Narrative

The dictionary definition of 'Narrative' is

1. A narrated account; story.
2. The art, technique or process of narrating.

According to theorists there are many aspects to a story, including Todorov's '5 stages of Narrative', Propp's '8 Character Roles' and Aristotle's '4 Step Theory' but we'll get to that later on. The whole point in a story is to entertain the audience. However, stories are told to create reality for the audience, they stick in the audience's mind. The best narratives are ones that provoke a response from the audience, ones that provoke emotion. If the film maker can understand what it's like for the audience, he/she is able to manipulate the audience into feeling attached to the characters to story. Audiences used to watch a film and they would see what they were meant to see. New forms of media and technology are stopping this and making audience's more passive.

Audiences are becoming more passive, which means authors lose control over his/her work. The audience are able to make their own choices with what they see and how they see it. 'Out My Window' is a good example of an interactive documentary that breaks the conventions of modern day media. The audience are able to chose what content they see, who's life they explore and how they watch it. They can pick any order, or even just one story. The choice is completely there. Although the audience will still see only what the film maker gives them, they have a bit more leniency with the film.