ABSTRACT
The codification of audiovisual content allows an director to signify meaning within the narrative through the quantification and classification of story elements. This chapter looks at the classification and archiving of traditional narrative elements and considers their relevance to interactive storytelling. It explores the database as a repository for story texts and the use of algorithms in narrative construction. Vladimir Propp sought to codify the elements of Russian folk tales and create a scientific breakdown of their narrative components. He considered folk tales to be the textual archive of the country's cultural history and a record of times gone by. In narratology theory, the term synecdochical is a figure of speech where the name of a part is used when referring to the whole. Embedded narratives are usually non-narrative embedded texts. Narrative perspective positions the audience relative to the text. It creates a uniquely singular observational viewpoint with regard to characters, plot and story.
