Narrative Theorists

'A narrative is a chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time’- Bordwell and Thompson 1980

-It is important for the opening scenes of the film to grab the audience in order to keep their full attention for the rest of the film, in order to invest in characters and follow any sub-plots etc. It should also set a specific mood appropriate for the genre, for example films of the horror genre will contain many shots that build tension from the very start. The fact that we have created a trailer means that the narrative is restricted to an extent, as the full plot cannot be explained, only general hints to the narrative can be given. We therefore have a minute to capture our audience and give them a feel of what our film would be like in the hope of engaging them. Our trailer uses subjective character identification, giving unique access to what a range of characters see and do. The use of a group of teenagers within our trailer provides the audience with just this. As our trailer is a slasher, part of the horror genre, it features a restricted narration in which only minimal information regarding the narrative is given. 

Different character types-
'Villain'- Creates narrative disruption
'Princess'- The victim
'Hero'- Restores narrative equilibrium
'Donor'- Gives the hero something to help in the resolution of the narrative
'Helper'- Aids the hero in restoring equilibrium
'Dispatcher'- Sends hero on task
'False Hero'- Appears to be good but is revealed at the end of the narrative to be bad 
Vladimir Propp

-Our trailer conforms to this theory in terms of the inclusion of a villain that creates narrative disruption in the form of our masked killer. The low key lighting in one shot in which the only light source is a lighter, helps to keep most of the mask hidden and gives the killer a mysterious and distorted feel that is more distressing for the audience. However, this theory is also subverted in terms of the hero. Although our ‘victim hero’ (centre of the villains attentions) still tries to restore narrative equilibrium by trying to defeat the killer, but instead of being stereotypically male is is a female character. Our hero begins as the princess- a victim of the villain, before using her strength to become the hero and overcoming the killer in order to save herself. The fast-paced, straight cut mid-shot and extreme close-ups  of the hero struggling with the villain in her attempt to stop him supports this. 

'Five stage narrative structure' (This includes the state of equilibrium which is disrupted before being reinstated at the end) - Todorov


-A long shot of a party scene showing the teenagers socialising and having fun, accompanied by upbeat music as well as chatting and laughter. This creates a positive mood for the audience. The non-diegetic music stops when a knock on the door is heard, followed by a sinister boom. From here the trailer (sound, typography etc) begins to make the audience feel uneasy and tension builds, as is typical of the slasher genre. The state of equilibrium is disrupted by the arrival and actions of the killer, for example the mid-shot of the window in which one of the teenage characters is looking out as the diegetic sound builds, before unbeknown to him the killer appears behind, un-nerving the audience. The final shot is a low angled, close up of the killer slowly turning his head. We decided to do this in order to leave the conclusion (whether the equilibrium is reinstated) as a mystery to the audience, which the key component of a trailer. 

'Modular narratives articulate a sense of time as divisible and subject to manipulation'- Alan Cameron 

-We use this episodic structure within our trailer, separating the killing of each teenage victim to create their own ‘episode’. There is a low angled (floor level) long shot of one victim being dragged past the doorway behind the wall, whilst another is attacked in the hallway and tries to fight off the killer in a series of close-up and mid-shots. The repeating sound added in post-production helps to enforce the idea of a sequence.

'Narratives are like tangled balls of threads which need unravelling’- Barthes' codes 

-Our trailer is an example of an open narrative, in which different interpretations can be made, for example whether the final girl is a true hero who wants to completely destroy the killer or just wants to save herself. The trailer also conforms to the Enigma/Proainetic Code in which tension is built up throughout, leaving the audience guessing what might happen next. An example of this can be the close up of the killer in very low key lighting so not all of the mask is visible, waiting under the stairs as one of the teenagers walks down into the basement; leaving the audience to form their own ideas of what happened to that character.