angles, this can be used to create equilibrium and being very loud and sudden. These features show how the technical effects can affect the mood of the audience whilst watching the action film. Action films conventionally use a range of things for iconography. They usually feature fast cars, guns, good looking women, the police and some kind of fight, as well as other things. The narrative in action films usually follow the life of a person, or group of people, who are living a normal life until something changes everything and they then go on some form of  a mission to help solve the problem, usually they manage to solve the problem, while picking up a girl and being involved in a few car chases in the meantime. The themes that usually feature in action films usually involve an injustice that needs to be resolved. A moral justice is normally reached by the end of films from the action genre.

Drama- Characters are crucial to a drama as they help to create the tension and atmosphere of the film de to the circumstances they are facing. As well as the characters above, another typical character seen in drama films is the friend that the main character confides in. There are many sub-genres of drama, as the genre itself is a very very broad genre, with a wide spectrum of different films with different ideas and approaches of cinematography, but are essentially still classes as drama. The themes of which these films are based upon are just about anything as long as it is realistic which generally includes nothing supernatural. Some of the more popular themes to depict are injustice, drug addiction, poverty, mental illness, the corruption of power and racial prejudice. They usually link to something topical, such as politics or poverty. All drama films are very tense, often the soundtrack/music playing an important part in the overall feel of the films with mysterious intense scores to provoke emotions in the spectator.

Romance- In the romance genre there are few typical props you can expect to see throughout the film, for example you can expect to see some sort of flowers and gifts that will be given to one of the main characters usually by the love interest. The giving of gifts is commonly associated with the genre as it is the reflection of romance and commonly is represented as a relationship with giving and usually ending up with the pair being married after the pair have some sort of disruption or disequilibrium. There will normally always be two main characters. A male and a female, the male is virtually always the love interest and the selling point of the film, with such massive names playing the character. Most of the time there will be a character that is there to disrupt the love interest and come in-between the two characters. A typical setting for a romance film is big cities, this is because a big city has everything that the film could possibly want, therefore they use the big cities as the majority of people can associate with the big cities and gain understanding of the film and begin to make a link with their own life.

Narrative theories

Propp- Propp was essentially interested in folk tales, he noticed that often many folk tales were similar in a variety of areas, he identified a theory about characters and actions as narrative functions. The typical characters he found were, the hero, the villain, the donor, the dispatcher, the false hero, the helper, the princess and her father. In the struggle scene Propp suggested that there is a struggle between the hero and the villain, and that the hero is branded and the villain is overcome which leads to the state of disorder being settled. And nearing the end of the film normally at the recognition scene the hero is recognised or the false hero or villain is unmasked from the film genres that would include this type of character.

Todorov- He came up with the theory that narratives have a clear three-part structure. The first of which being equilibrium, where everything is calm and in order, which could be seen as normal. The second of which being disruption, where all the bad things start to occur. Finally, restoration where the equilibrium is now restored and back in order.

Barthes- Roland Barthes narrowed down the action of a text in to Five Codes which are woven into narrative, these are, The Hermeneutic Code (HER), The Enigma / Proairetic Code (ACT), The Symbolic Code (SYM) and the Cultural Code (REF)

Levi-Strauss- He studied myths of tribal cultures, and examined how stories unconsciously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of a culture. These are usually expressed in the form of binary oppositions. Media theorists to reveal underlying themes and symbolic oppositions in media texts have adapted his research.

Coursework Research - Sound

What are the conventions of music in film openings in the following genres?

Comedy - This genre of film tends to use a technique called "Mickey-Mousing", this is the process of an action happening on the film and then a noise relating to it, for example someone slipping on a banana skin, and then being followed by a crash of cymbals, it can also use unexpected turns and twists in the melody and rapid changes of musical style.

Horror - The music in a horror film is designed to scare us, making the experience of watching the film more intense as it's now including all of the senses that a human has, therefore heightening suspense and terror. Horror films tend to use Atonal music, atonal music is not related to a tonic note and therefore has no sense of key. It's not just music that is used in horror films, it tends to be the sound effects that are more effective and are in fact the things that scare people. Horror films include a lot of abrupt shifts up and down in pitch, this is used to intensify the scene of the film, and add another layer of fear onto the audience. It's also the screams that feature most widely in horror films, the screams tend to be from a female character, this could be used as the majority of females watching a horror film will find it scary, therefore the film is relating to the person watching once again and they can connect with it. Oddly another piece of music that can be used is childhood nursery rhymes which have been slowed down and dropped in pitch, and being sung in a disturbing way, this tends to freak out the majority of an audience, as they associate that sort of music with young innocent children, and not mentally disturbed people.

Action - In action films the music that tends to be used is of a fast pace and energetic. This sort of music is used as it reinforces the idea that the action film is of a fast pace with things changing at any second. The music can also sometimes have unexpected drops in bass or rhythm, this can be used dynamically by film producers as they can co-operate this sort of music with certain scenes in the film, where the action may take a turn and become faster or slower, or maybe even feature an unexpected turn. Sound effects are also used in action films, these effects tend to be of a violent nature, therefore being gun shots, swords making contact and other noises which may include explosions.

Drama - In drama films the music tends to be intense as it needs to create more suspense so that the audience are more on edge. Drama films tend to draw more attention to the sound as they feel it is more important in this genre. The sounds that are associated with drama films tend to be of a loud and intense nature.

Romance - In romance films the music that tends to be used is slightly slower, with a slower beat and the words that tends to be used within the songs is of a romantic nature. This sort of music is used as it is closely related to the genre of film, this music also helps to set the tone and the direction of which the film is going in which allows the audience to relate closer to the film and therefore empathise with it more, the music tends to make the portion of the audience who are female cry as they've used the music wisely with the screenplay, which would overwhelm them. 

Coursework Research - Dialogue

What is dialogue?
Dialogue is a conversation between two or more people as a feature of a play, book or film.

Is dialogue necessary in the opening two minutes of a feature film?
I don't think that dialogue is completely necessary in the opening two minutes of a feature film, a lot of film trailers and the opening of films feature no sound at all, meaning obviously that there would be no dialogue at all. If you include dialogue you normally tend to give away more of the plot compared to if you weren't going to use it, this therefore keeps the plot of the film unknown and then makes the audience more intrigued and curious about the rest of the film. Dialogue which is used in the opening of films has to be used wisely and effectively as it sets the tone for the rest of the film, so it's best to only include dialogue in the opening of a film if it can be used in the way you wish it to be used.

Find one example for each of the following genres where dialogue is NOT used and one example for each where it IS used in the opening two minutes.

Comedy -

Where dialogue is used: Borat - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BfeANSBff8
Where dialogue is not used: Hot Fuzz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RAkY4R691E
  Horror -

Where dialogue is used: The Conjuring - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKDDyaViwj8&t=21s
Where dialogue is not used: The Babadook - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLrmAWdXkns

Action -

Where dialogue is used: The Dark Knight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxV7r0-RAKc
Where dialogue is not used: Casino Royale - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1AMUmkj-ck

Drama -

Where dialogue is used: Boyhood - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P9fmUMBcZg
Where dialogue is not used: Schindler's List - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24fwJMLsyNs

Romance -

Where dialogue is used: Silver Linings the Playbook - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZabC1qRtAmE
Where dialogue is not used: Dear John -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxqAp52dkUs