Narrative structures for short films

Narrative form is the structure in which movies tell stories.

The story; consists of all the events in a narrative, both presented and inferred -Bordwell + Thompson (2004)

Plot; What is visibly and audibly present in the film -

Narrative; How the story is told, the way in which the material is selected and arranged enabling there to be particular effects upon audience members.

Conventional narrative structure

The way in which they construct a story is pretty similar to that of the above.

Tzvetan Todorov defined the three main parts of narrative structuring (start, middle and end) e.g:

Equilibrium; Balanced normality of the world of any story

Disequilibrium; Unbalanced world between the problem and climax within the story

New equilibrium; A return to normality at the end
If there is not a return to normality at the end and an unresolved ending, this usually brings discomfort to the audience and they will still have unanswered questions. This is more likely to be used at the end of an episode of a soap opera to engage the audience and almost bring them to commit to the series, moreover unless a film is likely to have follow on films then perhaps it is unlikely.

1. Situation or Exposition- This is needed at the beginning of al narrative to set the scene. Its where the info is given to the audience, this enables the audience to create a clear image of the setting of the film. Where,How, Why, What and When? 
2. Complication- Events throughout in which create problem or conflict and usually cover a large amount of time within the film
3. Climax- The moment within the film where perhaps the problems are solved.
4. Resolution- This is the part of the narrative where the world of the text returns to some sort of normality. This also usually unravels any misunderstandings and answers the questions in which the audience have been dying to find out. Of course unless the film or narrative is an NB, leaving the film on a cliffhanger.