Warren Buckland: Teach Yourself Film Studies

"A narrative does not consist of a random series of events, but a series of events related to one another in terms of cause and effect."-(P.27)

I find this quotation useful because it is a quick description of narrative that is quite simplistic. It can be used to link to a more complicated description. 

"Psycho is notable for not conforming to the threefold narrative structure because the main character, Marion, is killed a third of the way through the film."-(P.33)

If I discuss the movie 'Psycho' I can use this quote to describe how the movie doesn't follow a typical narrative structure.

"However, a film that, for instance, contains a flashback does not have a chronological narrative, because the narrative events are not presented in a linear order."-(P.33)

Referring to films such as Memento and Pulp Fiction, this question will be useful because it easily describes non-linear narratives.

"Flashbacks are evident in 'film noirs' and are one of the main devices that create the complex and convoluted narratives that are typical of 'film noir'."-(P.33)

Even though I'm doing genre and not narrative, this quote can be used to talk about codes and conventions in film. 

"Narration does not become omniscient in haphazard fashion; rather, it does so only at specific moments in the narrative."-(P.41)

This describes how useful alternative narratives are when telling a story and trying to make the film look stylistic.

"By concentrating on the chronology and cause-and-effect logic of Pulp Fiction, we can begin to understand that films do not need to represent the cause-and-effect logic of a film in chronological order."-(P.49)

If I talk about Pulp Fiction I can bring in this quote to describe the unusual narrative.