Narrative structure concepts used in film analysis, including three-act structure, plot versus story, and diegesis.
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- What is three-act structure?
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A narrative framework dividing a story into setup (exposition and inciting incident), confrontation (rising action and climax), and resolution (denouement).- What is an inciting incident?
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The event that disrupts the protagonist's ordinary world and sets the main story in motion.- What is rising action?
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The series of events developing conflict and building tension toward the climax, increasing stakes throughout.- What is the climax?
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The highest point of tension or most significant moment where the central conflict reaches its peak and is confronted.- What is falling action?
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Events following the climax that show consequences and lead toward the story's conclusion.- What is denouement or resolution?
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The final part of a narrative where remaining conflicts are resolved and the story concludes.- What is in medias res?
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Beginning a story in the middle of action rather than at the start, with prior events revealed later through exposition.- What is exposition?
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Information revealed early in a film to establish setting, characters, and backstory necessary for understanding the narrative.- What is non-linear narrative?
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A story structure that does not follow chronological order, using flashbacks, multiple timelines, or scrambled sequences.- What is a turning point?
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A major plot event that significantly changes the story's direction or stakes, often marking divisions between acts.- How do plot and story differ in film?
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Story is the chronological sequence of all events; plot is how those events are selected, arranged, and presented to viewers.- What is diegesis?
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The narrative world of the film, including all events, characters, settings, and objects that exist within the story's internal logic.- What is nondiegetic or extradiegetic?
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Narrative elements existing outside the story world, such as a musical score or voiceover commentary not heard by characters.- How does diegetic voiceover differ from nondiegetic voiceover?
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Diegetic voiceover is heard by other characters in the scene; nondiegetic voiceover is heard only by the audience, like a narrator's commentary.- What is a flashback or analepsis?
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A scene interrupting the present narrative to show events that occurred earlier in time.
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