Menu
LECTURE & TECHNICAL NOTES
The image below catalogues the most common shot sizes that narrative films use to tell a story visually. Picking what size any given shot in a scene is filmed at has a very strong impact on the emotional quality of the shot, for instance a long shot can be used to convey a feeling of isolation and loneliness, or a feeling of the subject being trapped by their surroundings. On the other end of the spectrum, a close up implies a strong emotional connection with the subject due to the intimacy of this shot size with the audience.
The above graph outlines the order of events that make up the traditional three-act narrative structure that most feature films use to structure a story in film. Even films that do not follow a linear narrative structure, such as Memento that employs an inverted narrative structure, generally have all the individual events, just not necessarily in the same order as outlined in the graph. The above graph details the traditional arc that the archetypal Hero character undergoes in most stories told. This is not just true for characters in film but also in most classical forms of storytelling and even in the details of the life changing events most people experience over the course of their lives. The real art form behind structuring a screenplay and a character’s narrative arc is in integrating the events contained in both graphs above in such a way that they do not stick out and become too obvious within the context of the story being told. |
AuthorMy name is Clay Sandford and I am currently studying an FDA in Film and Media Production at University Centre Weston. I have a keen interest in directing, cinematography and camera operating.
Categories |