Narrative structures within architectural videos

Narrative structures within architectural videos Philip Rhodes and Kevin McCartney, School of Architecture, Portsmouth Polytechnic, Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK James Powell, Department of Manufacturing and Engineering Systems, Brunel University, Middlesex, UK This paper reports on a research programme concerning the communication of architectural information through the useof video. In recent years, the general public have become increasingly interested in and aware of architecture. This has been at leastpartly initiated through main stream television, and the established BBCseries ‘Building Sites’. This growing awareness of architecture, has provided the impetus for video to be considered as a ‘new’ means of communicating to architectural clients. This has in turn suggestedan opportunity for architectural practices to enhance their communication to clients by the use of informative videos. If architectural videos are to be increasingly used in broadcast and for other forms of communication they should be well designed. But what is a good architectural video, and how should an architectural idealscenario be usefully portrayed in such a medium? This paper discussesthe underlying structure of architectural videos as communicating media. This leads to the development of a theoretical model to aid the understanding of video communication through narrative analysis. This theoretical evaluation is bolstered by a series of empirical investigations relating to narrative reception and recall. Keywords: architecture, communication, media, video, narrative structures

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ffective communication is becoming an increasingly important asset in keeping designers, decision makers and all of society informed about a rapidly changing environment. This is no less true in the field of architecture, where the current desire to understand the complete role of buildings as part of our heritage and our future has never been higher. In the past, the means available to impart knowledge about architectural matters were restricted to the use of traditional drawings, photographs or slides. Until recently it was not possible to communicate about architectural forms in a truly user-meaningful way - as a visual inhabitant of a building.

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The new informing technologies, such as computer animation, interactive video and 'virtual reality' now make possible such a new means of visually explaining how a building works. However, at present we have no clear idea of how such 'new' and expressive presentational systems can be used educationally, or elsewhere, to effectively aid architectural understanding. This paper is a first attempt to understand this uncharted territory by empirically exploring the potential of video as a means of architectural communication. Video is still in its infancy as a communication tool within traditional architectural practices. The British 'In-Site' videos, produced in the early 1980s, were the first attempt to communicate by this means. These case study presentations were sponsored by trade manufacturers who used this media tool as an opportunity to publicise their wares. An interesting concept, but after their initial flourish such videos appear to have floundered, We believe this was because the way in which such videos were designed did not prove to be a tempting interface to architectural learning. A recent survey t indicated that what architects wanted was short sharp case studies where their areas of interest could be readily accessed. There seems to be a need to be able to 'browse' a building quickly, and then 'home' in on an area of interest. Video has often been used by architects, including Sir Norman Foster and Sir Richard Rogers, as a presentation tool. For them video is part of the stage management that is required to help a new building into the 'real world'. The use of standard video documentary techniques appears to be the conventional approach adopted in producing these presentational videos. But are these techniques appropriate or even valid? At this point, with increasing interest in the architectural landscape and the potential for the video medium; it seemed appropriate to question the function and nature of this communication tool.

1 Powell, J A and Nichols, T 'The utilisation of technical information in the design of buildings' in GIb, G E C Transfer and Exploitation of Scientific and Technical Information, EEC, Brussels (1981) 2 Worth, S 'The development of a semiotic of film' in Semiotica Voi 1 (1969) 310-335

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So what do we mean by communication? Chamber's Twentieth Century Dictionary gives us a starting point. To communicate, 'to give a share of, to impart: to reveal: to bestow - to have something in common with another; to have communication, to have a means of passage, to have intercourse, to succeed in conveying one's meaning to others'. This implies that the act of communication is more than just the message, there are also clearly participants within that communication process. It is argued that effective communication is best achieved when there is a measure of similarity between the video producer and the video discerner - a reciprocity of perspectives. The American ethnologist Sol Worth 2 has

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looked at the process of communication in terms of a film language. Worth divided the communication process into both internal and external parts. The internal processes are found within the actual participants, whereas the message, or film, is the externalization of these internal phenomena (see Figure 1). Worth states that in the creation of a film, one initially moves from the film makers' 'feeling concern' of the internal processes, or the film makers beliefs, to the organization of those beliefs. This structuring and clarifying, Worth describes as the 'story organism'. A film, is simply the externalization of those structured beliefs. For Worth, the viewing or reception of the film is the reverse of the creative process. For the film, is internalized, and the structured 'story organism' is reconstructed according to the viewer's own belief system or 'feeling concern'. Bound within Worth's grammatical approach to filmic structure is a notion of the minimum film unit (or sign) and the syntagmatic arrangement of these units to form sequences. This traditional linguistic approach is comparable to narrative theory. Indeed narrative theory, through its understanding of story parts, plot construction, and characters, may well help in understanding the potential of video in the communication of architectural information.

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1 The medium and the message Toolan 3 defines narrative, as 'the sequencing of all nonrandomly connected events'. This implies, in a sense that all communication can be described in terms of a narrative. For although traditional concerns with narrative have focused on the fictional world of stories, Toolan's definition is really talking about all communication. In a sense, however, to use the term 'story' as part of the definition of narrative, is quite appropriate; for a story is generally recognized to be an entity which has a beginning, a middle and an end. A story can therefore be said to have a structure. We as readers, or listeners, of a story are aware of when that structure is complete. Indeed if it is not complete we often seek to make a story closure for ourselves. Thorndyke and Yekovich 4 through their work on story schema, have suggested that the narrative in all stories has common organizational structures which constrain the arrangements of events and situations. These structures act as aids in the recall of narrative situations. This recall generates a set of grammars corresponding to a particular series of situations. These grammars or rules act as guidelines which help us to predict, from our previous experiences what will happen in similar situations. Such a system of interpretation, or in Worth's terms 'language', must contain a limited set of elements or phonemes. For as Chomsky 5 has said, a language is 'a set of sentences, each of finite length and constructed out of a finite set of elements.' It is only after the phonemes or language elements have been identified that a rule based, or grammatical system, can be explored. The important concept to bear in mind here, is that the generation of a rule based system will firstly help in understanding the construction of any narrative and secondly, if one can identify the grammatical rules, then these rules can assist in the generation of further narratives. It follows that if structural patterns are evident within stories, then the elements that comprise such a structure must follow a rule based, or grammatical system. One can see such a system, in the cinematic American western and the classic detective novel. In the 'genre' of the detective novel, we are asked to guess, from the clues that have been given to us, who the murderer is. We can only identify the murderer, if the 3 Toolan, M J Narrative: A Critical Linguistic Introduction, Routledge, London (1988) 4 Thorndyke, P W and Yekovlch, F R A Critique of Schemata a s a Theory of Human Story Memory, Rand Corp. (1979)

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'right' narrative situations have been explored in the appropriate sequence. As our knowledge of that 'genre' increases it may even be possible to predict the type of information that will be given to us, so that we may guess the identity of the murderer. Hence, the narrative follows a 'strict' code, it adheres to a series of rules that are readily acknowledged by both

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the writers and readers of those narratives. Indeed it is often this feeling of reciprocity so created, which gives the reader an affinity with the writer. The detective novel, as with any genre, has a very strict set of rules relating to the nature of the plot, the type of characters and the role that these characters play. Although the genre narratives have a 'transparent' structure, other narratives are more opaque. Almost regardless of the degree of transparency or opacity, one of the pleasures in reading a novel or watching a film is to anticipate the narrative. As Thorndyke and Yekovich 4 have stated, this anticipation is due to our previous experience of similar narratives. Hence it appears that some subtle structures may be learnt. Alternatively, or in a complimentary sense to follow Chomsky 5, the rules or structures are 'innate', thus there is an underlying notion of narrative structure within human consciousness. Whether the narrative structure is innate or learnt is really of secondary importance to the present research. However, what is clear is that the structures are often deeply seated: so let us now consider the actual nature of the narrative structure itself. That is, the elements from which the structure is constructed and (to use Worth's model again (Figure 1)), the way in which these elements are sequenced (firstly by the writer/film maker and then interpreted or decoded by the reader/film viewer).

2 The narrative sequence Wiseman6 in discussing the theory and structures behind film documentaries, defines narrative as, 'a change between initial and final states by means of an intervening description of actions or occurrences that account for that change.' Wiseman's definition suggests two essential qualities that a narrative must possess; firstly the simplistic notion of a beginning and an end, hence the initial and final states; but it also starts to indicate some of the detail that occurs between these two states. The most important point is that the actions that occur within the narrative, are the cause and reflection of the changes which bring the narrative to completion.

5 Chomsky, N Syntactic Structures, Mouton Publishers, The Hague and New York (1965) 6 Wlsemsn, S Documentaries: Theory and Structure, Routledge, London (1978)

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The structure is therefore a mesh of relational parts, each action or occurrence proceeds another action or occurrence. Each of these actions or occurrences could be labelled as an element, with each element then being the direct result of a previous element and the reason for the next element.

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3 Narrative elements The origins of narrative theory can be traced back to the early part of the twentieth century, and the early work of a group of literary theorists now referred to as the Russian Formalists. The Formalists used the linguistic ideas of de Saussure, including the proposition that a sign consisted of two parts, the signifier and the signified. Through this semiotic approach the Formalists believed that it was possible to understand the text as distinct from the historical or cultural context in which that text was created. The group had two essential aims; firstly, to establish the scientific study of literature, and secondly to look at literature as a signification of reality and not merely as a reflection of reality. The whole idea behind Formalism was to get the reader of a text to look, not only at the content of that text, but the way in which the text had been 'formed'. In this way it moved away from the Aristotelian notion of plot as showing the inevitable and began to question the arrangement of the incidents that lead to the creation of that plot. They did this by highlighting devices that would accentuate the plot structure. In 1917 Shklovsky 7, a founding member of O P A Y A Z * underlined these ideas through the notion of 'defamiliarization'. he said in 'Art as Technique' The technique of art is to make objects 'unfamiliar', to make forms difficult, to increase the difficulty and length of perception, because the process of perception is an aesthetic end in itself and must be prolonged.

7 Seldon, R A Readers Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory

(2nd edn) Harvester Wheatsheaf, New York (1989) 8 Medvedev, P N and Bakhtin, M M The Formal Method in Literary Scholarship: A Critical Introduction to Sociological Poetics,

John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore (1978) 9 Bennett, T Formalism and Marxism, Methuen, London (1979) 10 Propp, V MorpholGgy of the Folktale, University of Texas Press, Austin (1958)

As well as 'defamiliarization', the Formalists sought to differentiate layers within the text; both Tynyanov 8 and Jakobson 9 saw the devices (functions) as changing as the text developed. They introduced the idea of the 'dominant', this was the essential feature of a text at a particular moment, they noted that the dominant was constantly changing, hence objects and actions were continually moving from the background of the text into the foreground and back again. After the political changes of 1918, Russian Formalism, began to be seen as contradicting the revolutionary aims. Formalist thinking was forced to change, and several of its members left Russia. The group was considered to have ended by 1930. However, one of the most influential studies concerning narrative theory, was published in 1928 by Vladimir Propp. Propp's tt) work, entitled 'Morphology of the folk tale', detailed a simple linear narrative structure, which Propp constructed after analysing more

"(OPAYAZ (Society for the Study ot Poetic Language) was one of two groups that are frequently labelled as 'homes' ot Formalism, the second being the Moscow Linguistic Circle (MLC) of which the Czech $tructuralist Roman Jakobson was a leading member.)

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Initial situation Absentation Interdiction Reconnaissance Receiving information Villainous action Hero reacts Preliminary misfortune Act of villainy Lack, insufficiency Mediation Consent to counteraction Depart, dispatch First function of donor Reaction of hero to donor Acquisition of agent Transference to designated place Hero struggles with villain Victory over villain Branding of hero Liquidation of misfortune Return of hero Pursuit of hero Rescue of hero Unrecognized arrival Claims of false hero Difficult task Solution of task Recognition of hero Exposure of false hero Transfiguration Punishment of false hero/ villain Wedding

Figure 2 Propp's list of dramatis personae functions

11 Frye, N Anatomy of Criticism, Penguin, London (1956)

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than a hundred Russian folk tales. Propp stated that this structure underlied all folk tales. The key to Propp's work are the dramatis personae functions, these Propp defines as 'an act of a character, from the point of view of its significance for the course of the action' (p 19). The functions can be seen as equivalent to the rudimentary story elements. Propp stated that all of the tales that he analysed could be described using these functions, and that they were the compositional structures around which folk tales were constructed. Propp concluded, the functions follow five rules i)

ii) iii) iv) v)

They are limited in number. (Propp noted 31 in total, however, in his analytical comparison of folk tale narratives he dismisses the 'preparatory' functions and concentrates on only 25 functions.) All actions can be shown to develop from these functions One function develops from the previous, their sequence is logical and 'strictly uniform' No single function excludes another All functions belong to a single axis, they build to form a linear structure

One can see from these rules similarities with Wiseman's definition of filmic narrative, for Propp also believes that the functions develop to form a single coherent structure. Propp maintains that this narrative structure is linear and that each function is of equal importance. Although the Formalists were opposed to the mimetic function of literature, Propp shows some similarity with Aristotle's 1~ distinction between story and plot. The story, Aristotle describes in 'Poetics' as an amorphous set of elements that are relatively meaningless on their own. There is a parallel here with Propp's functions. Aristotle's description of plot as the actual linking of the story elements into meaningful sequences, is equivalent to the juxtaposing of Propp's dramatis personae functions. From the dramatis personae functions Propp details his narrative 'model'; the model consists of the 31 functions in a list (Figure 2). The list begins with the preparatory section, this is the introduction, it establishes the roles of the character. From this introduction, Propp states that folk tales are of two narrative types, there are the search tales and the threat tales. In the search narratives, an object is lost and the hero is sent to find the object and return it. In the threat narratives, a community or person is threatened by an evil force or villain, a hero is sent to battle with the foe and destroy it, the hero then triumphantly returns.

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The narrative types are created from the juxtaposing of the functions into a linear sequences. Each narrative is formed by progressively moving through the list from the preparatory section through the body of narrative and finally concluding with a marriage between the hero and a princess. The simplest narrative would be of one type (search or threat) and would consist of a small number of functions. Propp also detailed complex narratives, which could consist of both narrative types and a number of different sequences within each type. For example a search narrative could involve the hero being threatened and fighting with a villain. These complex, multiple narratives Propp refers to as narrative 'moves', and he described three types of 'moves'. Firstly conjoining or consecutive, that is when one narrative ends and then a second narrative begins; secondly alternating, where two or more narratives occur simultaneously; and thirdly embedding, in this case a whole narrative is located within another narrative. Although Propp describes the types of narrative 'moves', he does not describe how these narrative 'moves' are linked together. Indeed his model does not indicate any special features that relate to the generation of these narrative 'moves'. Propp's linear 'model' demonstrates that there is a common structure to folk tales. For it initially encapsulates the rudimentary story elements (beginning, middle and end) and then suggests that one may look at narrative in more detail and still generate rules to describe it. Such an approach suggests that there is a greal deal of consistency in the way in which the folk tale narrative develops.

12

Skerl, J 'A new look at Vladimir Propp's narrative grammar: the example of Joyce's "Evelyn"' in Essays in Literature, Vol 8, No 2 (1981) 151-171 13 Swann-Jones, S 'The structure of Snow White' in Fabula, Vol 24 No 1-2 (1983) 56-71

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Although Propp's model has been criticised as being only applicable to a very limited type of folk tale, his model has been applied by many researchers outside the study of folklore; indeed the dramatis personae functions have been used to discuss such diverse narratives as the Walt Disney cartoon 'Snow White' ('The structure of Snow White '~2) and James Joyce's 'Evelyn 't3. Such research has suggested that Propp's model is not only a model for folk tale narratives, but is more widely applicable. This would appear to suggest that the narrative structures that Propp has detailed are 'universal', and are not peripheral external concatenations but internal schemas that address fundamental notions regarding story structure. Through examining Propp's functions across many texts, and finding many narrative similarities, there would appear to be mounting evidence that the narrative structure is not only an analytical tool, but also raises questions about the human psyche and cognitive make-up.

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First architectural narrative video

Propp's linear model

Initial situation Absentation Interdiction Reconnaissance Receiving information Villainous action Hero reacts Preliminary misfortune Act of villainy Lack, insufficiency Mediation Consent to counteraction Depart, dispatch First function of donor Reaction of donor Acquisition of agent Transference to designated place Hero struggles with villain Victory over villain Branding of hero Liquidation of misfortune Return of hero Pursuit of hero Rescue of hero Unrecognized arrival Claims of false hero Difficult task is set Solution of task Recognition of hero Exposure of false hero Transfiguration Punishment of false hero/villain Wedding

Revised list of narrative elements used in 'reception' experiment

Building context established (A)

Contextual information (A)

Building is introduced (C) Narrator appears (B)

Building appears/reappears (C) Presenter appears/reappears (B)

A threat is identified (D) Search for meaning is initiated (E) Advice is given (G) Travel upon advice (H) Journey begins around/inside building (F) Helper is introduced (K) Agent is used (L)

Building feature highlighted (E) Journey begins (D) Other person(s) appears (F) Reason is presented (H) Explanatory aid is used (G)

Question posed (I) Question/criticisms answered (J) Criticism is made (M) Object of search is found (P) Journey concludes (Q) Conflict occurs (N) Conflict is resolved (O)

Question posed (I) Question answered (K)

Final comments are made (R)

Summary (N)

Journey concludes (M) Conflict recognized (J) Conflict resolved (L)

Figure 3 Comparison of Proppian 'dramatis personae' fimctions attd architectural video narrative equivalents

4 Categories for understanding architectural videos Although Propp's model has been used on numerous occasions to analyse both film and literary texts, all of these analyses have focused on the role of narrative structures within fictional plots. The first part of this present research was therefore to question if these same fictional narrative functions (elements) and structures, were evident within nonfiction, that is within information or documentary video narratives. The first steps in investigating the relevance of Propp's structure in the context of an architectural video narrative is to re-evaluate the Propp functions. Figure 3 lists Propp's functions and the elements used in our pilot studies as the architectural video equivalents. The third list of elements, in this figure, shows a revised list of elements used in later experimental investigations. It was felt necessary to amend the Propp functions, firstly, because his functions were specifically tailored to folk tale narratives and secondly, the architectural narrative elements were to

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be used in experimental environments in which the architecturally literate subjects would not be familiar with Propp's terminology. The architectural video narrative elements in our study have therefore been created so that they are more easily understood by the experimental subjects; whilst, retaining the essence of the Propp functions. For example the function 'Acquisition of agent' used by Propp to describe the obtaining of a 'magical gift' (e.g. a wondrous stone, a magic lantern etc - a gift is intended to help the hero on his adventure) is now represented by the 'Explanatory aid is used' element. Such an aid could be a map, an old photograph etc. The function is the same, it helps the viewers, so that they can successfully complete their journey through the video. A pilot study with ten subjects indicated that they understood the newly designated, architecturally relevant, narrative functions. Furthermore their descriptions of the elements were similar to Propp's dramatis personae functions. An important feature of the Propp model are the two types of narratives, search and threat. In Propp's model these narrative types are perpetuated through the narrative functions 'Lack, insufficiency' and 'Act of villainy'. Within the architectural videos we have studied these functions do not occur explicitly. However, it is quite possible to identify connotations of the search and threat themes within some architectural videos. For example a threat theme, could well be evoked through reactions to a building being discussed by the presenter, or comments made by the presenter (or other persons) about a building and its environment. On the other hand, the search 'theme' may be explored through the presenter 'searching' for a meaning in the building.

5 Pilot study Architectural video elements were examined in a small pilot study. The aims of this study were to evaluate the recall of a short architectural video and the sequence in which the details of video were recalled by architectural students. The experiment consisted of ten subjects watching 'Marsh Court' a typical ten-minute programme in the BBC2 series 'Building Sites'. The programme is consistent with the series, where the presenter discusses a building that they particularly admire. The subjects were asked after a single viewing of the video, to verbally describe the chronological sequence of the video; they were then asked to recall the video again, this time selecting and arranging a sequence of cards, each bearing the label of a narrative element. The card sequence resulting from the pilot study are shown in Figures 4 and 5. The results shown in Figure 4 list the elements selected. Thus

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Subjects

Figure 4 Narrative elements selected in pilot study

A B C D E F G H I

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Question/criticisms answered Helper is introduced Agent is used Criticism is made Conflict occurs Conflict is resolved Object of search is found Journey concludes Final comments are made

subject 1 saw the video as starting with the building context being established (A), the next major element was the appearance of the narrator (B), followed by the beginning of the journey (F) etc. Whereas, subject 7 believed the start of the 'story' was initiated by a search for meaning (E), followed by the start of a journey (F), and then the appearance of the narrator (B) etc.

14 Bryan, J L Smoke as a Determinect of Human Behaviour in Fire Situations (Project People), National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Report, NBS-GCR-77-94, Washington, DC (1977) 15 Breaux, J J On Analysing and Interpreting Behaviour in Fires, Unpublished report, Uni-

versity of Surrey, UK (1979) 16 Keatlng, J P and Loftua, E F Post Fire Interviews: Developmentand Field Validationof the Behavioural Sequence Interview Technique,National Bureau

of Standards (NBS) Report, NBSGCR-84-477, Washington, DC (1984)

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Figure 5 diagramatically represents the significant connections between the elements. These connections were obtained by analysing all of the subjects element sequences, using a statistical method, outlined by Bryan 14 and Breaux 15. The level of strength is indicated by the qcoefficient. Breaux states that a connection is significant when the q-coefficient I> 1.85; however, Keating and Loftus ~6 using Breaux's method have taken the level of significance to be when q /> 1.00. The lower value has been used throughout this paper. Although the pilot study was conducted on only ten subjects; the results as shown in Figure 4, do indicate a number of similarities with the Propp model. These similarities are particularly evident at the beginning of the narrative/video, with the use of contextual information or narrator appears elements. Similarly, the sequence of elements concluding the narratives corresponded to Propp, here journey concludes and final comments are made complete the majority of the subjects' sequences.

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Figure 5 Significant element connections obtained from transitional probability analysis of pilot study results

Although the subjects were allowed to define the elements using their own terms of reference, the majority of the elements were used in similar situations. This is particularly evident with journey begins around~inside

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the building. However, as shown in Figure 4, there were a number of differences from the Proppian analysis, both in the n u m b J of elements used and the way in which some of the elements were repeatedly used within the sequences. Some of these differences may have been the result of the experimental method; for the experiment only investigated the recall of the video and not how the subjects perceived the narrative as it actually developed. However, the study did highlight a number of consistencies in the type and sequence of narrative details that the subjects recalled. For example all the subjects stated that the video initially explored the exterior of the building before discussing the interior. The results from the pilot study suggested that the architectural video did have a linear structure which resembled the Propp derived listing of narrative elements; i.e. one moved from the appearance of the narrator through a number of other elements until concluding with final comments being made. Both Figures 4 and 5 clearly show, however, that there were a number of deviations from the strict list of elements. On looking at these deviations more closely, one can see that instead of a single narrative structure being described, there appeared to be a confusion of different narratives occurring simultaneously, perhaps running in parallel. For example subject 1 indicates three possible consecutive narratives, each beginning with a different piece of contextual information. These patterns, or multiple narratives appear to correspond with Propp's narrative 'moves'. Although the describing narrative 'moves' Propp did not state how a complex narrative would fit into the list of dramatis personae functions. With this in mind, and the fact that the video used in the pilot study was only ten minutes long, one can perceive that architectural videos are constructed from a narrative structure that is more complex than can be described either by Propp's model, or the initial list of architecture video narrative elements. A new narrative model for architectural videos was therefore developed (see Figure 6). The elements contained in the model are the same as those described in final column of Figure 3. Some elements were labelled differently in order to reduce the possibility of creating a too specific chronology of named elements. We hope that you can see that the model still retains the essence of the Proppian narrative themes, of order, progression, and linearity. The new model suggests ways in which multiple narratives, narrative

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feature ) ~highlightedJ f

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'moves', can be developed, these are indicated through the loops, that allow the narrative elements at the end of the narrative model to be connected to those elements which are regarded as starting the narrative. The model therefore attempts to rectify one of the major difficulties of the Propp model, without contradicting Propp's ideas.

6 Testing the applicability of the model Although the pilot study highlighted a number of significant points, and led to the generation of a new model, it was felt that the pilot study placed

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• Initial viewing of ten minute video Verbal recall of video narrative Sequencing of 5-card elements based on initial viewing • Numerous viewings of video (subject controls video player) Sequencing of 14-card elements based on video

Figure 7 Experimental procedure ]'or 'reception experimenl'

• Cognitive tests Kolb preferred learning style questionnaire Witkin embedded figures test Birbeck shapes test

too much emphasis on the subjects' recall of the narrative and not on their perception of the narrative as the video was actually being viewed. A new experiment was therefore devised involving 16 subjects (first year undergraduate architectural students) and four different architectural videos (all from the BBC2 series 'Building Sites'). This experiment is referred to as the 'reception of the narrative sequence' experiment, or 'reception experiment'. This experiment is intended to examine the recall of the narrative, firstly through the subject's own words and then by selecting and sequencing sets of predefined cards. As well as recall, the actual decoding of the narrative whilst viewing the video was also examined. Through this detailed procedure, it is possible to identify not only the 'key' narrative moments, but also the development of the narrative preceding and following these 'moments'. The aim of the 'reception experiment' was to test the validity of the new narrative model developed during the pilot study, across a number of architectural videos and a larger number of subjects. Figure 7 shows the sequence of the experimental procedure. The experiment initially re-examined subjects' recall of a narrative after a single viewing of a ten minute video. The verbal responses of the subjects were later correlated with the results from next recall exercise. In this exercise the subjects were asked to select and sequence a series of cards each containing an element title. It was intended that these cards/elements would confine the terms used in the recall; each element was described on a single card, and the subjects were not restricted on the number of cards they could select. These recall exercises were used primarily as a means of introducing the notion of narrative to subjects. This was done by forcing a contraction in subjects' choices from the 'free' verbal recall through open definitions on the 5-card elements, to the precise definitions on the 14 architectural video narrative element sets. These 14 elements were used in the central exercise of the 'reception experiment'; this exercise was based on the subjects dynamically decoding (a sort of content analysis) the

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narrative while the video was being viewed (note that the subjects could pause, stop or replay the video at any time). The final part of the 'reception experiment' involved each subject completing three cognitive tests. It was intended that the results of these tests would help to explain differences in the reception of narrative, if these differences could be correlated with categories of subjects. The cognitive psychological tests used were Witkin's embedded figures t e s t (EFT) 17, Birkbeck College shapes test tS, and the Kolb preferred learning styles questionnaire ~9. Both the Witkin and Birkbeck tests examine the subjects' ability to differentiate between background and foreground shapes. The Kolb questionnaire asks the subject to rank order several lists of words which describe ways in which they seek to learn from a novel environment.

7 Results f r o m the reception o f the narrative sequence experiment Figure 8 indicates that the numerical narrative results from the 'reception experiment' were independent of the specific video viewed; therefore the results can be generalized. When the narrative results were analysed against the cognitive tests, there appeared to be no significant relationships. Neither the EFT nor the shape test results indicate a significant relationship with the Kolb styles.

17 Wltkln, HA, Oltman, P K, Raskln, E and Karp, S A The

Embedded Figures Test, Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA (1971) 18 Bellmen, P C 'Experiment one - test battery and user classification', Birkbeck College, University of London (private com-

munication) (1989) 1 9 Kolb questionnaire

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The first full analysis of the narrative results was based on the numerical 'scores' recorded for each of the subjects across all of the narrative tasks (see Figure 8). However, since narrative is the relationship of elements, the actual sequences generated by the subjects, as they viewed the videos, were analysed in terms of the element sequences. As with the results obtained from the pilot study, the element connections were examined using the Breaux t6 method with the Keating and Loftus significance level 17. Although certain elements have changed their labels slightly to aid communication, while not changing intended meaning, for instance narrator appears to presenter appears and conflict occurs to conflict recognized, one can still observe a number of similarities between Figures 5 and 9. Certain element connections are identical, the presenter (narrator) is connected to the contextual information element; similarly the journey begins element, although not connected to the start of the video in the pilot study, is directly connected to the question posed and explanatory aid (agent) elements in both figures. Other significant connections are those between questions being raised and questions answered, conflict

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Subjects Video 1 No. of words in verbal recall No. of significant words in recall No. of 5 cards used in recall No.of 14 cards used while viewing Witkin's EFT (s) Birkbeck shapes test (s) Kolb preferred learning style

1

2

3

4

296 40 5 79

100 33 8 25

221 56 10 35

206 42 9 43

291 93 Rigorous

424 134 Focused

174 138 Focused

745 75 Contemplative

Subjects Video 2 No. of words in verbal recall No. of significant words in recall No. of 5 cards used in recall No.of 14 cards used while viewing Witkin's EFT (s) Birkbeck shapes test (s) Kolb preferred learning style

5

6

7

8

62 22 6 27

166 42 8 24

259 42 9 20

177 38 12 45

324 105 Focused

375 107 Focused

228 89 Rigorous

286 133 Focused

Subjects Video 3 No. of words in verbal recall No. of significant words in recall No. of 5 cards used in recall No.of 14 cards used while viewing Witkin's EFT (s) Birkbeck shapes test (s) Kolb preferred learning style

9

10

11

12

108 24 11 32

144 33 8 20

232 54 11 16

169 35 12 24

495 77 Focused

344 106 Dynamic

99 133 Rigorous

1t 8 141 Dynamic

Subjects Video 4 No. of words in verbal recall No. of significant words in recall No. of 5 cards used in recall No.of 14 cards used while viewing

Figure 8 Summary of numerical results obtained from 'reception experiment'

Witkin's EFT (s) Birkbeck shapes test (s) Kolb preferred learning style

13

14

15

16

35 2 5 37

230 39 8 41

172 29 6 17

240 52 9 33

50 141 Dynamic

243 143 Focused

145 128 Focused

142 140 Rigorous

recognized to conflict resolved and journey concludes to summary (final comments are made). Although Figure 9 may indicate that the element connections do not follow any linear sequence, if one looks at the actual sequences in more detail, one can begin to see that there are some element chains that do conform to the second architectural video narrative model. Although, the actual sequences of elements are very complex, Figure 8 shows that many of the subjects used more than 40 of the elements from the 14-card sets, to describe the video sequence. However, a richer pattern seems to be

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I

Start videoof

I

Line key q _>5.00 q>1.85 m.l~.-

q_)l.00

Figure 9 Significant element connections from sequences generated while viewing video in 'reception experiment'

developing which we are able to explain by the model described in the next section of the work.

8 A model for architectural video narratives The third narrative model not only draws Lts inspirations from the 'reception' experimental results and the previous work of Propp, but also from Barthes 19. Barthes states in his authoritative essay ' A n introduction to narrative structure analysis' that

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Contextual information

A

Presenter appears

B

Building appears

C

Journey begins

D

Building feature highlighted

"E

Other person(s) appears

F

Explanatory aid is used

G

Reason is presented

H

Question is posed

I

Conflict recognized

J

Question answered Conflict resolved Journey concludes

K L M

Summary

N

Figure I0 3D architectural video narrative model

To understand a narrative is not only to follow the unfolding of the story but also to recognise in it a n u m b e r of 'strata', to project the horizontal concatenations of the narrative onto an implicitly vertical axis; to read a narrative (or listen to it) is not only to pass from one word to the next. but also from one level to the next.

Barthes notion of narrative as being more than just the horizontal concatenation of words (elements) is literally echoed through our new narrative model (Figure 10). The vertical levels within the 3D model develop from the fundamental notions of story structure, those of beginning, middle and end. The first, or highest level, is the 'introduction', from this level one moves down to the 'journey' level, then to the 'characters/objects' level, before going to the 'action' level and finally the

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'conclusion' level. As the narrative develops, that is as we move down through the model, the number of narrative elements at each level increases, thus the number of possible narrative sequences increase. On reaching one of the elements on the 'conclusion' level it is theoretically possible to move to any one of the other 13 elements. It is theoretically possible to move to any of the elements on a particular level, however, the elements are positioned so as to represent the most 'logical' connections, as suggested by our experimental data. For example the sequence of elements created by subject 2 in the 'reception experiment' begins with appearance of the presenter (B), the building then appears (C), contextual information (A) is given, the building reappears (C), this is supported by more information (A); then a journey begins (D), note at this point in the narrative sequence, the subject has vertically moved to the next level. The next element is the appearance of other person(s) (F), this indicates another vertical movement, this time onto the third level. Following the appearance of another person, an explanatory aid (G) is used, another person (F) appears, followed by another person (F), followed by another person (F), the building then reappears (C). The sequence of elements generated by this subject is clearly represented in the 3D model. Note that the reappearance of the building does not necessarily indicate a vertical upward movement through the model, but a horizontal shift, as all the previous vertical elements - those contained on levels 1 and 2 - are also found on level 3.

20 Barthes, R 'An introduction to the structural analysis of narrative' in New Literary History Vol VI, No 2 (1975) 237-272 21 Chambers, R Story and Situation: Narrative Seduction and the Power of Fiction, Manchester University Press, Manchester, University of Minnesota Press. New York (1984)

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The positioning of the elements on each level was determined by the significant element connections identified in Figure 9. In particular, the elements which are frequently connected are sited in proximity to each other; conversely the elements that are on the outer edges of the model, question posed, question answered, conflict recognized and conflict resolved are either rarely used or are only reached through certain, specific elements (note the high q-coefficient value for some connections). Although the building feature element (E) is not significantly connected to many of the other elements in Figure 9, it was found from the individual sequences that this was frequently identified in the subjects' narrative sequences. The building feature element was therefore positioned at the centre of the 3D model.

9 Participants within the communication process In the introduction to this paper we stated that the communication process was more than just the message, for the participants had at least an equal role. Indeed it can be argued, as Chambers 2t does in 'Story and situation:

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narrative seduction and the power of fiction', that narrative does not really exist until it connects with the audience to which it is being directed. In a similar way to Worth, Chatman 21 differentiates between the internal and external narrative processes. What is communicated is story, the formal element of narrative; and it is communicated by discourse, the formal expression element. (Chatman 22 p.31) The internal elements, or story parts, are equivalent to Propp's dramatis personae functions, indeed the Formalists defined story as the collection of narrative elements, the 'raw' narrative material. The Proppian and our architectural video narrative models do not merely represent the story, for in stating the relationship between story elements, they are suggesting plot structures. Hence the internal process is actually the organizing of the story parts. The 3D model represents the human intellectual structuring of the video described in logical and meaningful sequences shared by both the producers and receivers. Such a view also questions the nature of the connections. Jung 22 contends that 'pure' thought is only found within the unconscious mind, thus the creation of a narrative is the impure manifestation of the pure thought; the impurities are due to the cultural, sociological and psychological frameworks of the conscious mind. Toolan 3 says in 'Narrative: a critical linguistic introduction' that 'texts and readers are inescapably shaped by prior cultural assumptions as to what is significant, salient.' Within the internal process of creating the narrative, one is guided by what one considers as 'significant', and so in the externalization of the narrative, or discourse, one is also dissecting the narrative into its 'salient' parts. The 3D narrative model represents an abstract, pure form. It is an ideal narrative structure. Yet we as individuals cannot see the entire structure, we cannot travel between all of the elements at all times. Our views of the world, our cognitive frameworks, only allow us to 'logically' link some of the elements together at any one time. But what does this really mean within the context of the architectural video? Kris23 identifies that the individuals within the communication 22 Chatman, S Story and Discourse: Narrative Structures in Fiction and Film, Comell University Press. New York (1978) 23 Krls, E Psychoanalytic Explorations in Art, Schoken Books, New York (1952)

Architectural videos

process hold the keys to effective communication. He states that for communication to be effective there has to be similarity between the artist and audience processes. If there is agreement among the participants as to what is significant and salient. In our terms, the sequences of elements, or 'routes' need to be the same.

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One of the aims of this research, is therefore to show through the model which 'routes' certain individuals, or groups of individuals, select as being 'logical' narrative sequences. Once one can ascertain the nature of the individual narrative choices, one can then 'target' specific narrative structures to those groups. With this in mind, the 'reception of the narrative sequence experiment' contained three cognitive tests. It has already been stated that there was no statistically significant relationship between the initial numerical narrative element results and these cognitive tests. Further analysis was undertaken, however, to explore potential correlations between perceived narrative sequences and Kolb styles.

10 Kolb preferred learning styles Kolb's research and subsequent studies by Powel124 and Newland 25 have suggested that certain individuals can be grouped according to their orientation to the world. Powell's studies 24 on practising architects indicate that they are predisposed to learn about the world in one of four ways. He labels those who portray those different dispositions as: • • • •

Dynamic Focused Rigorous Contemplative

Figure 8 shows summary results of sixteen subjects learning style preferences as well as their narrative categories. Interestingly the results indicate that half of the subjects studied were focused individuals. This supports the findings of Powel124 that architectural students predominantly start as focused learners.

24 Powell, J A 'Is architectural design a trivial pursuit?', Inaugural lecture, Portsmouth Polytechnic, UK (1987)

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In order to see if there were specific narrative sequences which were preferred by specific Kolb styles, the element connections (created whilst viewing the video in the 'reception of the narrative sequence experiment') were combined for each style and then compared. The significant element connections for each of the Kolb styles were statistically analysed using the Breaux t5 method, the Kolb significant connections were then compared with the significant connections obtained from all of the subjects sequences (shown in Figure 9). The results in Figure 11 indicate that certain significant element connections were specific to particular Kolb styles. One can see from the diagrams that contextual information (A) is connected to a number of different elements in each of the styles. Within the dynamic style, contextual information (A) is connected to conflict resolved (L) and explanatory aid is used (G), whereas in the focused style it is connected to conflict resolved (L), it is not connected significantly

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connected to the explanatory aid is used (G). The rigorous style connects contextual information (A) to the building feature (E) element, and to the question posed (I) element. Whereas the contemplative style only significantly links the contextual information (A) element to the presenter appears (B) element. There are a number of differences throughout the four styles; however if the diagrams are looked at as a whole, one can still observe a number of similarities, which would appear to suggest that there are consistent connections across Kolb styles. Finally and very importantly, when a significant connection is found within more than one of the Kolb styles, the styles are in adjacent Kolb quadrants e.g. dynamic - focused, focused - contemplative etc, and not in opposite quadrants e.g. dynamic - contemplative, focused - rigorous. This is supported by Newland z~ who has stated that subjects in opposite quadrants show the greatest variance. From these results it is possible to say that there appears to be a correlation between the sequencing of narrative elements and the Kolb preferred learning styles. These correlations, however, can only be made very tentatively at present since the number of subjects who participated within the 'Reception of the narrative sequence experiment' was small and the distribution across the four styles was unequal.

11 Conclusions The findings of this research suggests that there is an underlying narrative structure within the 'Building Site' architectural videos, and that the narrative structure can be described using a comparatively small number of narrative elements. However, the way in which these elements are sequenced is very complex. The actual narrative is interpreted by the viewer, this interpretation is due in part to the viewers cognitive framework. One can tentatively propose that the cognitive framework filters the salient narrative moments from the whole structure, and these moments determine the viewers narrative perspective. The interest in architecture among the general public has been stimulated by mainstream television programmes. Some of these programmes, such as those produced in the BBC series 'Building Sites', provide an insight into how architecture can be communicated through video. Through the research outlined in this paper, we are attempting to understand the narrative structures upon which underlie these architectural videos stand, and the interpretations of these narratives by the video viewer. Worth identifies in the communication process that both of the partici-

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pants have an equal role. The research that has been completed and described within this paper, only begins to examine one side of that communication process, that is the reception and interpretation of the message. Further research is required to examine the actual creation of the narrative, that is the sequencing of the narrative elements into structures that would form the basis of an architectural film. Through raising these questions one can begin to identify the role of the architectural video in designer/client communication, and provide guidance to improve its effectiveness.

12 Acknowledgement This research was undertaken with the help of SERC research support.

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