Narrative

Ashamae Swyer
 Narrative Theories
There are a number of narrative theories
that our group were inspired and are
present within our short film. These
narrative theories are Roland Barthes
and Tzvetan Todorov.
 Roland Barthes
We applied Barthes Narrative Codes to
the short film, in particular the Symbolic
and Semantic codes. This can be seen
through the use of flower and heart
shapes that are prominent throughout
the short film. We felt that the use of
these codes were crucial to the short film
in terms of creating multiple meanings
that audiences can identify.
 Tzvetan Todorov
We also made use of Todorovs Narrative
Structure, which we show visually and through
the use of sound in the short film. At the
beginning, there is a state of Equilibrium that is
displayed through the use of subtle shots, which
is further complimented by the use of soft piano
background music. A Disruption is presented
when the music changes, with the arrival at the
cemetery signifying a Realisation. The narrative
eventually goes into a state of Repair when the
female protagonist accepts her reality, and the
Equilibrium is restored with the placement of
the bouquet of roses by the headstone.
 Narrative Devices
Up until the end of the short film, there is
an engima created around Hayden,
which is shown through the lack of
dialogue that the character has, and the
way that the outside world treats the
couple through the use of character
positioning and body language(i.e.
odd/worrying looks).