Research into narrative

Narrative is the art of storytelling, something we all do in our day to day lives. It's an important part of our lives and something that we value quite highly, considering the amount of time we all spend in front of the television screen ingesting narratives.




  PSYCHO-shower scene narration analysis

Each shot has been joined to the next using straight cuts e.g. (shot1) of her sitting at a desk in her dressing gown, writing in a notebook. Following the rules of continuity this is then matched with the next shot (shot 2), a detail shot of the notebook showing her calculations. The dissolve technique is used between the shot of the shower drain and the shot of Marion’s eye.

Abrupt changes of pace are employed within the scene e.g. As Marion starts her shower the pace accelerates and remains measured with each shot lasting 4-5 seconds until shot 18. The next shot of a figure of darkness positioned behind the shower curtain, raising a knife lasts 17 seconds. The function of this is to take us from the peaceful solitude of Marion’s shower through rising tension to the moment of crisis.

The shot of blood flowing down the shower drain and the eyeshot is matched within the same sequence. Graphic matching is used to create a smooth visual transfer from one shot to the next.

This sequence is constructed in a discontinuous manner. The scene runs for three minutes and includes fifty cuts. Like previously explained, many shots are placed within the sequence before the appearance of the dark figure to create a contrast. Tension is built up to moment of crisis, then as the figure begins to stab, shots return to a faster pace, conveying the frenzy of the attack.

The film-maker utilises compilation sequences e.g. 9 shots are used, showing Marion showering from various camera angles. This is done to follow the rules of continuity so that the narrative is clear and easy to follow.

The film-maker utilises cross-cutting within this sequence e.g. Norman spies on Marion briefly through a hole in the wall and then returns to the Bates house. He is seen from behind slouching resignedly around the ground floor. The action returns to the interior of Marion’s cabin. I believe this emphasises the separation between the two characters (the feelings of love aren’t mutual).

Sound is being used in conjunction with editing in a very obvious way e.g. Sound is kept very quiet and low-key up until the later part of this sequence, matching Marion’s feeling of relaxation as she showers. This all changes at the point by which the curtain is pulled back and the figure of darkness raises a knife. Sudden dramatic violin sounds accompany this moment and further emulate the stabbing motion, dramatically enhancing the sense and horror of what is taking place. The change in music to much slower, deeper notes indicates the next change in pace (after the murderer’s exit).

chosen production title

I decided to go with 'Hide & Seek productions' as it sounded a bit more catchy than 'Gargoyle productions'.

As you can see, i kept the design fairly simple, but still quite attractive. I think that following the words with initials gives the title solidity and allows the viewer to remember the image within its simplicity.

Breaking the fourth wall

The presence of the fourth wall is an established convention of modern realistic theater, which has led some artists to draw direct attention to it for dramatic or comedic effect when this boundary is "broken", for example by an actor onstage speaking to the audience directly.

This concept has made its way onto the screen, and in some cases, to great effect.

 FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (opening sequence)


(after his parents have left, thinking he is ill) "They bought it. The key to faking out the parents is the clammy hands. It's a good non-specific symptom; I'm a big believer in it. A lot of people will tell you that a good phony fever is a dead lock, but, uh... you get a nervous mother, you could wind up in a doctor's office. That's worse than school. You fake a stomach cramp, and when you're bent over, moaning and wailing, you lick your palms. It's a little childish and stupid, but then, so is high school."

Ferris breaks the fourth wall as he talks to the audience. I believe this to be very productive as it strengthens the bond between the audience and him as a character, adding to the already relative storyline (bearing in mind the youthful target audience). It's as though you are one of his friends.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

His point is even emphasized in the quote, separating the subjunctive word groupings with a bigger word grouping. This includes the words 'around' and 'while' which, involving vowel sounds, lengthens the group of words. Meanings such as this take greater effect, due to the concept of breaking the fourth wall.


I did not wish to use the 'Breaking the fourth wall' technique as i didn't believe it would captivate my chose target audience in reference to the genre. In addition, this technique is very hard to pull off and would, in my point of view, require a far more cheery genre and an excellent performance on the actors behalf.

mood board yo!

Production title and logo

Funnily enough, manifesting a production title with a fitting logo has been one of the hardest factors within my planning process. I'm stuck between two names:

'Hide & Seek productions'- For this i pictured quite a simple image. The words 'Hide & Seek' will appear in italics shorty followed by the initials 'HS' within a circle. I would prefer black writing with a white background, maybe including some other subtle details.

'Gargoyle productions'- This was originally recommended as a laugh, seeing as it's my pool playing nickname. As it turns out, the name is quite fitting to my chosen genre. The title would appear red, with a pair of beastly eyes above it.

script for opening two minutes

film characters- William Chester, Angel, Jonesy

(camera fades into shot of a sink hole) William begins to cup his hand under the running tap shortly before splashing his face. (over shoulder shot at the mirror behind the sink) he looks at himself blankly in the mirror for a short while. (medium close up-mirror view) As he continues to look into the mirror an unusual figure appears in the back of the shot, wearing a suit covered with a long trench coat, aswell as a bowler hat. This figure cathces William's eye and he sharply turns (mid shot from behind him). William returns to looking at himself in the mirror, revealing the absence of the previously spotted figure. (shot of exterior of toilets) William exits, zipping his hoody up as it's cold outside. The sequence progresses into various shots (close up, medium, wide, extreme wide, establishing) of William as he makes his way down streets and side alleys, frequently displaying glimpses of the mysterious figure. After a while William becomes overly agitated and stops, thrashing his head left and right in attempt to spot the figure again. He goes to continue his walk after failing to spot the figure and a shot of the figures face (medium close up, POV) flashes. William responds in shock. The image quickly cuts back to William's point of view and you see an image of his friend Jonesy(medium close up, POV, coloured) as he says "you alright mate?". End of sequence.

Potential Shot Locations

I liked this location as the trees enclose the pathway which will put more focus on William. I imagine a VWS (very wide shot) for this location as Willian walks centrally down the path towards the camera.

 This location would only be used for a couple seconds of footage, but I like how the vines have grown up the tree as it gives more of a vintage look, which would look great in black and white.

This, in my opinion, was a great find! The darkly shaded road beneath the bridge, along with the profound graffiti engulfing the walls looks amazing and will work perfectly with the mise-en-scene.

I found many alley ways and enclosed locations such as this which will create variety within the sequence, in addition to open space shots.

genre of opening sequence

 Genre functions like language, in that it possesses a set of rules and a vocabulary with which to organise meaning.

My genre will consist of a subdivision between thriller and science fiction. Now, although this description would initially seem appealing to a younger audience (15-24 yrs), I aim to produce a more Art Cinema based piece, which could potentially broaden the age range.

The sequence will represent the iconograpahy of these genres, containing an element of fiction (supernatural character) and the main protagonist as the hero (William). Narrative will be kept mainly linear, although flashbacks will be prudent after the opening sequence.

mise en scene will be moulded around a combination of familiar reassurance and new twists, meaning I need to confuse the chosen audience just enough to create suspense:

• location- downtrodden toilet room (specific location unknown), streets and back alleys of city (norwich and wymondham)
• lighting- great deal of contrast between dark and light (black and white), dim key light outside (late evening time)
• characterisation- confused, generally isolated
• costume/make up- dark clothing (black t shirt+hoody), pale face (prefferably natural). dark clothing enhances paleness

Pitch feedback

-Presented well, confident, good preparation
-Good use of powerpoint
-Good audience research into what people want

-Would have been good to have a title in mind
-Must avoid becoming a copy of 'Sin City'
-Don't overcomplicate

I didn't expect this sort of feeback at all. I prepared the pitch content at the last minute the night before, so i consider this a pretty fair achievement. I was rated within 'the top 3 pitches' out of the whole class. I'll take into account the fact that making the sequence too similar to 'Sin City' will ruin the originilaty, but to be fair, i don't have a green screen and a juicy sum of money to splash out, so that's a start.

my chosen actors

As originally said, i wanted the actor who plays William Chester to be adolescent, potentially innocent looking, facially eye catching and most important of all, possess acting talent. I've come to the decision of choosing one of my good mates, Shaun Mckay.

He is 17 years old, 5ft 7 and currently studies dramatic art at City College Norwich. He has also featured in the production 'Private Peaceful' which took place at Norwich Theater Royal. I had spent so much time simply trying to find an actor who's up for the job, completely forgetting the most obvious choice. When i thought of him i gave him a ring to see if he was enthused by my idea and as it turned out, he loved it.





My target actor for the role of the 'Supernatural Being' was ideally to be quite tall with no other special features required. The actor for this as you might of thought shouldn't be very testing to find, and it wasn't, but i had to make sure the person i chose was reliable. My final choice was Josh Mantle. I also had him play the role of 'Jonesy', who again, did not require any special features other than to be male.

he is 17 years old, 5ft 11 (which, in comparison to Shaun, is quite tall). He has no involvement with drama at this time, although i studied drama with him at GCSE level. So from experience i know he has punctuality, dedication and acting ability.

Synopsis of the first couple of scenes

William Chester (22) has just begun seeing things of the supernatural kind,  involving a mysterious dark figure.

He is unknowingly stalked through the streets of Norwich throughout the night, until he meets his best mate. Their previous plans of meeting the rest of the group at The Griffin pub have changed as William has made the excuse of being ill and goes home.

William goes to sleep. After a terrible nightmare, he awakes in shock. Immediately he begins to surf the web, looking up information on unusual occurrences. He finds his last name 'Chester' within a site. This site traces his name back to ancient roman times, revealing myths involving his bloodline. Myths such as possessing an active guardian angel.

William is rung up by his mate and invited to an underground club event. During the event William begins seeing things again and so leaves the underground club for some fresh air, when a hooded mugger holds a knife to his throat. William closes his eyes, fearing his death, when a hand touches his shoulder. He opens his eyes. He's standing on top of the city's cathedral. He turns to see a mystical dark figure, subsequently shouting questions as it approaches. As the dark figure merges with him a flashback appears.

It is the year 80 AD. William is sat at a large round table with several armored, bearded men drinking mead as guardian angels stand over each of them. They called him Florus Chester.....