Next class we will work on the third chapter of the Film Art book, Narrative as a Formal System (pg 59 to 76). Based on the reading we will answer (in class) the following questions:
1. Which story events are directly presented to us in the plot, and which must we assume or infer? Is there any non-diegetic material given in the plot?
2. What is the earliest story event we learn? How does it relate through a series of causes and effects to later events?
3. What is the temporal relationship of story events? Has temporal order, frequency, or duration been manipulated in the plot to affect our understanding of events?
4. Does the closing reflect a clear-cut pattern of development that relates it to the beginning? Do all narrative lines achieve closure, or are some left open?
5. How does the narration present story information to us? Is it restricted to one or few characters´ knowledge, or does it range freely among the characters in different spaces? Does it give us considerable depth of story information by exploring the characters mental states?
6. How closely does the film follow the conventions of classicalHollywoodcinema? If it departs significantly form those conventions, what formal principle does it use instead?
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