Narrative story

A narrative is a story that is created in a constructive format (as a work of speech, writing, song, film, television, video games, photography or theatre) that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events. The word "story" may be used as a synonym of "narrative", but can also be used to refer to the sequence of events described in a narrative. Along with exposition, argumentation and description, narration, is one of four rhetorical modes of discourse, it is the fiction-writing mode whereby the narrator communicates directly to the reader. Stories are an important aspect of culture. Many works of art and literature tell stories; indeed, most of the humanities involve stories. Stories are of ancient origin, existing in ancient Egyptian, ancient Greek, Chinese and Indian culture. Stories are also a ubiquitous component of human communication, used as parables and examples to illustrate points. Storytelling was probably one of the earliest forms of entertainment. Narrative films
Fictional film or narrative film is film that tells a fictional story or narrative. Narrative cinema is usually contrasted to films that present information, such as a nature documentary, as well as to some experimental films. In some instances documentary films, while nonfiction, may nonetheless recount a story. Unlike literary fiction, which is typically based on characters, situations and events that are entirely imaginary, cinema always has a real referent, called the "profilmic," which encompasses everything existing and done in front of the camera. Since the emergence of classical Hollywood style in the early 20th century, narrative, usually in the form of the feature film, has held dominance in commercial cinema and has become popularly synonymous with "the movies." Classical, invisible filmmaking (what is often called realist fiction) is central to this popular definition. This key element of this invisible filmmaking lies in continuity editing. In this style, narrative and characters are fore grounded, helping the audience to lose themselves in the unfolding fiction. Non narrative forms Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. which is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. The term describes a range of filmmaking styles that are generally quite different from, and often opposed to, the practices of mainstream commercial and documentary filmmaking. Avant-garde is also used, for the films shot in the twenties in the field of historys avant-gardes currents in France or Germany. Today the term "experimental cinema" prevails, because its possible to make experimental films without the presence of any avantgarde movement in the cultural field. Like in the present time. Experimental film is often characterized by the absence of linear narrative, the use of various abstracting techniques -- out-of-focus, painting or scratching on film, rapid editing -- the use of asynchronous (non-diegetic) sound or even the absence of any sound track. The goal is often to place the viewer in a more active and more thoughtful relationship to the film. At least through the 1960s, and to some extent

after, many experimental films took an oppositional stance toward mainstream culture. Most such films are made on very low budgets, self-financed or financed through small grants, with a minimal crew or, often a crew of only one person, the filmmaker. Some critics have argued that much experimental film is no longer in fact "experimental" but has in fact become a mainstream film genre. Many of its more typical features --such as a non-narrative, impressionistic, or poetic approaches to the film's construction -- define what is generally understood to be "experimental". Film genre In film theory, genre refers to the method based on similarities in the narrative elements from which films are constructed. Most theories of film genre are borrowed from literary genre criticism. As with genre in a literary context, there is a great deal of debate over how to define or categorize genres. Besides the basic distinction in genre between fiction and documentary, film genres can be categorized in several ways. Fictional films are usually categorized according to their setting, theme topic, mood, or format. The setting is the environment where the story and action takes place. The theme or topic refers to the issues or concepts that the film revolves around. The mood is the emotional tone of the film. Format refers to the way the film was shot (e.g., anamorphic widescreen) or the manner of presentation (e.g.: 35 mm, 16 mm or 8 mm). An additional way of categorizing film genres is by the target audience. Some film theorists argue that neither format nor target audience are film genres. Film genres often branch out into subgenres, as in the case of the courtroom and trial-focused subgenre of drama known as the legal drama. They can be combined to form hybrid genres, such as the melding of horror and comedy in the Evil Dead films. John Hancock argues that Hollywood films are not pure genres, because most Hollywood movies blend the love-oriented plot of the romance genre with other genres. Staiger classifies Andrew Tutor's ideas that the genre of film can be defined in four ways. The "idealist method" judges films by predetermined standards. The "empirical method" identifies the genre of a film by comparing it to a list of films already deemed to fall within a certain genre. The Apriori method uses common generic elements which are identified in advance. The "social conventions" method of identifying the genre of a film is based on the accepted cultural consensus within society. Jim Colins claims that since the 1980s, Hollywood films have been influenced by the trend towards "ironic hybridization", in which directors combine elements from different genres as with the Western/Science fiction mix in Back to the Future Part III. Genre is always a vague term with no fixed boundaries. Many words also cross into multiple genres. Recently, film theorist Robert Stam challenged whether genres really exist, or whether they are merely made up by critics. Stam has questioned whether "genres [are] really 'out there' in the world or are they really the construction of analysts?". As well, he has asked whether there is a "... finite taxonomy of genres or are they in principle infinite?" and whether genres are "...timeless essences ephemeral, time-bound entities? Are genres culture-bound or

trans-cultural?" Stam has also asked whether genre analysis should aim at being descriptive or prescriptive. While some genres are based on story content (the war film), other are borrowed from literature (comedy, melodrama) or from other media (the musical). Some are performer-based (the Astaire-Rogers films) or budget-based (blockbusters), while others are based on artistic status (the art film), racial identity (Black cinema), location (the Western), or sexual orientation (Queer Cinema) Many genres have built-in audiences and corresponding publications that support them, such as magazines and websites. Films that are difficult to categorize into a genre are often less successful as such film genres are also useful in areas of, criticism and consumption, originality and surprise." Some screenwriters use genre as a means of determining what kind of plot or content to put into a screenplay. They may study films of specific genres to find examples. This is a way that some screenwriters are able to copy elements of successful movies and pass them off in a new screenplay. It is likely that such screenplays fall short in originality. As Truby says, "Writers know enough to write a genre script but they havent twisted the story beats of that genre in such a way that it gives an original face to it". Screenwriters often attempt to defy the elements found in past works, as originality and surprise are seen as elements that make for good film stories. There are other methods of dividing films into groups besides genre. For example auteur critics group films according to their directors. Some groupings may be casually described as genres although the definition is questionable. For example, while independent films are sometimes discussed as if they are a genre in-and-of themselves, independent productions can belong to any genre. Similarly, art films are referred to as a genre, even though an art film can be in a number of genres. Genre can also be distinguished from film style, which concerns the choices made about cinematography, editing, and sound. A particular style can be applied to any genre. Style may be determined by plot structure, scenic design, lighting, cinematography, acting, and other intentional artistic components of the finished film product. Others argue that this distinction is too simplistic, since some genres are primarily recognizable by their styles. Many film historians and film critics debate whether film noir is a genre or a style of film-making often emulated in the period's heyday. Indeed, film noir films from the 1940s and 1950s were made in a range of genres, such as gangster films, police procedural dramas, and thrillers. Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. It is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hard boiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression. Categorization Film genres can be categorized according to the setting of the film. Nevertheless, films with the same settings can be very different, due to the use of different themes or moods. For example, while both The Battle of Midway and All Quiet on the Western Front are set in a wartime context, the first examines the themes of honor, sacrifice, and valour, and the second is an anti-war film which emphasizes the pain and horror of war. While there is an argument that film noir movies could be deemed to be set in an urban setting, in cheap hotels and underworld bars,

many classic noirs take place mainly in small towns, suburbia, rural areas, or on the open road. The editors of filmsite.org argue that animation, children's films, and so on are nongenre-based film categories. The non-genre based categories they list include children's films, family films, cult films, documentary films, pornographic films and silent films. Linda Williams argues that horror, melodrama, and pornography all fall into the category of "body genres", since they are each designed to elicit physical reactions on the part of viewers. Horror is designed to elicit spine-chilling, white-knuckled, eye-bulging terror; melodramas are designed to make viewers cry after seeing the misfortunes of the onscreen characters; and pornography is designed to elicit sexual arousal. Mise en scene Mise-en-scne ("placing on stage") is an expression used to describe the design aspects of a theatre or film production, which essentially means "visual theme" or "telling a story" both in visually artful ways through storyboarding, cinematography and stage design, and in poetically artful ways through direction. Mise-en-scne has been called film criticism's "grand undefined term." When applied to the cinema, mise-en-scne refers to everything that appears before the camera and its arrangementcomposition, sets, props, actors, costumes, and lighting. Mise-en-scne also includes the positioning and movement of actors on the set, which is called blocking. These are all the areas overseen by the director, and thus, in French film credits, the director's title is metteur en scne, "placer on scene." Interpretation Mise-en-scne - for some, it refers to all elements of visual stylethat is, both elements on the set and aspects of the camera, for others, such as U.S. film critic Andrew Sarris, it takes on mystical meanings related to the emotional tone of a film. The term has come to represent a style of conveying the information of a scene primarily through a single shotoften accompanied by camera movement. It is to be contrasted with montage-style filmmakingmultiple angles pieced together through editing. Overall, mise-en-scne is used when the director wishes to give an impression of the characters or situation without vocally articulating it through the framework of spoken dialogue, and typically does not represent a realistic setting. The common example is that of a cluttered, disorganized apartment being used to reflect the disorganization in a character's life in general, or a sparsely decorated apartment to convey a character with an "empty soul" (e.g., Robert De Niro's house on the beach in Heat), in both cases specifically and intentionally ignoring any practicality in the setting. In German filmmaking in the 1910s and 1920s one can observe tone, meaning, and narrative information conveyed through mise-en-scne. Perhaps the most famous example of this is The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) where a character's internal state of mind is represented through set design and blocking. The similar-sounding, but unrelated term, "metteurs en scne" (figuratively, "stagers") was used by the auteur theory as a disparaging label for directors who did not put their personal vision into their films. Because of its relationship to shot blocking, mise-en-scne is also a term sometimes used among professional screenwriters to indicate

descriptive (action) paragraphs between the dialogue. Only rarely is mise-en-scne critique used in other art forms, but it has been used effectively to analyse photography. Key aspects of mise en scne Set design An important element of "putting in the scene" is set designthe setting of a scene and the objects (props) there in. Set design can be used to amplify character emotion or the dominant mood of a film, or to establish aspects of the character. Lighting The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting have a profound effect on the way an image is perceived. Light (and shade) can emphasise texture, shape, distance, mood, time of day or night, season, glamour; it affects the way colors are rendered, both in terms of hue and depth, and can focus attention on particular elements of the composition. Space The representation of space affects the reading of a film. Depth, proximity, size and proportions of the places and objects in a film can be manipulated through camera placement and lenses, lighting, set design, effectively determining mood or relationships between elements in the story world. Costume Costume simply refers to the clothes that characters wear. Using certain colors or designs, costumes in narrative cinema are used to signify characters or to make clear distinctions between characters. Acting There is enormous historical and cultural variation in performance styles in the cinema. Early melodramatic styles, clearly indebted to the 19th century theatre, gave way in Western cinema to a relatively naturalistic style.