Chapter 3 of Film Art discusses the elements of narrative form, “a series of changes [that] occurs according to a pattern of cause and effect.” (p.73) The manipulation of temporal duration, order, and frequency work to guide the viewer to build the story. Temporal duration is described as how long a story unfolds based on the film’s plot. Temporal order is the way in which the events of the story are ordered, utilizing elements such as flashbacks or flashforwards. Temporal frequency is how often viewers see or hear an event. For example, if we see an event early in the film then again later, there is a flashback. There are 3 components to temporal duration, which are story, plot, and screen duration. Story duration is the amount of time it takes for the narrative arc to be “completed”. Plot duration is the time that events on screen are implied to have taken. Screen duration is the length of time it takes to watch an entire film.

In The Cinema of Attraction, Tom Gunning discusses the influences and role of showing and attractiveness in early film. He speaks about the chase film, honing in on the film Personal by Biograph, which is an excellent example of narration and attractiveness working together in film. The chase film combines elements such as causality, linearity, and continuity editing in order to tell the story. In the film, a French nobleman runs from his fiances; but, as the shot goes back and forth between the man and the women, there is an audience placed in the women’s path to slow them down and extend their pursuit. This keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat, because they know that the characters are running at different times and paces, waiting for when the pursuit will be over. This shot sequence utilizes temporal duration to exasperate the chase between the man and his fiances. The women chasing the man have all seen an advertisement the man posted in the paper, claiming to look for love. Therefore, Biograph cuts between the women and the man to show how quickly and passionately the characters are running, one to escape and the other to chase. The story duration is a quick, fast paced chase, where the plot duration may be longer, showing other events in the film’s story.