Narratives in Short Films

Short films depend on having the write narrative to ensure the film is a success. As they are short they can sometimes have a confusing narrative in forms of montages. This makes sure a lot of footage is added in a short period of time. Montages show a porgression of time or something.

Tsvetan Todorov believes that every film is structured in a very specific way:

• Equilibrium - where everything is equal

• Disruption - something happens to disrupt the equality

• Resolution - the disruption gets fixed

• New equilibrium - goes back to normal.

Many films like 'Frozen Fever', 'Toy Story:That Time Forgot' and 'The Snowman' follow Todorovs narrative structure whereas some do not. 'Final Destination' does not follow Todorovs narrative structure because it ends on a massive disruption which is done to make the audience want to watch the sequel.

Vladimir Propp thinks that every film contains different character types which include:

• Hero (Protagonist)

• Villain (Antagonist)

• Princess/Prize

• Dispatcher

• Helper

• Doner

• False Hero

Hero - Woody

Villan - Reptillus Maximus

Princess - Jessie

Dispatcher - Bonnie

Helper - Buzz, Trixie, Rex and Mr. Potato Head

Roland Barthe believes that directors plant enigma codes in films to engage the audience. An enigma code is an unanswered or unexplained part in the film ,normally at the start of a film, which means the audience will have to watch the whole film to get it answered. For example, in a thriller film, the enigma codes might be ''why does the main character want that key?'' or ''who killed Katie?''.