storyboard

How To Storyboard A Film Sequence

The purpose of a story board is to photograph (draw/digitalise) each and every shot of a film with a list bof key information written underneath it.Story Boards allow a director to visualise the whole film before filming and also allows the camera person to understand how the film is to be shot.Story boards also allow you to change elements if they don't work visually before the expensive film making process.Each frame of a story board should contain the following information :
1. Shot number - each shot of the story board must be numbered so that the intended sequence of shots can be followed
2. Framing - Is the shot a close up ? Medium shot ? Long shot ?
3. Drawing - A drawing visualisation of what is happening in the shot.
4. Action - A breif description of what is happening in the shot
5. Dialogue - Single lines of dialogue may be written
6. Sound effects - Are there any specific sounds, diagetic and non-diagetic sounds ?Each frame on the story board must have shot descriptors such as FRAMING:

MLS, ECU, LS etc.Also Information on movement and positions such as the following abreviations could be added:H/A - High AngleL/A - Low AnglePOV - Point Of View2-Shot - Two people in a shotOTS - Over The ShoulderTrack/Dolly - Move camera on wheeled platformCrab - Sideways movePull Focus - Change what is focused on.

Preliminary Task

Before we starting filming I took part in a preliminary task for my forthcoming Foundation Project in AS Media. In a group, we were asked to produce a short clip of no more than two minutes. This clip had to include the following things:The exchangment of an object,A door being opened,A match on action shot,A handshake, andA shot-reverse-shot.We managed to incorporate all of these and produce a short

Storyboard

The first shot of my media production will be close ups of each of the gangster walking in. Each shot will be freeze framed so we could introduce who each of the characters are. each shot we will use zoom shots portraying the characters facial expressions and from this audience will be aware of what sort of person each character is.

The second shot will be a high angle shot of the two character 'spoony' and 'pretty boy' having a hand shake, this will make the audience aware of the respect each character has for one another. Furthermore, it will show the audience the reputation these gangsters have built up for each other.

The Third shot will be an extreme close up of main gangster 'Mobster' who is the antagonist of the film. the music we will use will be intense upbeat which will alert the audience that this is the main character of the script.

The fourth shot is slow motioned, close up shot of alcohol being poured in to the cup which also shows what short of characters these gangsters are.

The fifth shot is a shot of all the gangsters on the table playing cards, drinking alcohol and smoking. The shot will take place in room with classic furniture such as a posh table showing the status of the characters. The music we will use in this shot is very tense as it will grip the audience. The main character answers the phone which makes me angry and he gets up and makes his way to the garage to torture the victim.

The sixth shot is a point of view shot of the victim looking at the gangsters walking in to the garage in this shot we will use a heartbeat and breathing sound which will be the non-diagetic sounds. the location will be in the back of someones garage as it shows gangsters have their own unique places to torture their victims.

The seventh shot will be of each gangsters heating up things and frightening the victim by choosing their own weapons they will be using to torture the victim. The location of the shot will be again in the garage.

The eight and ninth shots are very similar as the eighth shot are zoom in and out shots of the victim getting tortured by each gangster, and the final ninth shot is a point of view shot of the victim getting a gun pointed at him. In this shot we will use editing such as colour corrector and non-diagetic sounds of gun shots and rifles.

The 5,6,7,8,9 shots we will use a transition of a hidden camera within the garage which will make the audience aware that these gangsters are being watched throughout the scene.

Chosen Film Idea

Me and my group member of decided to choose our second thriller as our production named 'Black Jack' the reason why we choose this production becuase we could use many editing techniques to enhance our production to gain more marks. Also we decided to choose this idea becuase we had a location and setting which was just right for our production. our production will be taking place in a house in victorian 'posh' room. The reason being is it will make production seem more real and grab the viwers attention immediately. The characters in our production will be wearing different styled suits and each have thier own unique 'mafia' look.

Chosen Film idea

The film that we are going to be choosing from our two ideas is going to be the second one which is the thriller. The reason we choose to do a thriller was becuase we could add more affects, and editing in to our producion. Also the film idea is intesting as the story line is about a 2 young girls who are going to meet an old friend at the woods for a drink however when they get there they realise that the same friend that they where going to meet is dead! they are in complete shock and they both try to escape from the woods, not realising something rises from the ground which camourflaged under the leaves. This is where the suspense and tension builds and the question is being asked how did their friend die before they reached the woods?

We chose to do a thriller becuase it adds more tension and suspense to our production and also it will appeal more to audience becuase of the special effects and editing that we will use in our production.

Questionnaire feedback

This was the over all feedback from my questionnaire:

The questionnaire was filled in by students aged 16-18. Most people gave a horror a certificate of 18 and a romantic-comedy as a PG, and a thriller as a certificate of 15

In my questionnaire most people favoured a romantic-comedy. There were mixed answers t0 question 5 as many people liked/disliked different things about a film. Some thought the opening credits of a movie where pointless, some enjoy the pre-titled sequence and the music of a film and finally some liked the suspense and atmosphere that builds in a horror movie. films which where disliked include 'Ghost Rider' films which where liked include 'Seven'. There was mixed answers for question as many people liked/disliked different types of films. most people favoured 'Seven' as it was a physiological thriller and also 'Scarface' was favoured because of the acting of Al-Pacino.

Most people answered question 7 very much the same as they preferred a movie to end in a shock or a twist this was because it was a more dramatic and a tense type of ending. Question 8 was also answered very much the same as people thought thriller is more physiological and involves zombies and killers, whereas a horror involves more blood and its suppose to frighten the audience. People also thought that the Mise-en-scene is different for both genres. Question 9 was answered differently to all the other question as people preferred many different types of films such as Taken, Step-Brothers, Red Dragon and Seven. Finally question 10 was answered almost the same as most people would want to watch film at the cinema rather than at home as the experience is more dramatic.

Secondry Research

Statistics taken from:
http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/media/pdf/2/p/2009.pdf

i have added a table which shows which genres where most successful at the box office, and which genres where peoples most favourite and peoples least favourite.

I found out that comedy was UK'S highest grossing earning a massive £222.4 million at the box office and also released the most. The next most popular genre was horror earning £23.4 million and so on was thriller which earned £21.2 million and finnaly romance which earned 1.0 million at the box office. Romance and comedy may confuse you however, some are mixed as sub-genres if both where combined the genres would come on top.

Questionnaire

As part of my Research i conducted a questionnaire for my audience about different genres.

1. What is your gender?

Male

Female
--------------------------------------------------
2.Which age range are you in?

16-18

19-22

20-24
--------------------------------------------------
3. What do you think will be an ideal certificate for each of the following?

Horror

Romantic-comedy

Thriller

18 15 PG ?
--------------------------------------------------
4. What is you favourite Genre?

Horror

Thriller

Romantic-comedy
-------------------------------------------------
5. What do you like/dislike about a movie and why? (please circle)

Acting, Editing, Film- climax, other ?

--------------------------------------------------

6. What is your favourite movie and why? (please state a movie)

Seven, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Drag me to hell, Love actually ?

----------------------------------------------------

7. How would you prefer a movie to end and why?

Twist

Shock

Suspense

Other

-----------------------------------------------------

8. What is the difference between a horror and a thriller?


------------------------------------------------------

9. What movie would you recommend and why? (please circle appropriate movie)

Red Dragon, Seven, Halloween, Love actually ?

------------------------------------------------------

10. Where do you prefer to watch a movie?


Home

Cinema
-------------------------------------------------------

Film Ideas

My group and me thought of three ideas:

Romantic-Comedy

The first idea we thought of was a romantic comedy which will be about a young man from a deprived background who is overwhelmed about his job interview and a young women who is from a affluent background and is a established working-class women . The boy is dressed smart and formal after ages he is rushing to his interview while he is crossing the main road he almost has a accident but luckily he is saved. He is on the car bonnet gazing at this women not knowing who she is he makes a funny face at this women and continues rushing to his interview. On the way to his interview he is getting late and he becomes inpatient as the lift ain't coming down he uses the stairs to get to his interview. When he opens the door he realises that his interviewer is the same women who he almost had an accident with this is when he gets a huge surprise.

Thriller-idea 1

The second idea we thought of was a thriller which will be about two young girls who are working - class who are going to meet a old friend for drink in the deepest ends of the woods. This friend that are going to meet is Young boy who is a alcoholic. These girls are walking through the woods feeling intimidated of the unpleasant atmosphere surrounding them when they reach the woods they realise and see the same young boy that they where going to meet is dead with blood all over him and a bottle of alcohol next to him. Both of the girls are in a absolute shock and are frightened one of the girls wants to desperately leave the woods. As they are about to leave the woods someone rises from the ground who is camouflaged under the leaves.

Thriller- idea 2

The idea behind our second thriller is about a group of mafias who have kidnap ed the victim and have tied him up in the back garage and torture him till he is dead. The idea is derived from the movies God Father and Scarface staring Al Pachino. The mafias are together in a room playing cards on a huge Victorian table suddenly the main mafia 'mobster' receives a phone call which makes him become furious so he leaves the room, however during this period are unaware who they are being watched by so this is where there Is a huge twist to the story.

Not Breaking The 180 Degree Rule

Match on action is a component of seamless editing where a point of action (like handaling something to someone) is a shot from different angles and cut at the point of action creating a match.

You also have be certain that the eye line matches of both characters from a shot reverse shot and matches in terms of location on the screen. I have included a picture depicting how the 180 degree rule works

Research in to existing products- Romantic comedy's

British Film

'Love Actually' (working title films)

The film Love Actually is a 2003 British romantic comedy directed by Richard Curtis. The film was budgeted $30 million and grossed a spectacular $247, 472, 278 at the box office and world wide. The film was very high budgeted as there were well known and outstanding actors which stared in the film.

Love Actually was distributed by universal pictures, studio canal, working title films and in association with DNA films. The writer was responsible for the biggest British hits of the last ten years. Blending in ambition, vibrant and uplifting comedy's with outstanding young actors and potential rising stars.

Opening sequence- 'Love Actually'

In the opening sequence there is a range of close ups and medium close shots showing people who are meeting their loved ones and we could clearly see the joy and bliss on peoples faces when they are meeting one another. The reason why the directors used close ups is to portray excitement and happiness on peoples expressions when they are meeting each other on Heathrow airport.

There is also a non-diaegetic voice over used in the opening sequence which complements with the jump cuts in the scene. The music used is sweet, soft and orchestral and also very emotive which complements with the whole of the opening sequence. The titles are white and red, the colour white typically symbolises purity and calmness. The colour red my give us the hint that love and happiness is immanent in the film as it is set in Christmas time. Furthermore we also see scenes of London which look glittery, sparkling and affluent. There are also a montage of images portraying the posh and elegant parts of London. This gives us a hint that the movie is set near Christmas times.

Christian Metz model of genre developments

We are going to identify films in the horror genre and use Christian Metz model development to recognize the horror genres existence and development.

Horror films
-Frankenstein (1931)
-Scary movie (1999)
-Scream (1996)
-Nosferatu (1922)
-Blair witch project (1998)
-The sixth sense (1999)
-Dracula (1931)
-The cabinet of Dr Caliguri (1919)
-Seven (1995)
-Carry on Screaming (1969)
-Shawn of the Dead (2004)

Christian Metz in his books, language and cinema (1974) explored the development of genre film and came up with a conclusion that genres pass through four stages of existence:

(1) The Experimental- The cabinet of Dr Caligari, Nosferatu

(2) The Classic- Dracula, Frankenstein

(3) The parody- Scary Movie, Carry on screaming, Abbot and costello meet frankenstein, Shawn of the dead

(4) The Deconstruction- Seven, Sixth Sense

Explanation of four Stages

By experimental we mean the phase of early films which explored and experimented with horror themes in its narratives e.g. Nosferatu

By classic we mean the phase of films which established the narrative conventions of the horror genre in its most successful and defining period e.g. Dracula

By parody we mean films that have mimicked the horror genre in some comical way e.g. Scary Movie

By Deconstruction we mean films which have taken the genetic elements of the horror genre and amalgamated (mixture) them in to varying sub genres e.g. Seven

Halloween (1978) opening sequence

Title sequence Halloween (1978)

Research in to existing products 'Horror'

Halloween (1978) Directed by John Carpenter
Halloween is a classic (1978)American independent horror film which is set in the fictional inhabited town of Haddonfield, Illinious USA on Halloween night.

The films budget was $320,000 and grossed $47 million at the box office which was a huge success for the director John Carpenter. The film was inspired by the classic Psycho (1960) horror by Alfred Hitchcock's.

I analysed the title sequence and the opening sequence of the movie Halloween i approached this in terms of camera angles, Mise- en -scene and sound.

In the title sequence we see red and orange font appear on the titles which indicates bloodshed and carnage. There is a black background which is visible to us which clearly shows John Carpenter is portraying a horror movie. The colour red also connotes blood and fire burning which may hint that they may be violence and slaughter in the movie. In terms of sound in the title sequence there is a medium tempo theme music used which is constantly becoming high and low pitched throughout the scene to build tension and suspense.

in terms of camera angles there is a zoom in shot of the pumpkin which lights up bright red from the eyes which may connote that something unpleasant will occur within the movie. Furthermore there is a extreme close up of the pumpkin which may suggest we may never see Michael Myers face in the movie.

In the opening sequence of the movie there is a subjective point of view long-take shot which again is creating tension the camera is also dollying in a subjective POV shot. We could also hear incidental music which becoming high and low pitched which is dramatic. Each step Michael takes when he is walking to murder his sister the music complements with the action. We could also hear diaegetic sound of Michael's foot steps and his sister humming this again builds suspense.

Red Dragon

Red Dragon (2005) Directed by Brett Ratnert

The movie starts with a scene in the opera house with a orchestra playing. This shows to the audience as to what type of person Hannibal Lector is. A typical opera listener is usually higher class and very intelligent

The music in the background begins to get intense as they show the reaction on Hannibal Lector's face. When Agent Graham goes to visit Hannibal Lector's house we see that he is quite wealthy and it has traditional classic and antique furniture throughout the house.

Throughout the title sequence the titles are appearing up in dark red which usually symbolises hatred, blood and evilness. We could also see books which the camera zooms in to which again shows Hannibal Lector is a intelligent man. We see several different expressions of Hannibal Lectors face throughout the title sequence which shows Dr Lector from joyful to miserable. The title sequence of Red Dragon is similar to the title sequence of the movie Se7en which gives us a hint that director Brett Ratnert was inspired by the movie Se7en.

Se7en (Title sequence)

Research in to existing products 'Thriller'

Se7en (1995) Directed by David Fincher
I analysed the opening sequence of the film called 'Seven' staring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. I approached this in terms of camera angles, movement, sound and mise en scene.

Morgan Freeman is dressed formally with a shirt tie and jacket, he is also wearing a hat and considerably care of his appearance. we also get the hint that Morgan is an fairly intelligent man as we can see he has a desk, and his books in his closet are formally organised. Brad Pitt is also formally dressed however it seems he wants to become more dominant than Morgan.

In the title sequence there is a extreme close up shot of a book which has blank pages we get an idea that this man is planning on keeping records of his deadly sins. Furthermore there is also a blade used in the scene where the man is peeling his finger nails of, maybe he is removing his fingerprints this convey that this man is insane or a murderer.

There is also a metronome used to create suspense and tension when Morgan is resting in his bed we could also here sounds of dogs barking, hustle and bustle and the scene ends with thunder. This conveys there is something ominous about to occur.
There is a scene where this man is removing words of his book such as transexual and bisexual this connotes that maybe this man despises these people and wants to punish them 'Gods job'

The setting of the scene is in a dull environment we see police are rushing bodies on to the ambulances, the weather is also gloomy and sombre as its rainy we are aware that something is not right.

In the opening sequence there is a non-dieagetic theme sound of the movie which becomes high and low pitched throughout which is also building tension and suspense.Furthermore there are pictures of naked children which connotes that pedophilia is immanent.