Tick Tock - Textual Analysis (Narrative Theories)

Editing:

Todorov's theory of equilibrium was not evident in the short film Tick Tock as it didn't follow a conventional, linear story arc. Instead, a reverse chronological narrative was established through the use of editing. The editing technique of reverse editing was clearly used to create the reverse effect for the short film. This obviously shows the end of the film first and the start of the film last. Tick Tock also consisted of slow motion shots as well as fast paced or sped up shots. The purpose of this editing to be used is to give the audience the knowledge of the adrenaline and emotions of the protagonist.

Sound:

The short film has a closed narrative, as theorised by Barthes, as the meaning is clear and resolved at the end. Barthes also theorised that an enigma code is crucial in engaging an audience in a narrative which was created through the use of sound. In the short film the dialogue was purposely muffled to have the effect on the audience in which that we did not understand exactly what is being said,  just like the action. However, it is also used to focus the audience on the action to understand the narrative. To add, there was also a fast-paced soundtrack. The reason for this non-diegetic sound was to exaggerate the story of the protagonist and that he believes he is going to die. The soundtrack is also synchronous because as it suits the situation.

Mise-En-Scene:

Bordwell and Thompson state that a narrative is the product of a cause and effect relationship, and this can be seen through the use of key props used in the mise-en-scene. Firstly is the use of the pill as a prop consumed by the protagonist, in which causes the narrative due to thinking that he is going to die and the effect is him trying to set things right with people and the things he regrets in his life. Another prop is used, the box. The purpose of this was the focus of the narrative.This box symbolised love and relationships, and that regret is felt when losing loved ones or silly mistakes were made in relationships etc. Therefore, the use of the box to be returned to his love symbolise the effect.

Camerawork:

Levi Strauss' Binary Oppositions is also a narrative theory as he says you need to have opposites to build a story. E.g. good vs evil, right vs wrong, known vs unknown. We are exposed to this during the short film when the tracking shot reveals the credits, which is what he did wrong compared to the action which is what he is doing right. The long tracking shot always portrays known vs unknown. This is done by the journey of the protagonist which he believes he is dying and yet to realise it was a prank.