This post uses ideas developed by Avtandil Chachibaia, Emma Darwin, and John Gardner.
In a movie there is a spectrum of shots available to a cameraman ranging from the panoramic world-view down to extreme close-up. Chachibaia suggests there are thirteen of these but the most important are the Long Shot, a "zoomed out view" often used at the start of a movie as an Establishing Shot designed to "capture 'the big picture'", the Medium Shot “used to display characters’ actions or objects acting on a character”, the Close-Up, and the Extreme Close-Up.
In the same way, a novelist can use different styles of narration. This is, of course, a spectrum but Gardner identifies a number of regions on this spectrum. It is important to realise that each of these can be done in the first or third person.
Remote
The narrator is in control. It feels objective. It is an economical way of imparting information. Importantly, it offers a context to the characters in the story.
Narrative
In cinematic terms, this might be done with a voice-over. The narrator is still in charge, giving information, but there is more detail. We can start exploring emotions and personalities.
Subjective
The narrator is diving deeper into the world, tackling individual characters and usually quoting their speech directly. This is the standard narrative distance for most fiction.
Inside the head
For the first time we can explore a character's thoughts, although they are usually reasonably coherent and treated as if they were reported speech. You can't do inside a head in a movie so the equivalent is a close-up of a face so the viewer can 'read' the emotions.
Stream of consciousness
Much more like true thought, this consists of fragmentary and jumbled mixture of thoughts and sensory perceptions.
References
In a movie there is a spectrum of shots available to a cameraman ranging from the panoramic world-view down to extreme close-up. Chachibaia suggests there are thirteen of these but the most important are the Long Shot, a "zoomed out view" often used at the start of a movie as an Establishing Shot designed to "capture 'the big picture'", the Medium Shot “used to display characters’ actions or objects acting on a character”, the Close-Up, and the Extreme Close-Up.
In the same way, a novelist can use different styles of narration. This is, of course, a spectrum but Gardner identifies a number of regions on this spectrum. It is important to realise that each of these can be done in the first or third person.
Remote
The narrator is in control. It feels objective. It is an economical way of imparting information. Importantly, it offers a context to the characters in the story.
Narrative
In cinematic terms, this might be done with a voice-over. The narrator is still in charge, giving information, but there is more detail. We can start exploring emotions and personalities.
Subjective
The narrator is diving deeper into the world, tackling individual characters and usually quoting their speech directly. This is the standard narrative distance for most fiction.
Inside the head
For the first time we can explore a character's thoughts, although they are usually reasonably coherent and treated as if they were reported speech. You can't do inside a head in a movie so the equivalent is a close-up of a face so the viewer can 'read' the emotions.
Stream of consciousness
Much more like true thought, this consists of fragmentary and jumbled mixture of thoughts and sensory perceptions.
References
- Chachibaia, Avtandil "From Long Shot to Close Up: The 13 Camera Shots Everyone Should Know" available at https://blog.pond5.com/4676-from-long-shot-to-extreme-close-up-13-camera-shots-everyone-should-know/ accessed 20th February 2021
- Darwin, Emma: "Psychic Distance: What is it?" available at https://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/psychic-distance-what-it-is-and-how-to-use-it.html accessed 20th February 2021
- Gardner John 1991 The Art of Fiction ISBN-10 : 0679734031
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