Todorov’s theory consisted of six main elements they were: normality; disturbance; attempt to solve the solution; further complication; resolution and finally the lesson learnt. Another example of a narrative structure was a simple three-point element, which consisted of Equilibrium- the forces of potential conflict are in equal balance; secondly Disturbance- someone or something upsets the equilibrium and creates a problem. The situation becomes more complicated as they story progresses and finally the Resolution- the problem is solved and a new different, equilibrium is to established.
The new equilibrium is different because life has been changed by what has happened. Like stories, a film’s narrative is structured so that we know the main situation that occurs and the main plot. Paragraph 5 Firstly I will be looking at the opening sequence of The Bone Collector (1999). The opening sequence of a film is very useful to the audience as the audience need to know the main elements of the film. The Bone Collector comes through this as we were introduced to the production team, which is Colombia Pictures and Universal Pictures, which are well known studios.
Secondly we come across sketches using dull colours to show emotion and tense. We then see the actor’s names emerging through the sketches, one by one in a dull blue color in slow motion. This is a connotation of police as we associate police in blue. We see a lot of dullness, which makes us feel vulnerable. They use a pan shot to show the setting and all the information. We also get to see pictures of skeletons and dead people this shows us the genre and a bit about the plot. I think the reason for showing this is so that the audience gets a rough idea about the plot.
Then we come across the title ‘The Bone Collector’, which appears in the same format as the names. This shows us it is as important as the actors. We see a profile of a police officer this depicts it is a crime detective, as it also shows serious facial expressions. During the opening sequence we hear the playing of high pitched violins and we also hear slow dramatic quire singing, this tries to create tension in the audience because of the dramatic music, we then hear a life support machine with thunder that emerges into the sound of a plane.
Making two sound effects emerge together is a good way to connect two scenes together. Paragraph 6 In the opening sequence the first stage of the narrative structure we come across is the Normality. We come across this as this as we see the main star Lincoln Rhyme (a New York detective who is specializing in forensics (in bed, as a near-fatal injury left him paralysed and he is haunted by nightmares with a little to live. We then come across another main female character Amelia Donaghy who is trying to discover a case of middle aged couple that are abducted by a sinister cab driver.
The director employs several editing techniques to come across to the audience about the plot. The director successfully comes across showing the plot in the opening sequence. Conclusion 1 Concluding, I will be comparing three crime films, which are Ocean’s Eleven (2002), The Bone Collector (1999) and Seven (1995). The comparisons between all three films are that they all have a romantic sub-plot. Another significant comparison is that when they find the dead bodies in The Bone Collector and Seven, they always have bad weather or dramatic music as well as dark night setting.
Another comparison is the use of torchlight’s and shadows; most crime films use torchlight’s to show the genre. They also use instruments to create tension in the audience and also to leave the audience in Suspense. Conclusion 2 Overall I believe the film that will have the most success in the box office is Ocean’s Eleven. The reason for me believing this is because it had more advertisement and consisted of several popular well-known actors, which gave it more advertisement and success.
The actors were, Brad Pitt; Matt Damon; George Clooney and Julia Roberts. Even though Ocean’s Eleven would have more success I believe The Bone Collector came across the plot outline more successfully than Ocean’s Eleven. This film also created more tension in the audience when the dead body was found. Overall I think the reason for oceans eleven being bore popular is because it consist of good quality stars; it was talked about more and had a lot of advertisement.
