Docu-Drama- The Social Network

Narrative Structure.
The second genre I chose to look at is drama-documentary, within this genre I found a list of movies and television programmes that are drama- documentary genre, so out of the list I chose to watch and analyse “The social Network”- by Aaron Sorkin. First of I started watching the whole film again then I chose to look at 1 particular scene.

The social network is a docu-drama and was released on 15^th October 2010. I watched the whole of the film and then focused mainly on the opening scene, when it introduces the film. Although the opening scene isn’t very long it still shows a lot of narrative structure and technical aspects which you can pick up on really well. When watching back through the opening scene (up to 5:15) I realised that the film has a non-linear narrative.  The film is non-linear because it starts of following in sequence then flashes back to other scenes; the film is shown in non-chronological order. The film starts of showing a male character and a female character (Erika) sat at a table in a pub talking about general things as they are dating then all of a sudden the female character has a go at the male character telling him they are not together anymore. We see Erika walk off in a mood as the male character is left annoyed and upset not knowing what to say. The talking goes on for about 5 minutes 10 seconds. Then it changes scenes and goes to a mid shot of the Thirsty Scholar Pub and the rest of the town as it is showing the beginning credits which are then introducing the film. 

The techniques used in the film to tell the story are that it follows a boy who is at uni and shares a flat with his uni friends. The boy is trying to get his way with a girl called Erika and start up a social networking site as he is quite brainy when it comes to using computers. At the start of the film it shows the film sponsor and then fades into a mid shot of Erika the female character and male character sat in a pub with two beers and a background scene of a general pub. They are talking to each other about their lives and other general conversation. This makes us as a viewer see they are going out with each other because of the way they act and speak to each other. Towards the end of their conversation Erika says that she wants to be straight with the male character and to let him know that they are not dating anymore, as he said is he gets into the finals club then he would take her to the events and gatherings and tells her she would be meeting people she doesn’t usually meet, as they are dating but shortly after this is when the female character (Erika) says they are not dating anymore and it is over, however the male character questions her asking if it is a joke and wants to know why, so she explains, the male character then tries to apologise for saying they are only in the pub because she used to sleep with the door guy but it is actually a friend of her, whilst she gets angry shouting at him he tries to calm her down. 3:10-5:02 Whilst they are talking there are over shoulder shots used to show who’s talking at what time, then as Erika tells the male character the truth about why girls won’t like him at 5:01 we see a close up of her face showing facial expressions, at this point we can see she is not only upset but annoyed too. The camera then focuses on the male character showing a mid shot from 5:02 when Erika is walking away from him. As he gets up and walks away we hear classical music playing softly still hearing the general talking in the background. There is also voice over used in parts of the film when the characters are thinking the voice over is used to show us they are thinking and not talking. The social network film is a realist film that also as well as the others, the opening scene of the social network leaves us on a cliff hanger as the film is introduced so we don’t know what happens next innless we carry on watching it further.

Technical Aspects.
The technical aspects used in the opening scene of the social network are, the camera work. The camera work is very noticeable in varies places throughout this scene. There are technical aspects such as: Over should shots and close ups when characters are speaking to illustrate their facial expressions and irritated moments when the characters are in disagreement or being serious when debating, like when they’re arguing with each other (1: 45-2:26). There is also a close up of the male character as Erika walks away from him and the classical music starts playing which then goes into a panning shots of the town and the cars which is also where the camera follows the male character leaving the pub and going back to his apartment.  (5:01-5:30) After that the camera then jumps to a high angled shot of the male character running  back to his apartment, with the classical music still playing, this makes the audience/ viewers feel sorry for the male character as the classical music sets the scene. The long shot is used to show the male character running down a road which is not very well lit (6:24-6:29) The mid shot that is used in the opening scene is the one of the male character walking up to his apartment door. (7:20-7:28).

The cinematic techniques used create an effective meaning to its audience, making them want to carry on watching it as; it leaves us on a cliff hanger because the ending of the opening scene is an opening ending. As it’s an opening ending leaving the audience on a cliff hanger it creates anticipation and at the same time excitement, and with the tension used to draw them in, it makes the audience want to carry on watching it.

When watching the opening scene of the social network, I couldn’t see any noticeable editing that had been used, however I picked up on the noticeable scripting as when Erika and the male character are debating and arguing there are pauses that are noticeable before they say their next lines. This is only a reoccurring thing throughout the opening scene.  The suspense and cinematic effects that I stated before, build a story which is shown in non-chronological order.