Film Art, David Bordwell & Kristin Thompson

Chapter 3: Narrative As A Formal System

A narrative film is one that tells a story. It is most common to fiction films, but can appear in any basic type, even such as documentary. Audiences have anticipations of the narrative form, like assuming characters will have a role in it, and a series of incidents will play out. They also expect any conflict presented to be resolved by the end of the film. Narrative is a chain of events linked by cause and effect (causality) and occurring in a time and space, also sometimes called a 'story.' While the story encompasses all of the narrative, the plot may withhold some elements, to prompt suspense in the viewer.
Unlike in novels, film characters have a visible body (though occasionally they may just be a voice), as well as traits; which are attitudes, habits, tastes, etc. A 3D, well-developed, complex character has several varying traits. 
Screen duration is the actual length of time the film takes to play, while Temporal duration is the timespan encompassed within the story of the film. Temporal frequency is when a story event is presented multiple times within a film's narrative, for example within a flashback.
Besides story and plot space within a film, it also employs screen space: the visible space within the frame.

Narrative involves change from an initial to a final situation. A film begins rather than starts - actions that take place before the plot presented to us will be stated or suggested. The exposition lays out the important events and character traits. The first quarter or so of a film is called the setup.
Like Wells in earlier readings, plot patterns are set out for the reader to understand narrative styles of films. When a character learns something that changes their motivation, it is called a change in knowledge plot pattern. The goal-oriented plot pattern is when a protagonist  takes steps towards a goal. Some films take place within a specific duration of time, with a deadline. Others repeat actions through event cycles. In some films the action is confined to a single locale.
When the narrative resolves its issues it is said to end rather than stop. The climax brings the conflict development to a high point, lifting the viewer to a high degree of tension. The ending can be emotionally satisfying for the viewer or deliberately anticlimactic.

Omniscient narration is when the viewer is allowed to know, see and hear more than the characters in the film, and creates suspense. Restrictive narration is when the viewer only knows and learns as much as the characters themselves, and is typical of mystery films as it creates curiosity. This balance of knowledge between viewer and character is called a hierarchy of knowledge. 
Objective narration is when we only are presented with a character's external behaviour, and do not plunge deeply into their psychological states, the opposites of which are perceptual subjectivity, when we see or hear as characters do, or mental subjectivity, when we hear their internal monologue.
Narratives may make use of a narrator, who purports to be telling the audience the story; either as a character or not. They are typical in documentaries.