Narrative theorists

Tzvetan Todorov

Todorov suggests that all narratives follow a structure of 3 parts

This begins with the equilibrium where everything is balanced and in order, this is usually the beginning of a narrative, where a problem is yet to occur 

Secondly there is the disequilibrium, this is where a problem disturbs the balance and must be put right, this will be what a narrative focuses on 

Finally the balance is restored and order is brought back, the structure is now complete as it has returned to an equilibrium state 

This formula can be applied to virtually all narratives, it is a smiple way of approaching the beginning middle and end of a narrative



Vladimir Propp 

After studying Russian folk tales Vladimir Propp came up with a theory that are only a certain number of characters who come up in most narratives, the normal generic characters are the Hero and the Villain, but others also appear:

Protagonist (Hero) - Leads the narrative, is usually looking for some thing or is sent on a quest, or sometimes trying to solve a mystery. (does not have to be male, but in most cases is)
Antagonist (villain) - Gets in the protagonists way, tries to stop him/he on whatever they are trying to do 
Heroine - Is usually some sort of prize or reward the the protagonist
Father - An authority figure who offers a reward to the protagonist their quest, that reward might be your typical 'princess' figure or something that the protagonist really wants 
Helper - Helps the protagonists, this character will usually go alongside the protagonist is usually not as  important 
Donor - Gives the protagonist something to aid them on their quest/mission, could be a clue, talisman, special power
Mentor - Teaches and guides the protagonist, gives him information and knowledge about his journey

These characters and their roles can be seen in a lot of narratives, we expect to see them in the narratives 


Claude Levi-Srauss

Levi-Strauss said that all narratives had to be driven forward by conflict caused by a series of opposing forces, calling this theory binary opposites, saying that all the main forces in narratives have there equals and opposites

Good/Evil
Light/Dark
Noise/Silence 
Youth/Aged
Right/Wrong
Poverty/Wealth
Strength/Weakness
Inside/Outside
Happy/Sad 
Old/New 

Some sort of opposites with come into conflict in a narrative until some sort of resolution and balance is achieved 


Roland Barthes

Open or closed narratives 

Open - Unravelled in lots of different ways (e.g. Inception)
Closed - one obvious ending (e.g. Die Hard) 

Barthes also believes symbols and signs and cultural references help the audience to identify with a narrative and thus help propel it forward 

E.g if a gun is shown on screen, no one in the audience needs to be told that a gun is dangerous, because of the culture that surrounds, you already know that guns kills  

Key scenes withs script

Applying audience theory

Richard Dyer –

The Horror genre does not really offer “Utopian solutions” and never show a perfect picture of the world. Horror looks at society’s problems and looking at the bad sides of peoples lives and the worlds darker focuses. The horror genre identifies people’s fears, the main one really is death, in pretty much every horror people will die.

They purposely target peoples fears to create a dark and sinister world that the viewers hope will never become a reality , creators also do this to make the films entertaining because they let people see these brutal sides of life that will hopefully never happen to them. They create a film that doesn't offer a perfect, happy life were everything is okay.

For example the film series Saw shows an extremely threatening and brutal situation that tests peoples limits in the films, it tests the characters willingness to survive and puts them through horrific tests that no person would ever want to experience.

The Frankfurt School –

Some Horror films are just made to scare people, the audience doesn't always think about the film they are watching, they don’t think and just take in the information and wait to be scared, some horror films are just made to entertain and scare people, audiences are manipulated and told what to think when they watch a film.

Other horror films leave open questions, making the viewer think about what is happening and why these things are going on, they let you decide for yourself whether it is is right or wrong and lets you create your own ideas, a good example for a film that makes you think is The Shining or Sinister as  you're constantly trying to work out what can happen next.

Blumer + Katz -

This theory applies well to horror film audiences, the audiences of horror films watch them to be scared, it allows people to see things that they can't in real life and lets them be scared of a fake event that it isn't real, they do this to because they want to be scared and want to be effected by the film, they know that when they go to horror film, they will probably end the film scared or disturbed, to experience the entertainment of being thrilled by the film.  

The typical audience can not really relate to the film however though, as your typical audience will be young people and teenagers and will not be in the same positions as the people in the film so its hard for an audience to relate to the characters in a horror film, they watch these films to experience those positions, and fuel there imagination to what it must be like to be that person in the film, your usual audience couldn't relate to films like Panormal Ativity or The Conjuring as they are not the same age as the people, or do not have a family and there own house 

David Buckingham - 

Horror films are very social films, and draw people to see them, this works mainly with young people, they get excited to see them as they scare you and people want to see how much they will scare them, Horror films are not films that are highly regarded and remembered as classics they are mainly used to just entertain people for a short period of time and are then just forgotten about.  

Key Scenes

The first key scene will be Nathan being bullied by a bully called Scott and all of Scott’s posse.

This emphasizes the fact that Nathan gets bullied on a daily basis. This scene will take place at a

school in the daytime. This scene shows us how much of an outcast Nathan is and how much

everyone looks up to Scott. It gives the audience the comparison of Scott and Nathan. Scott’s

group of friends is immediately seen as the antagonist. At this stage the audience will feel sorry

for Nathan as they don’t know his true character yet. We get to know the characters.

Nathan discovers social media and realises he can hide behind a screen to threaten his bullies. He

realises he can do this on an anonymous account. This part of the film will show his obsession with

destruction and killing, which shows a darker side of Nathan leaving the audience to question him.

In this scene Nathan starts to terrorise his bullies through social networking, this will show his

metal collapse and he is so caught up in his mission to get back at the people who are ruining his

life. These scenes will be filmed in Nathans bedroom, this will let the audience see how he hide

behind the screen when trying to attack them, we want the audience to sympathize with Nathan

in his situation but also be confused and be put off him slightly.

As his terrorising goes on he decides he must kill all of his enemies, making a kill list from there

accounts on social media, finding out were they will be and where they live he hunts them down

and kills them all. Using various places like parks, school and their own homes he finds them

murdering them in gruesome ways.

After killing his bullies off one by one, Nathan is followed home by the police. Nathan starts to

panic. This leads Nathan to killing himself in front of his terrified mother. The sirens will be

flashing through the window as Nathan kills himself which will add to the mood of the room at the

time. The screen will finish with a black screen. This will leave the audience feeling scared when

they walk out of the cinema meaning they will tell their friends about how scary the film was

which will make their friends want to see it aswell.

Locations

A list of locations we will use to film our scenes that will feature in our trailer. 

• House - To film Nathan in his own home, to see what he is like when he his by him self and not being watched by bullies. It will mainly be in Nathans room that we will be filming but we will sometimes venture out. This is where Nathan will start his social media terror. It will also be where he is playing his violent video games that give him ideas on how to kill his school bullies
• Park - some of the murder scenes will be taking place in the park. We will just be filming the build up to the murder as we don't want to give away any spoilers. The park is a spooky environment witch suits our horror genre very well. If the lighting is right in the park, it will be the perfect location for our murder scenes.
• School - The place Nathan will be filmed getting bullied by Scott. This is quite a stereotypical place to film bullying and that is why it is a great place to film it. The audience will expect bullying to take place at a school, the surprise will be how Nathan turns from being a nice young school boy to a serial killer.
• Inside Of Car -  This is how Nathan gets around. He is seen a lot in his car listening to strange mysterious music.

Props

When recording the scenes in school we will be using everyday items, this will consist of things like laptops, phones, headphones, books. This will let the audience see that they are normal people and for the audience to also be able to relate to the lifestyle of the characters in the trailer. When the characters are in school you will be able to see that they have a specific role in that school and also that a lot of the pupils are dependent on technology,

Technology will be a key part of our film so it is a significant prop in our trailer

When recording in Nathans room and outside of the school environment, the characters will be using similar props as they would be in school like phones, headphones but as well as different items like cigarettes, lighters and some may be in cars, this shows there everyday lifestyle and how they act outside of school.

Nathans bedroom will be shown in our trailer, when recording this technology will be scene throughout the clip including computer/laptops, games console and TV. There will be gaming posters on the wall as well. This is to show Nathans enclosed lifestyle and how he just lives in his room playing video games, this will let the audience see that he is not a popular boy and alienates himself from others by living in and being obsessed with his virtual world. 

When Nathan is killing off his victims the props will be things like Knives, baseball bats, rope and the mask he will be wearing, the mask will be important as it is hiding his identity, and giving him a more sinister look. This will make him seem like more of a serial killer and not like a 'normal' person.

4 original outline ideas

Idea 1)

- 5 Characters

- 3 Male

- 2 Female

- 5 friends round someones house, having fun, drinking and taking drugs. Paranormal events start to occur. They don't know if its the drugs hitting them or if is real. Most likely to be filmed from a POV angle. This means the audience feel as if they are there. (Paranormal Horror)

Idea 2)

- 5 main characters

- Big party of people

- After a spooky Halloween party, 5 of the people from the party go back to a mates house. They have a few drinks and are having fun, then one of the 5 gets an Ouigi bored out of the closet. Things start to go seriously wrong. (Paranormal Horror)

Idea 3)

-Two Main characters

- lots of background characters

-  A boy who sees his home as his only safe place from all the bully's at his school gets a social media account. This means he gets bullied even when he is at home. Boy then goes to seek revenge on people who have bullied him all these years. (Slasher Horror)

Idea 4)

- 6 Characters

- 3 Female

- 3 Male

- 6 friends go camping in a big forest in Canada. The friends decide to go for a walk in the forest, They get split up and one of them gets bitten by a spider. This leaves them possessed and goes after there friends 1 by 1.