Storyboard & Character Mood Boards - Construction

Storyboard (Flashback Sequence) 1st Draft - Ella Ponting (EP)

To gather ideas about the different shot types, angles and techniques to use in our flashback sequence I conducted a first draft of a storyboard to piece together visually how our film will map out. As we haven't yet filmed our piece I had to attempt to recreate the shot types and angles etc using images I found on the internet. After more of the filming has progressed I will make an updated storyboard including the real shots we have used in our film and update any changes made to the storyboard for these scenes. My fellow team-mates Sara and Monisha will need to look at the storyboard and review any changes they want made to filming and directing, however they have let me construct the storyboard for the flashback sequences (i.e all the scenes filmed at my house) as I am more familiar with the filming location. I have divided the storyboard into 9 key points in the flashback sequence starting with the opening scene with the protagonist reading 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' to keep in with the timings of our script, I inserted the sections of the voiceover that will be spoken above the visual image as to ensure enough time is given between shots for the dialogue to be spoken. If we discover that we do not have enough time for the complete section of dialogue to be spoken above each section we will find a way of either reducing the dialogue or including longer/more shots for this specific film sequence. After the protagonist has finished reading she exits the room and heads downstairs into the living area space and switches on the television; for the shots of the television I discussed the depth of field to be used as well as the incorporation of jump-cuts to mirror the protagonist's disorientation. The following prominent section of the flashback sequence will be as the protagonist stares outside into the darkness scanning her horizons after fearing she has heard/ seen something unsettling outside. This mirrors the protagonist's paranoia and acts as an anticlimax in the scene as provides a sense of foreboding for scenes yet to come. The next important section in the scene is the protagonist getting ready to go to sleep, she washes her face and brushes her teeth, possibly resembling a form of cleansing of the soul indicative of the psychological thriller genre. We also include an important convention of a psychological thriller: a dripping tap to mirror the sense of unease and provides stark imagery of themes such as blood and death. We then have the time lapse of the clock changing time before hitting the dreaded 12:00: the haunting hour for the demons. I then discussed the demon scene and the different techniques we plan to incorporate into our film such as the use of flickering lights and jump cuts to make it seem as if the demons are appearing out of the darkness and to add to the sense of unpredictability of the sequence.

NOTE: This is a first draft of the Storyboard which I completed a few weeks before we first started shooting this sequence, Monisha and Sara both made some very insightful suggestions into some changes that will enhance our film's genre and dark undertones which will be be incorporated into the updated Storyboard. 

Storyboard – flashback sequence from ellaponting

DEAR EXAMINER: WILL YOU PLEASE EMAIL MYSELF ON:
SAvramovska@oxfordspiresacademy.org OR MY MEDIA TEACHER IF MY STORYBOARD DOES NOT APPEAR ON HERE. THIS IS A TECHNICAL ISSUE THAT UNFORTUNATELY CANNOT BE FIXED.

STORY BOARD BY SARA AVRAMOVSKA (SA)

• In my personal view, I believe that our film shoudl begin with an establishing shot of the counsellor's office as Hayle walks in. This will establish the context of our film as well as the scene itself by displaying important figures as well as locations in our film.

• Shot Reverse Shot is a camera technique which embodies one character displayed to be looking at the other, and then the other character is shown back at the first character.As the characters are shown to be facing opposite directions, the observer assumes that they are looking at eachother as any communication would take place in real life. This shot is a classic feature of the continuity editing that Hollywood films embody. This shot evokes the eye-line match film editing technique. This is based displayed what the character on screen is seeing, as the audience require to see through their eyes. Alftred Hitchcock has displayed frequent used of this camera technique in Rear Window (1954) as Wikipidia clearly states, ''Eyeline match also refers to the practice of setting off-camera eyeline for single shots of characters within a scene such that, when those shots are cut together each of the characters appear to be looking at the correct character, without any confusion". Factors such as the height of the tripod, the camera lens as well as the distance between the camera and the actor appearing on screen must remain stagnant at all times therefore we can avoid confusion within the audience. This will give our audiences a sense of continuity in our film as our post-production editing process succeeds. Continuity in editing is fundamental as it guides the viewer through the action, contributing to the 'spatio-temporal consistency'. This will emphasise smooth transitions of time and space within our film. Factors such as dietetic sound, match on action, temporal discontinuity, a flash back, an establishing shot, cross- cutting etc. can affect the overall outcome. 

• Furthermore, I believe that the over the solider camera angle is also suitable for presenting the conversation between the counsellor and our protagonist. This shot ephesizes the perspective or camera angle of the soilder of another person. This means that the back of the head or the solider of the character frames the shot. This type of shot is commonly used when 2 characters on screen are communicating and will usually follow an establishing shot. This also helps the audience piece the narrative in their setting

• For the transition between the counsellor scenes and the flash back sequence we intent to use a smooth transition. After conducting some research on Final Cut Pro Tools I believe that we are able to establish this by using The Cross Dissolve Effect.This post production matter will help us establish a gradual visual transition from one setting/location to the other, This effect can alsp be refered to as a fade-in or a fade-out. The cross disole effect will overlap our two shots consisting of two different locations for the duration effect. I believe that it is best if this is accompanied by non-diegetic as well as diagetic sound in order to enhance its purpose. The duration of this shot typiclly takes 1 to 2 seconds in real film, which is a time frame to aid us to the right direction although we may vary this aspect according to our preferences. I believe that cross disolve will also soften the obvious and hard cuts within our film to furthermore establish continuity. In many instances the duration of which a scene cross dissolves into another can also be dependant on the narrative and the mood we are attempting to set. This continuity editing is most common in classical cinema and disolves now are kept up to a minimum in films. This may be due to a stylistic taste of directors, however I personally believe that we musnt involve multiple occasions where this shot occurs as it can become rather a distraction for the viewer. It may minimize the sense of realism we desire to convey as a group of directors. 

• A reaction shot is a shot which displays the reaction of a character while cuting away from the main scene.This type of shot displays an emotion shown on the actors face, most commonly a close-up. This type of shot is usually a bebereft of dialogue scene which we can incooperate between the counsellor and our protagonst. The emotional depictions of both characters can advance the dialogue scene through an emotive manner. I beleieve we should incoperate this short as teh counsellor states, "I'm going to need you to tell me exactly what happened." and "I'll...I'lll try my best" to trigger empathy within the audience towards our protagonists psychological complications. A close up reaciom shot can be included as Hayle's 'a wave of anxiety washes over her face and her mouth constrains into a thin line.' (a quote depicted from our film script). This shot can also be incoperated a sour protagonist tucks her hair behind her ears and twiddles with her fingers. This will be an effective way of projecting Hayle's anxiety to the audience, triggering a psychological cue for the target audience of our film and how they would recpond to her obsitcles/ problems themselves. This will furthermore establish a closer connection between the audience and our protagonist, therefore triggering further interest and engagement to the narrative stucture/ plot-line of our short film.

Character Mood Boards 

Protagonist - By Ella Ponting (EP)

Hayle is our seventeen year old female protagonist suffering from depression and sleep paralysis. Due to her mental health conditions, Hayle often appears tired and disconnected from the rest of the world and prefers to keep her problems to herself rather than talking things through with her counsellor. Whilst Hayle tends to be more introverted, she isn't afraid of speaking her mind and standing up for the things she believes in. She has a complicated relationship with her family; she lives with her Dad whom she barely sees as he always seems to be on business. Being an only child, she craves the companionship and friendship that a sibling would provide. Hayle wears a blend of fashionable high-street clothing and vintage attire. She has short jet black hair and wears a cosy looking jumper and skinny jeans. Hayle enjoys listening to music, in particular acoustic songs and reads lots of books in her spare time. Hayle likes to channel her creativity and energy through acting, dancing and performing, providing her with a platform in which she is free to express herself as she wishes. Unlike most portrayals of young girls, Hayle doesn't conform to the stereotypical image of a self-absorbed, narcissistic woman. We wanted her to have a personality atypical of how most people would view someone who has a mental health condition. Outwardly it is often difficult to depict how Hayle is feeling, her smile remains intact despite being in a difficult point in her life. Sleep paralysis is a condition rarely discussed, therefore it was essential to portray her character accurately and provide a relatable, yet intriguing character.



Counsellor (Mrs Audrey)  - By Sara Avramovska (SA)

The Counsellor, Mrs Audrey, is a middle aged woman appealing in her kind-hearted character expressed through the interaction between herself and Hayle within the opening and ending scene of our short film. She appears to be gentle, clam and relaxed towards the seventeen year old protagonist (Hayle.) as she approaches her psychological complications with a soothing tone of voice; the personality qualities are further demonstrated in a professional manner through Mr Audrey's dressing attire consisting of smart, yet casual and comfortable clothing, a comfy black dress or perhaps even a woolen jumper and smart trousers would do the job! She has shoulder length dark brown hair (worn down) and brown eyes as well as natural, soft make-up to enhance her beautiful facial features.Similarly to Hayle,Mrs Audrey enjoys reading books in her spare time too, weather they are based on psychological conflicts or any form of English literature; we are aware of this as within the opening and ending scene of the film as books such as 'The Worlds Wife' by Carol Ann Duffy and 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte are displayed on the table within the camera frame, however we are unaware of any personal life characteristics such as Is Mrs Audrey married?! Does she enjoy music?! etc.


Demons- By Monisha Roy (MR)

The Demons appear around the same age as Hayle because we like to believe that since they only exists in her mind she would conjure up these demons and in a way they would be related to the things she knows and is attached with. There are three different demons in our film but it is mostly focused on the demon that is portrayed by Sara Avramovska (SA), the demon she plays has long brown hair which is let down to cover her face on the side to make us focus more on the icy blue eyes that go with her pale face with veins showing around her eyes and forehead which creates this deathly look and we feel like that represents the personality of the demon, deadly and creepy. She also happens to have blood dripping from her eyes and mouth gives it more of a gore look which makes it menacing.