Document structure classification

The structure of documentary can be divided into internal structure and external structure. The so-called internal structure is the internal logical connection and organizational form of each element that constitutes the image, while the so-called external structure is the external organizational form of the documentary, that is, the framework of the documentary. The following is the classification method of documentary structure that I share with you. Welcome to read and browse.

First, linear structure

The most important feature of linear structure is that there is one or more clues running through the film, which can be internal or logical, such as the water shortage in distant villages and the artist's creative experience in the centennial celebration in China. It can also be external and formal, such as the pagoda tree at the entrance of Longji Village and the Great Wall of Wan Li Great Wall. Professor Zhang Yaxin also talked about "Distant Villages" in her monograph "Comparison of Chinese and Foreign Documentaries". She thinks this film is a typical circle structure, and its center is the problem of water shortage, and all the materials are centered around this center. Obviously, Professor Zhang's formulation is essentially the same as that of this article. The Great Wall of Wan Li in Japan and Looking at the Great Wall in China have the same theme, both of which are about the Great Wall of Wan Li in China, but the Great Wall of Wan Li in Japan tells the lives of people on both sides of the Great Wall through the intermediary of the Great Wall. In this film, the Great Wall is not the theme that the creator pays attention to, but the central clue that runs through the whole film. In the actual creation, the creator not only showed this centerline through interviews, but also strengthened this centerline with the aerial photography of the Great Wall.

For more complex narratives, films with linear structures often use two or more clues. For example, China Centennial Festival has five clues: 1, painter's painting, 2, exhibition site, 3,000-year historical facts, 4, painter's talk about creative ideas, and 5, painter's diary.

Linear structure can make complex narrative clear, chaotic and not chaotic. Linear structure is a common structure in documentaries, but not all subjects have a central line. In addition to imposing a symbolic element in the later period, the intervention of interview is an important remedy. Interview, as a structured way, is a symbol of the improvement of the creator's structural ability. The use of interviews as a structural factor should be considered in the early stage of conception, in addition to later discovery. In this way, because the structure is not imposed on the film in the later period, the whole film appears natural and whole. As a structural factor, interview has two functions. First, the actual voice being interviewed, as a transitional factor, plays the role of connecting the pictures. Compared with commentary as a transitional factor, interview as a transitional factor is very difficult, but once successful, it will make the film more compact and concise. For example, fate constantly leads to new characters and new scenes through interviews with characters, thus realizing its typical nested structure. Second, the interview as a clue throughout the film. Creators often design the structure very comprehensively at the beginning of the interview to ensure that they can interview what they need. In the later editing, the creator will divide the interview into several paragraphs, and according to the needs of the program content, let these paragraphs be distributed in the corresponding positions of the film, thus connecting the whole film. For example, the painter's creative experience in "Chinese Centennial Festival", "God Deer! Deer! Liu Ba's Self-narration in To Be Alive.

Second, the plate structure

Of course, not every documentary can have this line of linear structure, nor does it mean that documentaries only use linear structure. Especially those documentaries based on the logic of arts and sciences, a considerable part of these documentaries belong to the feature films that people used to call before. Because most of them are subject first, the explanation is basically reversed from beginning to end, and the material taken is only a tool to demonstrate the theme, which makes the material and the material lack internal logic. If we can't find reasonable external clues, we can only find other structural ways. Plate structure appears in this situation.

The so-called forum structure is to divide different content into different parts according to different people, time, region or theme, and each part may be unconnected or linked. For example, destiny and ancestral home are typical plate-like structures. Destiny is divided into chapters according to the characters, but the creator carefully selected the characters when he conceived, often at the end of the last character's content, or from an interview with him, or from an event related to him. This special cross-sectional structure is also called nested structure. Nested structure not only maintains the relative opposition between sections, but also strengthens the connection between sections, so that the whole film can be divided into several sections and still maintains a relatively perfect integrity. "Ancestral house" is a traditional plate structure. * * * is divided into five parts, and each part has a subtitle. They are:? Ancestor feng shui? 、? Farming and reading family? 、? Family members? 、? The benevolent loves others? And then what? Red and white wedding? . Although all five paragraphs are around? Feng Linyi? This ancestral home is developed, but there is no obvious external connection between these five plates. It is best to use the traditional block structure as the main body with tension, otherwise, the whole movie will appear fragmented due to the lack of necessary internal relations between blocks.

Although documentaries have different structures, there is no difference. Just for a specific documentary, it has a most suitable structure, and it is not appropriate to choose another structure at this time.

There are many factors that determine the structure of documentary, which can be summarized as: 1, life events themselves, 2, the way of taking materials on the spot, 3, the theme of creation, and 4, the author's creative style. For life events themselves, if there are many subjects, linear structure is often adopted; If the subject matter is general, block structure is often used. For example, The Village in the Cave mainly reflects the story of villagers pulling electricity in Shanyandong village, so the creator chose a linear structure; "Time flies" mainly reflects the lives of several paper-cut artists, which is relatively general, so the creator adopted a plate structure. As far as on-site materials are concerned, they can be roughly divided into two kinds: point materials and surface materials, in which point materials refer to the creator taking the subject as a concrete image, while surface materials regard the subject as an abstract image. If the way of drawing materials belongs to the former, then the corresponding structure should be linear, such as "People in Northern Tibet"; If the material selection method belongs to the latter, most of them will adopt plate structure, such as 20-year reform. Theme is also an important factor affecting the structure of documentary. Generally speaking, movies with a single closed theme mostly adopt block structure, especially those with propositional elements, such as "A flick of a finger" and "Concentric Circle"; Movies with multiple meanings and open themes often adopt linear structures, such as Empty Mountain and Loyalty. The author's personal creative style also affects the author's choice of structure, but this choice is not always static, but only reflects a quantitative advantage.

If documentary is a kind of. Did you find it? Art, so it is also a kind of? Narrative? Art, a kind? Structure? The art of.

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