PROPP'S SEVEN CHARACTER ARCHETYPES
1. The Hero - (Evie) Is the protagonist and goes on a mission to save the dog - succeeds.
2. The Villain - (Richard) struggles against the hero
In here our villain (or antagonist) struggles to get the dog back from the heroine. He succeeds at first, but ultimately fails when the hero and the helper come to save the dog.
3. The Prize - (Alfie, the dog) The hero deserves it throughout the story.
4. The False Hero - (Evie's 'sister') She tries to take all the credit for saving the dog and says the dog is hers.
5. The Dispatcher - (Fred)
6. The Donor - (Fred) Gives the map (magical object) to the hero.
7. The Helper - (Fred) He helps the hero find/save the dog.
In terms of stereotypes the prize is usually a helpless princess. Also a young girl facing up to a sinister adult man (villain) is a common convention of the horror genre.
TODOROV’S FIVE-PART NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
1 . A state of equilibrium at the outset
- The young female protagonist is coming home from school, which is the normal routine for her
2 . A disruption of the equilibrium by some action
- The stray dog suddenly appears at the outset, and this happy state is disrupted by the villain stealing the dog
3. A recognition that there has been a disruption
- The girl soon realizes and the dog has gone missing, and deduces from the writing on the map that someone must have taken it.
4. An attempt to repair the disruption
- Dispatched by the father/donor, the heroine goes with her father to save the dog from an unknown thief
5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium
- After having saved the dog, and a clash with the step-sister, the heroine has regained her dog and the text ends with a happy family dinner (for most of the family), restoring the order of things.
BARTHES’ NARRATIVE ENIGMA THEORY
We included Barthes' narrative enigma in the opening of the short film. So, when we see the main protagonist, Evie, walking home from school, she hasn't provided any dialogue to provide exposition for the audience, so the audience is wondering who this girl is, what she is doing and where she's from etc... The clothes she is wearing do give some exposition to the audience about the age of her and the gender she is.
After this exercise, Richard and I learned:
1. How to include different narrative theories in a short film. (Propp's 7 recurring character archetypes, Todorov's 5-part narrative theory, Barthes' narrative Enigma).
2. How to think under pressure, as producers would who have to make TV programs 3 times week e.g. Eastenders.
3. Enforcing continuity editing, 180 degree rule, match on action shots, shot reverse shots and just achieving general verisimilitude throughout the short film.
4. More editing skills such as adding transitions (ellipsis), using special effects, using coloured filters. We did make some other cuts that had special effects on, just to experiment with what other effects would look like.
6. The Donor - (Fred) Gives the map (magical object) to the hero.
7. The Helper - (Fred) He helps the hero find/save the dog.
In terms of stereotypes the prize is usually a helpless princess. Also a young girl facing up to a sinister adult man (villain) is a common convention of the horror genre.
TODOROV’S FIVE-PART NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
1 . A state of equilibrium at the outset
- The young female protagonist is coming home from school, which is the normal routine for her
2 . A disruption of the equilibrium by some action
- The stray dog suddenly appears at the outset, and this happy state is disrupted by the villain stealing the dog
3. A recognition that there has been a disruption
- The girl soon realizes and the dog has gone missing, and deduces from the writing on the map that someone must have taken it.
4. An attempt to repair the disruption
- Dispatched by the father/donor, the heroine goes with her father to save the dog from an unknown thief
5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium
- After having saved the dog, and a clash with the step-sister, the heroine has regained her dog and the text ends with a happy family dinner (for most of the family), restoring the order of things.
BARTHES’ NARRATIVE ENIGMA THEORY
We included Barthes' narrative enigma in the opening of the short film. So, when we see the main protagonist, Evie, walking home from school, she hasn't provided any dialogue to provide exposition for the audience, so the audience is wondering who this girl is, what she is doing and where she's from etc... The clothes she is wearing do give some exposition to the audience about the age of her and the gender she is.
After this exercise, Richard and I learned:
1. How to include different narrative theories in a short film. (Propp's 7 recurring character archetypes, Todorov's 5-part narrative theory, Barthes' narrative Enigma).
2. How to think under pressure, as producers would who have to make TV programs 3 times week e.g. Eastenders.
3. Enforcing continuity editing, 180 degree rule, match on action shots, shot reverse shots and just achieving general verisimilitude throughout the short film.
4. More editing skills such as adding transitions (ellipsis), using special effects, using coloured filters. We did make some other cuts that had special effects on, just to experiment with what other effects would look like.
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