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Planning a narrative using the five part narrative structure
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Here is a transcript of a video about Narrative Writing. Generate 25 questions. Intro to Narrative Writing What is Narrative Writing? You today, I want to introduce you to the basics of narrative writing. Narrative writing is writing that tells a story. It can be real or imagined, that is, nonfiction or fiction. It has a beginning, middle, and end. That is, it includes the basic elements of a plot exposition, rising action, conflict, climax, falling action, and resolution. And it's full of interesting details. The author's purpose in writing a narrative is to entertain the reader. There are three main types of narrative writing. The first is a personal narrative when a writer shares a true story from his or her own life. We could also say this type of narrative is autobiographical. The second type of narrative is biographical when a writer shares a true story from another person's life. The third type of narrative is fictional. When a writer tells an invented story, short stories, and novels are fictional narratives. The Process of Writing a Narrative While we could add to this list, there are five important parts of a narrative that I especially want you to remember as you write your own narrative. These parts of a narrative include setting, characters, plot, point of view, and dialogue. The first part of a narrative is the setting , where, and when the narrative takes place. The setting affects both the plot and characters in your narrative, so it's important to spend some time brainstorming where, when, and in what conditions your story takes place. The second part of a narrative is the characters , the people, animals or creatures involved in a story. Remember that your story must have a protagonist, the character facing the problem, and an antagonist the character or force causing the problem. Take some time while planning your narrative to focus on your characters beyond the characters names and roles they play in the story. Think about whether you'd like them to be flat with very few character traits or round with many character traits. Also think about which characters in your story will remain static or unchanged, and which characters will be dynamic, undergoing an important change in your narrative. The third part of a narrative is the plot , the sequence of events in a narrative. Take some time to think carefully through your story's plot. How will it begin and how will it end? What conflicts will your characters encounter? What is the climax or turning point of your story? How will the problems be solved? Creating a storyboard or labeling a plot diagram are both good tools for planning your story's plot. The fourth part of a narrative is the point of view , which is the perspective from which a narrative is told. You can choose to write your narrative in first person, writing a personal narrative from your own point of view, or you can choose a character in a fictional narrative to tell your story. Another option is to write your narrative in the third person point of view, telling the story from the perspective of an unseen narrator that is not a character in the story. Finally, the fifth part of a narrative is dialogue. The words the characters speak in your story dialogue can establish the setting, show characterization, foreshadow events, or advance the action in a narrative. Dialogue brings your narrative to life. It's important to review how to punctuate dialogue, following grammatical rules for using quotation marks, commas, and other N marks such as periods and question marks. As you begin writing your narrative, I'll help you break down each step of the process. But hopefully this introduction gives you a basic understanding of what narrative writing is, and hopefully it sparks some ideas for you to begin planning your own narrative.Filmic Techniques Based on the work of Brad Smilanich Mis-en-Scene: originally a French theatrical term arrangements of all the visual elements of the stage area in film â âthe contents of the frame and the way those contents are organizedâ include: lighting, costume, dĂ©cor, props, camera movement or distance . . . all photographic decisions etc. Proxemics: Spatial relationship among characters within the mis-en-scene Rule of Thirds: a compositional rule of thumb in painting, design, photography etc. suggests image divided into 9 equal parts with two vertical and two horizontal lines important elements of the mis-en-scene should be placed along these lines and their intersections some suggest aligning with intersections makes for more interesting pictures than just centreing the subject Proxemics Camera Distance: Quite literally, how far the camera is from the subject being filmed The Hand Camera Camera Distance: Quite literally, how far the camera is from the subject being filmed Extreme Close Up: Singles out one small portion of the body or object Used to intensify emotion, or show reaction Camera Distance: Close up Shot: Shows head of character or small significant object Used to show emotions Camera Distance: Medium Shot: shows figures from the waist up allows character to be seen within background Camera Distance: Long Shot: shows figures from feet up similar to the âstageâ in live theatre orients audience to figures within a location or surrounding Camera Distance: Extreme Long Shot: Sometimes called an âestablishing shotâ Panoramic view of an exterior location orients audience to a location Camera Distance: Camera Angle: Cameraâs angle of view relative to the subject being photographed High Angle Shot: looks down on the subject often used to make the subject look small and insignificant (in combination with camera distance) puts the camera (audience) in âpowerâ position Camera Angle: Low Angle Shot: looks up at the subject often used to make the subject look large and powerful puts the camera (audience) in a âsubmissiveâ position Camera Angle: Flat Angle Shot: camera on same plane as the subject feels most ânormalâ to an audience Camera Angle: Canted Shot: frame is unbalanced in relation to the subject may indicate a symbolic unbalance in the character Camera Angle: Camera Movement literally the camera moving with or around or to follow the subjects in the mis-en-scene or frame Camera Movement: Tilting Movement camera moves up or down on a horizontal axis similar to head nodding movement may be used to show subjects relation to surroundings Camera Movement: Panning Movement camera moves side to side on a vertical axis similar to head shaking movement may be used to establish setting Camera Movement: Dolly Movement camera mounted on a vehicle that moves along with the subject (camera moves, not pivots) follows the subject to signify something important Camera Movement: Crane Shot camera mounted on a crane or boom permits camera to move in & out, up & down, backward & forward often used for high aerial establishing shots Misc. Shots: Hand Held: camera carried to seem jerky, giving ârealistic feelâ Push In: camera moves up to a characterâs face to indicate an epiphany (realization) Spiral: camera circles subject for effect End for ELA 20-2 and 10-1 Shot Transitions/Editing: artificial editing done to string together multiple shots to create a narrative scene or sequence a cut is the change from one shot to another usually separated in to âsoftâ and âhardâ cuts Jump Cut: an instantaneous change from one shot to another this can be very natural or may disorient the audience, depending on how it is used Transitions/Editing Swish Pan: A pan where the speed of the camera is so fast that images are blurry used often to connect events in different settings that are connected by time Transitions/Editing Dissolve: transition where one shot gradually dissapears while another shot gradually appears often used to suggest change of setting or long time passage i.e. flashbacks Transitions/Editing Fade In/Out: transition where the shot gradually overexposes to white or underexposes to black often used to suggest a lengthy passage of time or change in location Transitions/Editing Wipe: transition where one shot is gradually eliminated as another shot moves onto the screen can be vertically or horizontally often suggests movement of the camera to another location Transitions/Editing Iris In/Out: transition where one shot gradually appears as an expanding circle in the middle of an old image suggests . . .??? Transitions/Editing Shot-Reverse Shot: one character is shown looking (often off-screen) at another character, and then the other character is shown looking "back" at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer unconciously assumes that they are looking at each other. Transitions/Editing Two-Shot: Face-up shot of two people. Often used in interviews, or when two presenters are hosting a show. A "One-Shot" could be a mid-shot of either of these subjects. A "Three-Shot", unsurprisingly, contains three people. Transitions/Editing Shot Transitions/Editing: Sound: used to reflect or enhance what is shown visually on the screen can include dialogue, music, sound effects, voiceover etc. Diegetic Sound: sound that has a source in the world of the story dialogue spoken by characters, sound made by objects, or music coming from a source grounded in the story of the film Non-diegetic Sound: sound that has a source outside the world of the story usually part of the score or the soundtrack Parallel Sound: sound that complements the image shown i.e. romantic music during a love scene Counterpoint Sound: sound that contradicts the âfeelingâ of the image a happy song played while images of graphic violence are portrayed Voiceover: voice of a non-visible narrator laid over the scene often provides some comment about the narrative of the film Sound Bridge: used to âsoftenâ the transition between one scene and another takes sound from the next shot and overlays it on the current shot 2-3 seconds earlier than we see the image Examples of Diegetic/Non-Diegetic: In the first clip, the non-diegetic music changes to diegetic music when the main character moves inside of the convenience store. In the second clip, the âduhn duhn duuuuhâ which often is non-diegetic becomes diegetic because it is the band in the passing bus playing that music! End for ELA 20-1 Lighting: Can be used by a director to: Control the mood of a scene guide a viewerâs eye to a specific place in mis-en-scene Emphasize and de-emphasize elements in frame Add texture and color Make people look beautiful, ugly, sinister, or angelic Standard 3-Point Lighting: uses three lights called the key light, fill light and back light forms the basis of most lighting. once you understand three point lighting you are well on the way to understanding all lighting. Key Light: main light usually the strongest and has the most influence on the look of the scene. it is placed to one side of the camera/subject so that side is well lit and other side has shadow. Fill Light: secondary light is placed on the opposite side of the key light used to fill the shadows created by key softer and less bright than key Back Light: placed behind the subject ; lights it from the rear. provides definition and subtle highlights around the subject's outlines. Separates subject from background provides a three-dimensional look. Standard 3-Point Lighting: http://www.zvork.fr/vls/ Try using this simulator to play with lighting with those 3 points.Planning a narrative scene with direct speech in 'Whale Rider'Planning a narrative opening based on 'How To Train Your Dragon'Planning a narrative climax scene in 'When The Sky Falls'Planning a section of a narrative based on 'The Borrowers' (part 2)Planning a section of a narrative based on 'The Borrowers'Planning the build-up of a narrative based on 'The Man on the Moon'