Narrative exercises
- 2. As an opening to a film, how would you show that 100 years have progressed using only one set? I had the idea of expressing that a significant amount of time has passed through using different modes of vehicles passing through the shot which would demonstrate advancements in transport over the years to indicate that a large amount of time has passed. A transition from black and white to colour would also be really effective to indicate that 100 years have passed by expressing how technologies have advanced through the ages.
- 3. Using four shots, how would you demonstrate a year has gone by using the same scene? The ‘four shot’ allowance would be perfect for showcasing the four seasons; autumn, winter, spring and summer which would indicate that a full year has passed. One of the most significant ways of displaying the changes in seasons is through a tree as exampled below as trees are dramatically effected by the seasons from loosing all of there leaves in the autumn to sprouting fresh blossom in the spring.
- 4. 3 more ways of informing that a year has passed: 1. A calendar prop could be used showing a character flipping over the pages for each month through speeded-up time to show the months passing. 2. The date at the head of a newspaper could also be used to express a ear has passed by moving the date along. 3. Using the setting of a New Year’s Eve party, it could be expressed that a year has passed by focusing on a banner and transitioning the year from one to the next; for example 2011 to 2012.
- 5. How would you show that 24 hours have passed using the same subject? Focusing on a fixed subject, time could be sped up by 24 hours through changes in lighting to demonstrate night and day passing. The scene could begin with ambient lighting to represent daylight, then transition to low key lighting to show night has fallen before returning to ambient to show the start of a new day.
- 6. How would you make it clear to your audience that the next part of the narrative is a dream? The transition between the two scenes would be vital in the portrayal of a dream sequence. A ‘fade to white’ would be an effective transition to show the start of a dream as this would provide a clear, separation point. A ‘dissolving’ or ‘fading’ technique would also be effective as this creates an unnaturalistic representation of how actions occur in real-time, expressing that the next sequence is only a dream.
- 7. How would you make it clear to your audience that the next part of the narrative is a flashback? A flashback could be represented through a transition from colour to black and white or sepia to show the change in time. It could be introduced with a fade to black transition to clearly distinguish between the shift in scenes. The action could also be warped and cantered to express that the action is not happening in real time.