Film Report Two

Film Structure
Events occur in the world of a motion picture film just as in the world of your life, but in a film, those events are arranged in a narrative sequence with conflicts, parallel stories that occur almost simultaneously, and parallel stories that may occur in other times and in other places. In their own lives, people often try to determine what events mean to themselves and to others. In a film, the writer of the screeplay and the director will create meaning by introducting conflicts in the life of a character or several characters. The way a character responds to these conflicts is part of what gives a film its meaning. Understanding film structure will help a viewer understand the meaning in a film. *Structure* is the arrangement of the events in the film: From morning to evening, from country to city, from before the accident to after the accident, etc. The major features of structure are described below: Establishing shot or scene is the introduction to the setting of the film and to the main characters. Sometimes there is only one establishing scene in a film, but in films where parallal stories are used, there may be more than one establishing scene or shot. In the film Saving Private Ryan, for example, there are multiple stories. The first is the story of Private Ryan. When the film begins, he is introduced as a visual presence in a cemetary, but the film does not identify him as the private named in the title. The audience is made to wait until the end of the film to learn more about the man in the cemetary. The second scene of the film moves from the modern-day cemetary to Normandy, France, June 6, 1944 and establishes the presence of American soldiers waiting to be delivered to the beach in Higgins boats to begin their assault on the German army. Disruption or complication introduces the plot or major conflict between a protagonist and antagonist or between a protagonist and a situation. Many films begin in a state of equilibrium that is upset by some disturbance or conflict. The rest of the film is an attempt of characters to confront, struggle through, and resolve the conflict. It could be argued that Saving Private Ryan begins in a state of equilibrium in the cemetary, and then this scene is disrupted by the battle at Normandy. Actually, this is an ironic situation, since the scene of tranquility in the cemetary comes more than 50 years after D-Day on June 6, 1944. Crisis is the point of greatest tension in the film where some decision or action on the part of the protagonist or main character is called for, anticipated, or expected. Climax is the high point of decision or action that the plot moves toward. Resolution is like the dénouement of a classic short story in which all the events of the story are pulled together and resolved, leading the viewer to arrive at some some point of understanding. Flashbacks and parallel editing move the viewer back and forth in the film through the editing process as past events are inserted into a present moment and as multiple stories unfold. In Saving Private Ryan the entire film could be viewed as a flashback from the older Mr. Ryan standing in the cemetary with his family to first week of the Normandy invasion by American and British forces into German-occupied France and then a flash forward to Mr. Ryan, again in the present day. During the week of June 6 through June 12, the story moves back and forth between the beach in Normandy and American command posts in the United States and Europe.

Film Structure

Events occur in the world of a motion picture film just as in the world of your life, but in a film, those events are arranged in a narrative sequence with conflicts, parallel stories that occur almost simultaneously, and parallel stories that may occur in other times and in other places. In their own lives, people often try to determine what events mean to themselves and to others. In a film, the writer of the screeplay and the director will create meaning by introducting conflicts in the life of a character or several characters. The way a character responds to these conflicts is part of what gives a film its meaning. Understanding film structure will help a viewer understand the meaning in a film. Structure is the arrangement of the events in the film: From morning to evening, from country to city, from before the accident to after the accident, etc. The major features of structure are described below:

Establishing shot or scene is the introduction to the setting of the film and to the main characters. Sometimes there is only one establishing scene in a film, but in films where parallal stories are used, there may be more than one establishing scene or shot. In the film Saving Private Ryan, for example, there are multiple stories. The first is the story of Private Ryan. When the film begins, he is introduced as a visual presence in a cemetary, but the film does not identify him as the private named in the title. The audience is made to wait until the end of the film to learn more about the man in the cemetary. The second scene of the film moves from the modern-day cemetary to Normandy, France, June 6, 1944 and establishes the presence of American soldiers waiting to be delivered to the beach in Higgins boats to begin their assault on the German army.
Disruption or complication introduces the plot or major conflict between a protagonist and antagonist or between a protagonist and a situation. Many films begin in a state of equilibrium that is upset by some disturbance or conflict. The rest of the film is an attempt of characters to confront, struggle through, and resolve the conflict. It could be argued that Saving Private Ryan begins in a state of equilibrium in the cemetary, and then this scene is disrupted by the battle at Normandy. Actually, this is an ironic situation, since the scene of tranquility in the cemetary comes more than 50 years after D-Day on June 6, 1944.
Crisis is the point of greatest tension in the film where some decision or action on the part of the protagonist or main character is called for, anticipated, or expected.
Climax is the high point of decision or action that the plot moves toward.
Resolution is like the dénouement of a classic short story in which all the events of the story are pulled together and resolved, leading the viewer to arrive at some some point of understanding.
Flashbacks and parallel editing move the viewer back and forth in the film through the editing process as past events are inserted into a present moment and as multiple stories unfold. In Saving Private Ryan the entire film could be viewed as a flashback from the older Mr. Ryan standing in the cemetary with his family to first week of the Normandy invasion by American and British forces into German-occupied France and then a flash forward to Mr. Ryan, again in the present day. During the week of June 6 through June 12, the story moves back and forth between the beach in Normandy and American command posts in the United States and Europe.