NARRATIVE OF RENDEZVOUS

KATE DOMAILLEEVERY STORY EVER TOLD CAN BE FITTED INTO ONE OF EIGHT NARRATIVE TYPES. EACH OF

THESE NARRATIVE TYPES HAS A SOURCE, AN ORIGINAL STORY UPON WHICH THE OTHERS

ARE BASED.

NARRATIVE

TYPES

1. ARCHILLES: THE FATAL FLAW- That leads to the destruction of the previously

flawless, or almost flawless, person.

THIS IS BRIDGET DESTRUCTING HER

MARRIAGE WITH RAYMOND BY HAVING AN

AFFAIR WITH THE DETECTIVE.

2. CANDIDE: THE INDOMITABLE

HERO

3. CINDERELLA: THE DREAM COMES

TRUE4. CIRCE: THE CHASE

5. FAUST: SELLING

YOUR SOUL

6. ORPHEUS: THE

GIFT THAT IS TAKEN

AWAY

7. ROMEO AND JULIET:

THE LOVE STORY

8. TRISTAN AND ISEULT: THE LOVE

TRIANGLE- Man loves woman, unfortunately one or both of

them are already spoken for, or a third party

intervenes.

- RAYMOND IN LOVE WITH HIS WIFE,

HOWEVER BRIGET LOVES THE DETECTIVE.

VLADIMIR PROPP- STUDIED THE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE OF RUSSIAN FOLK TALES, CONCLUDED THAT

REGARDLESS OF THE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN TERMS OF THE PLOT, CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS, SUCH NARRATIVES WOULD SHARE COMMON STRUCTURAL FEATURES.

- SEVEN CHARACTER TYPES IN 100 TALES

THE VILLAIN-

DETECTIVE THE DONOR-

VIVIENNE

THE PRINCESS-

BRIDGET

THE HERO -

RAYMOND

OTHER-

THE (MAGICAL HELPER)

FATHER

THE DISPATCHER

[FALSE HERO]

GENRE OF RENDESVOUS

MAIN FILM GENRE SUB-GENRE

DRAMA

CRIME AND

GANGSTER

ROMANTIC DRAMA

FILM NOIRPERIOD FILM

TRAGEDY

NEO-NOIR

DETECTIVE/MYSTERY

GENRERIC CHARACTERISTICS• TYPICAL MISE-EN-SCENE/VISUAL STYLES

(ICONOGRAPHY, PROPS, SET DESIGN, LIGHTING, TEMPORAL AND GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION,

COSTUME, SHOT TYPES, CAMERA ANGLES AND SPECIAL EFFECTS)

- CIGARS, CIGARETTES, VENETIAN BLINDS, VINTAGE FRENCH FURNITURE, COCKTAIL BAR,

DETECTIVE HAT AND COAT, SUITS, DRESSES, CHAMPAGNE AND COCKTAIL GLASSES,

MIRRORS, CARDS, SHADOWS, HIGH KEY AND LOW KEY LIGHTING, ALLEYWAYS, DARK

STREETS, THEATRE)

• TYPICALS TYPES OF NARRATIVE

(PLOTS, HISTORICAL, SETTING, SET PIECES))

- COCKTAIL BAR, 1950 THEME, LOVE TRIANGLE, LOVE)

• GENERIC TYPES, I.E TYPICAL CHARACTERS

- FEMME FATALE TRYING TO GET HER OWN WAT THROUGH SUBVERTING THE TYPICAL

1940S/1950S. WOMEN WOULDN’T GET THEIR OWN WAY.

RICK ALTMAN

- ARGUES THAT GENRE OFFERS AUDIENCE ‘A SET OF PLEASURES’

EMOTIONAL

PLEASURESVISCERAL

PLEASURES

INTELLECTUAL PUZZLES: CERTAIN FILM GENRES SUCH AS THE THRILLER OR THE

‘WHODONIT’ OFFER THE PLEASURE IN TRYING TO UNRAVEL A MYSTERY OR A

PUZZLE. PLEASURE IS DERIVED FROM DECIPHERING THE PLOT AND FORECASTING

THE END OR THE BEING SURPRISED BY THE UNEXPECTED.

ENIGMA AND ACTION CODES AS IT PLEASURES AND ENTICES THE AUDIENCE.

GENRE THEORY

EVERYBODY USES AND UNDERSTANDS GENRE THEORY media experts use it to study media texts, the

media industry uses it to develop and market texts and audiences use it to decide what texts to consume.

IN RENDEZOUS WE WILL USE CERTAIN ICONOGRAPHY TO APPEAL TO THE AUDIENCE AND TO

ALSO DIRECTLY PRESENT THAT WE ARE A CERTAIN GENRE.

GENRE DEVELOPMENT AND

TRANSFORMATIONOVER THE YEARS GENRES DEVELOP AND CHANGE AS THE WIDER SOCIETY THAT PRODUCE THEM ALSO

CHANGES, A PROCESS THAT IS KNOWN AS GENRIC INFORMATION.

METZ: ARGUED THAT GENRES GO THROGUH A CYCLE OF CHYNAGES DURING THEIR LIFETIME

1. EXPERIMENTAL STAGE 2. CLASSIC STAGE (FILM NOIR)

3. PARODY STAGE (NEO-NOIR) 3. DECONSTRUCTION STAGE

CHANDLER

“HOW WE DEFINE A GENRE DEPENDS ON OUR PURPOSES”

-WE ARE APPEALING TO OUR TARGET AUDIENCE.

MEDIA LANGUAGE

DENOTATION

CONNOTATION

MYTH

ROLAND BARTHESARGUED THAT IN FILM

CONNOTATIONS CAN BE

(ANALYTICALLY) DISTINGUISHED

FROM DENOTATION.

the literal or primary meaning of a word

an idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person

a widely held but false belief or idea.

EVAULUATION OF MEDIA LAUNGUAGE

IT’S THE EVALUATION OF MICRO ELEMENTS AND HOW THEY HAVE CREATED

MEANING TO INFORM US ABOUT GENRE, NARRATIVE,

REPRESENTATIONS/IDEOLOGY, TARGETING OF AUDIENCES.

THIS REQUIRES US TO USE SEMIOTIC TERMINOLOGY TO EXPLAIN OUR

ENCODING OF ELEMENTS AND CODES AND CONVENTIONS WITHIN OUR

TEXTS.

HALL – “DISCUSS THE PREFERRED MEANING” THAT WE WANT OUR AUDIENCE

TO DECODE.

- WE’RE GOING TO ENCODE THE TEXT BY DRESSING THE FEMME FATALE

HEROIN (VIVIENNE) IN A RED DRESS TO ENCODE HER SEXUAL DESIRABILITY

AND YOUTH.

MICRO ELEMENTS: MISE-EN-SCENE

MISE-EN-SCENE CONSTITUTES THE KEY ASPECT OF THE PRE-PRODUCTION PHASE OF THE FILM

AND CAN BE TAKEN TO INCLUDE ALL ASPECTS OF PRODUCTION DESIGN AND CINEMATOGRAPHY.

MISE-EN-

SCENECREATES

THE

DIEGETIC

WORLD

THE FICTIONAL SPACE AND TIME

IMPLIED BY THE NARRATIVE.

ASPECTS OF MISE-EN-SCENELOCATION: SETTINGS, SET-DESIGN AND ICONOGRAPHY

CHARACTER: COSTUME, PROPERTIES AND MAKE UP, ACTORS AND GESTURE

CINEMATOGRAPHY: LIGHTING AND COLOUR

LAYOUT AND PAGE DESIGN: COLOUR, JUXTAPOSITION OF ELEMENTS

MICRO-ELEMENTS: CAMERAWORK

1. SHOT TYPES

2. CAMERA COMPOSTITON

3. CAMERA MOVEMENT

4. CAMERA ANGLES

MICRO ELEMENTS: EDITING

. POST-PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE

TWO TYPES…

CONTINUITY:

ESTABLISHING/RE-ESTABLISHING SHOT CUTAWAY

TRANSITIONS CROSSCUTTING

THE 180 DEGREE LINE RULE INSERT SHOTS

ACTION MATCH EYELINE MATCH

SHOT-REVERSE SHOT STRUCTURES

NON-CONTINUITY:

MONTAGE SEQUENCE FLASH BACK/FORWARD

ELLIPSIS GRAPHIC MATCH

MICRO ELEMENTS: SOUND

LAYERED ON TRACKS IN ORDER TO CREATE MEANING.

. CAN HAVE SOUND BIRDGES OR SOUND MOTIFS TO ENCHANCE MEANING

- 2 TYPES OF SOUND

DIEGETICNON-

DIEGETIC

REFERS TO SOUND WHOSE ORIGIN IS TO

BE LOCATED IN THE STORY WORLD SUCH

AS THE VOICES OF THE ACTORS, SOUND

EFFECTS ETC.

REFERS TO SOUNDS NOT

EXPLAINED IN TERMS OF ANY

PERCIEVED SOURCE WITHIN

THE STORY WORLD, SUCH AS

MOOD MUSIC, OR ‘VOICE-OF-

GOD’ TYPE COMMENTARIES.

1. INCENDENTAL MUSIC

2. VOICE OVER/NARRATION

3. NON-DIEGETIC SOUND

EFFECTS

1. DIALOGUE

2. SOUND EFFECTS

3. MUSIC

AUDIENCE

AUDIENCE IN THE 1950s ~

SOCIOLOGIST BLUMER: AUDIENCES COME FROM ALL WALKS OF

LIFE, AND ALL SOCIAL STRATA, INCLUDES PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT

CLASS POSITION, VOCATION, CULTURAL ATTAINMENT AND

WEALTH. THE MASS IS AN ANONYMOUS GROUP OR COMPOSED OF

ANONYMOUS INDIVIDUALS. THERE EXISTS LITTLE INTERACTION

OR CHANGE OF EXPERIENCE BETWEEN MEMBERS OF THE MASS

WHO ARE USUALLY PHYSICALLY SEPERATED. THE MASS IS

LOOSELY AND IS NOT ABLE TO ACT WITH THE CONCERNEDESS OR

UNITY OF A CROWD.

AUDIENCE

JULIAN MCDOUGALL (2009)

SUGGESTS THAT IN THE ONLINE

AGE IT IS GETTING HARDER TO

CONCIEVE A MEDIA AUDIENCE

AS A STABLE, IDENTIFIABLE

GROUP.

MCQUAIL (1972) HOWEVER…

AN AUDIENCE CAN BE

DESCRIBED AS A “TEMPORARY

COLLECTIVE”

PEOPLE HAVE

DIFFERENT TASTES IN

FILMS BUT IT BRINGS IT

ALL TOGETHER EVEN IF

THEY DON’T HAVE

SAME LIFESTYLES.

AUDIENCE

HIGH CULTURE

BBC, BBC RADIO 4,

OPERA, CLASSICAL

MUSIC, RADIO LOW CULTURE

ITV, HIP HOP, RnB,

KEMET FM

HIGH CULTURE HAS BEEN TRADITIONALLY ASSOCIATED

WITH DOMINANT OR POWERFUL GROUPS, WHICH

INVOLVES PEOPLE THAT NOW WATCH OR LISTEN TO

MEDIA THAT INVOLVES RADIO IN CLASSICAL FORMS

SUCH AS CLASSICAL RADIO AND BBC STATIONS, SUCH

AS RADIO 4. THEY ALSO WATCH TELEVISION THAT ARE

ON STATIONS SUCH A BBC OR CLASSICAL MUSIC.

LOW CULTURE IS SOMETHING NOT FOR THE ELITE, BUT

FOR THE ‘COMMON’ PEOPLE; IT IS VULGAR, COMMON

OR ‘EASY’. THESE AUDIENCES ARE MOST LIKELY

WATCHING SOAP OPERAS ON ITV SUCH AS

‘CORONATION STREET’ OR RADIO STATIONS SUCH AS

KEMET FM.

OUR FILM NOIR HAS AN

AUDIENCE THAT IS HIGH

CULTURE BECAUSE OUR

FILM IS ‘ARTY’ AS IT

INCLUDES STYLISTIC

TECHNIQUES.

PSYCHOGRAPHICS AND DEMOGRAPHICS FOR OUR

FILM

HIGH CULTURE MALE OR

FEMALE THAT ARE

INTERESTED IN ‘ARTY’

FILMS WHO ARE OVER 18

YEARS OLD.

AUDIENCE RECEPTION THEORIES

PASSIVE AND ACTIVE AUDIENCES:

.TWO DIFFERENT SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT CONCERNING

HOW AUDIENCES CONSUME MEDIA TEXTS.

PASSIVE AUDIENCE THEORY:

. IDEA THAT MEDIA ‘INJECTS’ IDEAS AND VIEWS DIRECTLY

INTO THE BRAINS OF THE AUDIENCE LIKE A

HYPODERMIC NEEDLE, THEREFORE, CONTROLLING THE

WAY THAT PEOPLE THINK AND BEHAVE.

FRANKFURT SCHOOL’S

HYPODERMIC THEORY:

.THIS MARXIST THEORY,

WHICH WAS CHAMPIONED BY

THEORISTS SUCH AS

THEODORE ADORNO, ASSUMES

A DIRECT STIMULUS-RESPONSE

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

AUDIENCE REACTIONS AND

THE CONSUMPTION OF MEDIA

TEXTS.

THEORDORE ADORNO: HYPODERMIC THEORY

EUROPE 1930S – HITLER TOOK OVER MEDIA THROUGH

NEWSPAPERS, POSTERS AND CINEMA, RADIO ~~ PROPAGANDA

. THIS WAS BRAINWASHING, THERE IS A THEORY THAT THIS WAS A

FACTOR OF THE HOLOCAUST.

CRITICISMS OF THE HYPODERMIC THEORY

.DOESN’T ALLOW FOR RESISTANCE

OR REJECTION OF MEDIA MESSAGES

.ELITIST

.SIMPLISTIC

.AUDIENCE ARE A MASS, EASILY

BRAINWASHED. BUT THE

ALTERNATIVE AUDIENCES DO NOT

AGREE AND CHANGE THEIR

OPINION AND PERSPECTIVE

PLURALIST MODEL AND ACTIVE AUDIENCE

.IDEA THAT AUDIENCE HAVE AN ACTIVE ROLE TO PLAY IN UNDERSTANDING OF, AND CREATION, OF

MEANING WITHIN A MEDIA TEXT

.PLURALIST IDEA IS EXACT OPPOSITE OF A HEGEMONIC ONE (DOMINANT IDEOLOGY). A PLURALIST

MODEL ARGUES THAT THERE IS A DIVERSITY IN SOCIETY AND THEREFORE THERE IS A;SO CHOICE (WE

CAN CHOOSE WHAT TO BELIEVE AND WHAT NOT TO BELIEVE)

.BECAUSE THE AUDENCE (SOCIETY) IS DIVERSE, WITH DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW, THE MEDIA IN

INFLUENCED BY SOCIETY.

BECAUSE THE MEDIA NEED TO PLEASE THE AUDIENCE THEY WILL TRY TO REFLECT THE VALUES AND

BELIEFS THAT ARE PREDOMINANT IN SOCIETY.

GAUNTLETT WEB 2.0

.AUDIENCE USED TO SHAPRE THEIR LIVES

AROUND THE MEDIA- MEDIA RULED OVER

~WEB 1.0

NOW…

.INSTITUTIONS HAVE TO SHAPE THEIR MEDIA

TEXTS AROUND THE AUDIENCE SUCH AS

FILMS.

GAUNTLETT’S WEB 2.0

PROSUMER

ACTIVE

CONSUMER

PASSIVE

AUDIENCE BECOME

MORE…

POWER OF THE AUDIENCE

BLUMLER AND KATZ USES AND

GRATIFICATIONS THEORY

Information

-finding out about relevant events and conditions in

immediate surroundings, society and the world

-seeking advice on practical matters or opinion and

decision choices satisfying curiosity and general interest

-learning; self-education gaining a sense of security

through knowledge

-gaining a sense of security through knowledge

Personal Identity

-finding reinforcement for personal values

-finding models of behaviour

-identifying with valued other (in the media)

-gaining insight into one's self

Integration and Social Interaction

-gaining insight into circumstances of others; social

empathy

-identifying with others and gaining a sense of

belonging

-finding a basis for conversation and social interaction

-having a substitute for real-life companionship

-helping to carry out social roles

-enabling one to connect with family, friends and society

Entertainment

-escaping, or being diverted, from problems

-relaxing

-getting intrinsic cultural or aesthetic enjoyment

-filling time

-emotional release

-sexual arousal

STUART HALL - READINGS

.ANALYSED READINGS WITHIN AUDIENCES AS EITHER:

1. DOMINANT OR PREFERRED READING: THE MEANING THEY WANT YOU

TO HAVE IS USUALLY ACCEPTED

2. NEGOTIATED READING: THE DOMINANT READING IS ONLY PARTIALLY

RECOGNISED OR ACCEPTED AND AUDIENCES MIGHT DISAGREE WITH

SOME OF IT AND FIND THEIR OWN MEANINGS.

3. OPPOSITIONAL READING: THE DOMINANT READING IS REFUSED,

REJECTED BECAUSE THE READER DISAGREES WITH IT OR IS OFFENDED

BY IT, ESPECIALLY FOR POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS, FEMINIST REASONS ETC.