Tzvetan Todorov's 3 act structure
Todorov suggested that stories/films begin with an equilibrium where opposing forces are in balance. An event then happens which disrupts this balance, followed by a series of events. These problems are then solved to restore balance.
'Three Act Structure' is:
Equlibibrium
Disruption
New Equalibrium
Todorov also suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages: A state of equilibrium at the start. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action. A recognition that there has been a disruption. An attempt to repair the disruption. A reinstatement of the equilibrium. This type of narrative structure is very familiar to us and can be applied to many ‘mainstream’ films.
This theory could be applied to the film 'The Hangover'
Equilibrium: The equilibrium of this film is the when the four friends go on the stag night in Las Vegas.
Disruption: The catalyst for the disruption is when Alan gives them drugs which leads to them not remembering the night out and losing the groom. The turning point for the new equilibrium to come about is when the friends realise that Doug is on the roof of their hotel.
New equilibrium: The new equilibrium is they find Doug and get him to his wedding on time.
How I could apply this theory to my work
I can apply this to my music video as it is the basis of most stories and as my video is narrative as well as performance it will be easy to create a story using these guidelines. The main gist of the music video is a girl and boy who miss each other and in the end are re-united. Adding Todorov's structure the story could go...
- girl and boy are happy together
- something disrupts this eg the girl moves away
- then they finally meet again
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