In our lesson today, we collaborated in small groups to come up with ideas for various short film narratives. We wrote out our ideas on a table and linked them all back to the original narratives. These narratives include:
- A narrative which has a twist
- A narrative which begins with an enigma
- A narrative which establishes a single character
- A narrative which portrays a conflict between two central characters
I have taken into account all of these ideas and used them to influence how I will make my NEA short film.
A narrative which has a twist:
Personally, my favourite narrative structure is one that involves a twist, something that can flip the entire story on its head, all within the space of a few shots, something that can leave the audience thinking “I wasn’t expecting that”. A great film is one that can leave the audience thinking about the film hours after they’ve seen it. Narrative twists can arise from all sorts of storylines, so I’ve tried to come up with something unique in which you wouldn’t expect a twist.
The two treasure hunters:
Two fellow treasure hunters, Freddie and Reggie, are best friends with similar personalities. Freddie was a young man living on his own, as he was separated from his family at a very young age. Reggie, who was Freddie’s adventuring partner, was an only child from a loving family. Reggie’s family treated Freddie as one of their own, as they’d lost their second child during childbirth. The friends hear of an exciting proposition, which sent them on the hunt for the famous chest of Desire, a chest which when opened, would hold their deepest desire. After a long search through many dangerous and ancient temples, the partners find the chest and await their fantasy held inside. Will it be full of gold and riches, or powers beyond belief? It was neither. Instead, they open the chest together to see a mirror, showing their own reflection. The men stare at the mirror, deciphering this new mystery. Finally they realise, their true desires. Freddie wanted his family back, and Reggie wanted his long lost sibling. They looked at each other and realised, what they wanted was right in front of them the whole time.
A narrative which begins with an enigma:
A mysterious beginning to a film is the best way to instantly captivate your audience’s attention. By giving the something to think about and concentrate on, encouraging active spectatorship, the audience are immediately pushed to pay close attention to the film. An enigma needs to be complicated enough for the audience to appreciate it’s mystery, but not too difficult or it might deter them from bothering to try to understand it. Taking this into account, this is my idea:
Memory Loss:
The film opens immediately to a character waking up in a strange place, obviously confused. We learn that the character has woken up with no memory of what has happened over the last week, only remembering going on holiday with some friends. She is left alone, with no recollection of where her friends are, or where she is. By asking strangers in the town that she wakes up in, she learns that they found themselves in the same situation, going on holiday, then finding themselves separated from their friends, waking up in this new strange place. She learns that they were all kidnapped by a higher order, taken to this strange place in a bid trying to create a fake utopia for them to live in. The film would begin with many hidden secrets, but as the film goes on, the character learns more and more, until eventually uncovering a dark truth.
A narrative which establishes a single character:
I found this narrative to be the most difficult. Establishing a single character would mean having the character as one of the only, or even the only, central character. I find that finding an original idea for establishing a lone character isn’t easy, but in the end, this is what I’ve done:
Lost family:
A boy wakes up at home and realises his family is missing. We follow him as he walks through his house and looks to uncover where they have gone. As he wanders through the house, we are shown hints to the missing family’s whereabouts, and are encouraged to connect with the lonely character. We discover that the situation is much more sinister than first perceived; the family has been kidnapped, and the boy is next.
A narrative which portrays a conflict between two central characters:
The most common types of narrative usually include some sort of conflict, whether it’s between two central characters, a range of characters, or two higher powers. Most narratives that portray conflict use binary opposition to establish each character. For example, it could be good vs evil, man vs woman, or human vs animal. I find that creating a conflict narrative is the easiest, as it usually involves finding two opposites, something for them to be arguing over and a resolution for the conflict. With this in mind, this is what I have done:
Professor’s quarrel:
Two professors at a university are having a quarrel. They both believe their respective areas of expertise are better than the others. In the spirit of competition, they organise a series of activities to discover which is better. The competition starts of civil, but becomes more intense, as the competition stops being who has the better subject, but who is the better person overall. By the end of it all, they realise that there was no need for the competition. Each subject has there strengths and weaknesses, and they come to an agreement, and a friendship.
Film Studies - Sam Barrett 
Leave a comment