Unrestricted and Restricted Narration

Restricted and Unrestricted Narration



Unrestricted narration is where by there is a sense of omniscience, as an audience we know more, see more and hear more than any of the other characters participating in the plot. This can provide any character’s experiences and perceptions, as well as information that no character has. This may be that the audience know someone is hiding from someone in a specific place, however that character does not know, this may be used in thrillers or horrors, to make the audience threat for a persons life, building up a sense of tension and suspense.Some films tend to combine objectivity and subjectivity to create ambiguity, with certain scenes such as what wer may think to be a flashback, however it may perhaps be part of the plot, this may be where certain scenes are left unclear. A film having a unrestricted narrative may have a narrator, which is
a character who recounts the events occurring.


Unrestricted narrative idea: A man is hiding in the bathroom due to hearing unfamiliar noises, the audience are aware that the man is in this location however the woman who has just entered the house is unaware of his bearings, therefore as a viewer we know more than the rest of the characters involved in the plot. The woman then has to search the house in order to find him as she doesn't know beforehand, as we do. This is used particularly to create a sense of anticipation as she gets closer to the antagonist.

Restricted narration is where by we don't see, hear or know anymore than the main character, therefore they may perhaps know information before us, meaning we are oblivious to certain parts until later on in the narrative. Restricted narration limits information  provided to the viewer.This may encourages the viewer to identify with the character’s singular perspective and no other perspectives. This  helps create curiosity in the viewer and can lead to surprise, and heightened emotions as the viewer may be thinking of what may perhaps happen however may be wrong. This type of plot gives us access to what characters see and hear (e.g. point-of-view shot) which gives viewers perceptual subjectivity. A character’s inner thoughts or  images representing dreams, memories, etc. the psychological state of a character is shown. Subjectivity can lead us to feel certain emotions towards different characters, or have certain expectations.  


Restricted narrative idea: A woman is walking down the street to a location which is unnamed and unexplained to an audience. This creates a sense of ambiguity as she knows the location she is traveling to however as viewers we are unaware of this. This means when she reaches the mans house, the audience are questioning who is the man? why is she here? this actively involves an audience, as they have to think about the plot which engages them and immerses them within the movie.