Non-narrative film

Non-narrative film is an aesthetic of film that does not narrate, or relate "an event, whether real or imaginary". The aesthetic strives to be nonrepresentational. Aesthetics of Film writes, "This is to say one would not recognize anything in the image and that temporal, sequential, or cause-and-effect relations could not be perceived between the shots or the elements of the image." Narrative film is the dominant aesthetic, though non-narrative film is not fully distinct from that aesthetic. While the non-narrative film avoids "certain traits" of the narrative film, it "still retains a number of narrative characteristics". Narrative film also occasionally uses "visual materials that are not representational".

According to The Film Experience, non-narrative film is distinct from nonfiction film, though both forms may overlap in documentary films. The book writes, "A non-narrative film may be entirely or partly fictional; conversely, a nonfiction film can be constructed as a narrative.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-narrative_film

Non-Narrative as a formal system

A formal system is the over-arching organizational mode that structures and defines how certain elements within a film function to convey meaning.

Narrative is only one mode of organizing the elements of a film to make meaning.

There are four basic modes for organizing a film as a non-narrative formal system:   categorical, rhetorical, abstract, and associational.

Categorical: Categorical films organize their subjects through a process of classification, groupings, and categorization. 

Example: Travelogues

• They often begin by identifying the subject.
• Their patterns of development are limited and usually will be simple.

Rhetorical:  Rhetorical films organize their elements as the presentation of a persuasive argument.
Example:  The Thin Blue Line, 60 Minutes

• The goal is to persuade the audience to adopt an opinion about the subject matter.
• It tries to make an explicit argument (though usually filled with several implicit arguments)
• Address the viewer directly.
• The subject will usually not be an issue of scientific truth but a matter of opinion or attitude.
• If conclusions cannot be made scientifically, or beyond question, the film will often appeal to emotion.
• Frequently presents arguments as if they were simply observations.

Abstract:  Abstract film organize their elements around the sheer pictorial qualities of their shots.
Example:  Ballet mecanique

• Organized around the juxtaposition of colors, shapes, and movement in the images.
• The abstract qualities that are emphasized through comparison become interesting "for their own sake" as new ways of looking at things.
• Often organized in a way that we might call "theme and variation"
• Introductions often show the kinds of relationships the film will use as basic material
• Other segments will go on to present similar kinds of relationships but with changes.
• Usually depend on greater and greater changes as the film goes on.

Associational: Associational films suggest expressive qualities and concepts by grouping images that may not have any immediate logical connection.
Example: Our Trip to Africa, Report

• The juxtaposition of images or sounds functions to create an association from their comparison.
• Connections made among images may have visual qualities, but the comparison of these qualities function to suggest broader concepts or emotions.
• Associational films also create large-scale patterns that organize the entire film.

Source: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~film01/nonnarrative.html