narrative structure

Narrative Structure Chart

Does my film fit the conventions of a typical narrative structure??

Exposition: (opening)

The film opens with a mysterious man in black walking up a dark, lamp lit street. You cannot see his face.
The man then enters the private investigators office with is also badly lit and shadows remain around the man. This scene is setting up the mood of the film and the meeting between the two main protagonists.

Development: (what the film is about)

The men begin to talk across the desk in the office. Slowly tension is built up as the man talks about his wife having an affair. This explains the man’s reasons for being there and gives an idea of what is happening in the film.

Complication (a turning point in the plot)

The man tells the private investigator that he wants his wife or the man she is having an affair with dead. At this point through the private investigators nervous action it is hinted that the P.I is in fact the man who is having the affair. This leads the audience to wonder what will happen next, is the man going to kill the P.I or does he really know about the affair?

Climax: (the dramatic point near the end of the film)

The man passes the P.I a briefcase which we see contains money, a gun and a passport. It is now made clear what the P.I is being asked to do – make a choice and probably kill his lover, the man’s wife. The man leaves the building and while the P.I is looking in the briefcase the wife comes down and asks what her husband wanted. The P.I closes the briefcase and replies ‘nothing’ they kiss.

Resolution: (how the film is left)

The film is left on somewhat of a cliff hanger as although it is made fairly clear through the P.I’s reaction to the husband that he will choose to kill the wife, nothing is resolved in this way, therefore leaving it open to speculation.

SCENES:

my film will be split up into 4 different scenes in order to distinguish settings and the characters needed. i hope this will help establish a clearer narrative and make filming easier and more organised.

Scene list:

1. the man is walking up the dark street and enters the house

2. the man talks with the private investigator in his office

3. the woman comes down the stairs (from the PI's house) and talks with the PI

4.the man is walking down the street away from the house

Film Treatment

The film opens on a dark street, we watch a man from above as he walks along the street in a dark trench coat, he is wearing a hat and smoking a cigarette, he turns under the streetlight and enters a house.

We follow him into the private investigator’s office. The P.I appears shocked to see him. The man introduces himself and takes a seat, lighting a cigarette, although we can only see him from behind. He tells the P.I that his wife is having an affair. They then talk for a while, the P.I becoming seemingly increasingly more uneasy, before the man pushes a large black briefcase towards the P.I. He informs him that he wants either his wife or her lover killed by the P.I.

The man then leaves whilst the P.I is staring at the briefcase which we see contains a gun, a passport and the picture of the wife. We hear footsteps coming down the stairs into the P.I’s office. A woman walks in, its the same woman in the photo; the man’s wife. She asks the P.I what her husband wanted, knowing he may have discovered her. The P.I responds by snapping closed the briefcase and replying, ‘nothing’. She walks over and kisses him, while his hand rests firmly on the case.

The film finishes with a shot of the husband walking down the same street away from the office, lighting up a cigarette and smiling devilishly to himself.

The end