Short Films

Todorov's Narrative Theory

 Todorov in 1969 produced a theory which he believed to be able to be applied to any film. He believed that all films followed the same narrative pattern. They all went through stages called equilibrium, dis equilibrium and restored equilibrium.

There are five stages the narrative can pass through:

1. A state of equilibrium
2. A disruption of that order by an event
3. A recognition that the order has occurred 
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption
5. A return or restoration of new equilibrium

 Direct Address

Definition:

 Communication that is explicitly indicated as being targeted at a current listener, reader or viewer as an individual.

Examples: 

Looking at or speaking directly to the camera/audience

Using on-screen text to address the audience

Using a voice over to address the audience

Research of Short Films

 From researching short films, particularly animated ones, I have discovered that they rely heavily upon sound effects and music as oppose to continuous dialogue. This perhaps is due to the fact that it will save time and money on using voice actors. In addition a lot of on-screen text is used to introduce the short film and help with the plot, again to avoid using voice actors. Furthermore as the film has a very limited time-frame the audience is 'thrown in' to the story in the sense that no background information is given or explanation about the plot. 

 Short films appear very difficult to create as the writer needs to compact a story into a short amount of time, while ensuring that during this process the film still connects with and engages the audience as well as creating enigma.

'Why our brains love horror movies'

The following article is research I have obtained as to demonstrate the appeal to audiences of horror movies:

"The fact that some people like to be scared out of their wits never ceases to baffle those of us who would as soon see Freddy Krueger slash his way through A Nightmare on Elm Street as we would have surgery without anesthesia. But to masters of the genre, as well as to experts in media psychology, it makes perfect sense. In Danse Macabre, Stephen King described “terror as the finest emotion, and so I will try to terrorize the reader.” What makes it so fine? “One of the major reasons we go to scary movies is to be scared,” says Fischoff. But the scare we crave—and this applies to haunted houses and spooky corn mazes no less than to horror movies—is a safe one. “We know that, in an hour or two, we’re going to walk out whole,” says Fischoff. “We’re not going to have any holes in our head, and our hearts will still be in our bodies.”

“If we have a relatively calm, uneventful lifestyle, we seek out something that’s going to be exciting for us, because our nervous system requires periodic revving, just like a good muscular engine,” says Fischoff. A 1995 study found that the higher people score on a scale that measures sensation-seeking, the more they like horror films. “There are people who have a tremendous need for stimulation and excitement,” says Fischoff. “Horror movies are one of the better ways to get really excited.”

He suggests that the appeal to teenagers also goes beyond thrill-seeking and catharsis. Horror movies help young people learn to manage terror. “They can either succumb [to frightening images] or learn to manage,” he argues. “By learning to suppress feelings and display mastery or cling to others in a dependent ploy for protection, a person learns to cope with another aspect of his or her environment, a skill that may be useful in dealing with more than just horror pictures.” That may explain another oddity of the genre: horror movies are popular date films. “Teenage boys enjoyed a horror film significantly more when the female companion... expressed fright, whereas teenage girls enjoyed the film more when the male companion... showed a sense of mastery and control,” Walters argued."

Source:Why our brains love horror movies by Sharon Begley