Stroyboarding Further research

I like this video because it highlights the importance of storyboarding, showing how crucial it is to the film making process. It also gives a basic over view of how storyboarding should be done, and explains that it doesn't have to be a masterpiece, it just has to show what is happening in the shot. Also, it is hosted by Sam from 'Lord of the Rings,' which is a great film. :)

Storyboarding Research

Why is Storyboarding an essential part of the film making process?

• It's much easier to communicate your ideas through pictures rather than text or speech.
• It is an important piece of communication between the film crew and provides a base that everyone can work from.
• When filming, the crew must all see the storyboard, so that they know what they are doing, and what needs to be prepared.
• After filming, storyboards act as a reminder of what was filmed and in what order.
• The original storyboard can be compared to the film, to judge the changes.
• The special effects team will be able to see whether or not the directors ideas are possible.
• It allows the director to spot problems before shooting, saving time and money.
• It helps the actors to visualize what they should be doing.

'P' is for 'Psycho'

A.)     What is happening in the opening sequence of the film?

The film opens with a low angled shot of a toilet door, with low key lighting. The camera zooms in and it mixes to a low angled shot of a man's legs. The man's body is revealed as the camera tilts up from his legs to show a low angled shot of the man leaning over some kind of surface. It then cuts to a high angled shot of some objects on the surface including: a watch, a photo and a wallet. The camera slowly pans across these objects to allow the audience to take in what they are, suggesting they are important to the rest of the film. It then cuts to a CU of a sink with blood flowing clockwise into the plughole. It then cuts again to a CU of the man wrapping his hand in a bandage before cutting to a CU of the same hand clenching in the mirror. The camera then tilts up to a CU of the man's head. The man quickly turns his head from right to left as we hear the door opening. We are shown a MS of a boy entering the room, (from right to left.) It then cuts back to a MS of the man tucking a gun into his belt, before cutting to an ECU of the man's eyes. The shot is shadowy, and the man says "BAD MOVE KID..." before it fades to black. There is a pause, then we hear two gunshots, making us assume that the man at the sink will be the villain of the film.

B.)     How is the narrative flow established?

The narrative is established immediately, with very choppy, to-the-point editing. There is lots of quick cuts between the scenes, and close ups that give hints to the rest of the film. For example the close up of the blood flowing into the sink, hints at some kind of thriller or horror, and creates a suspensory atmosphere. The use of low angled shots and dim lighting make the man seem threatening or scary, and gives an ominous feel to the opening sequence. We get a clear sense of narrative and continuity as the shots all seem to link to one another, and the sequence of events are easily understandable.

C.)     If you were directing this sequence, what aspects of the storyboard would you like to change?

If I were directing the sequence, then I would try to create a lot more suspense in order to keep the audience gripped to the film. To do this, rather than having the boy walk into the room straight away, I would have him knock on the door loudly, and the man turn around quickly looking scared. This would create a lot more mystery and ambiguity to the sequence, as the audience would be asking themselves, who knocked at the door? are they good or bad?  what is going to happen next? The man would then get his gun out and hide somewhere in the shadows of the toilet. This would be followed be high angled shots of the boy walking into the toilet, maybe whistling "Don't worry, be happy" by Bob Marley. This identifies him as victim and creates sympathy for him as an audience. The sequence would end with a quick cut to black, rather then a fade, as I think a fade would slow the pace. It would finish with two gun shots, as in the original, as i like the mystery behind it.

Analysis of Film Opening. "The Shining"

The Shining Opening sequence (Up until 4.43min)

The Shining (Stanley Kubrick 1980) is a psychological horror based on the novel by Stephen King. The film takes place in a hotel during winter time, in the 1970s. It is about a writer with his wife and son, who accepts the job as caretaker for a hotel over the winter. Soon after moving in, the father descends into madness and is influenced by some kind of supernatural presence in the hotel.

The film opens with a wide angled view of a lake with a mountainous background. The camera tracks across the lake and focuses on the mountains. It then cuts to a birds-eye view of a forest, with a car driving through the middle of it. This immediately makes the audience ask themselves; Who is in the car? Where are they going? What is going to happen to the driver? The camera follows the car across various secluded landscapes. The tiny car compared to the vast landscapes makes it seem isolated or vulnerable, which we later find out to be very significant to the film. As we follow the car, a chilling soundtrack is played in the background. This builds up tension, and helps to identify the film as a psychological horror, as the high pitch of it makes it seem spooky and weird. The titles are rolling up the screen as this is happening, and are written in a very plain, light blue text, which is a fairly non threatening colour.

The destination of the car is revealed, as an ELS of a hotel with a snowy, mountainous background is shown. It then cuts to a still title saying 'The Interview' written in white, on a black background. It then cuts to the main character 'Jack Torrance' played by Jack Nicholson. We now know that he was the one driving the car, suggesting that he is the one that is isolated / vulnerable. Jack walks through a grand hotel with smartly dressed workers. He goes up to the reception, and is directed to the interviewer. Jack seems like a normal guy at first, he is wearing a fairly plain suit and addresses the receptionist politely. There isn't much of a hint as to him being a good or bad yet. Jack walks into the interviewers room and shakes hands with him. The interviewer is wearing a red tie which connotes blood and gore, and suggests both are to come.

It then cuts to a VLS of the outside of a building and a car park. This instantly seems less secluded and isolated as the eerie music at the beginning, is replaced with the sound of children playing and a dog barking. This suggests its neighbourhood, likely to be the main character's home. It then cuts to inside the building, which shows a woman and a little boy sitting at a table eating sandwiches. The woman is wearing deep red, which again connotes blood, and suggests that some kind of tragedy will befall her. We assume these characters to be Jacks wife and son when the boy asks about staying in the hotel for winter. We find that the son is lonely when he says 'There's hardly anybody to play with around here.' This again is a hint towards the isolation and seclusion of the family, and suggests that something will happen to them and they will be helpless. The mother (Wendy Torrance) seems to be timid and vulnerable, as she speaks in a very soft and high pitch voice. The son (Danny Torrance) has an imaginary friend named Tony. This makes Danny seem slightly strange, and suggests that there's something special about him. This becomes more sinister when Wendy starts asking Tony if he is excited about going to the hotel. Danny answers for him in a strangely hoarse voice, as if he has been possessed. As he is does this, he innocently wiggles his finger and munches on his sandwich suggesting that he has a darker side that he can't control. At 4.42 min, after Wendy has asked 'How come you don't want to go the hotel?' Danny replies 'I just don't,' at this point his sandwich has broken in half, which is strange as it was perfectly in tact a couple of seconds ago. This suggests that there is going to be some kind of breakdown, or accident that occurs at the hotel.

At the start of my film, I think the audience needs to be introduced to at least one of the main characters, and get a feel of the time period and setting of the film. Relationships between characters and hints towards how they develop should also be shown.

Reflections on Shots

1. Describe your shot and identify in what way it could be described as representing you chosen genre.

The shot we took was a mid close up of a white teenage male, clutching some bars and looking into the top right corner of the frame with a scared look on his face. Behind him are some stairs leading up to a closed door. Our chosen genre was thriller / horror, and we tried to represent this by creating ambiguity and vulnerability in the shot. The three bars in the foreground of the shot, make the character seem trapped, and they cast a foreboding shadow across half of his face. The whites of the characters eyes also make him seem afraid and weak. What he is afraid of is unknown, as he is looking out of the shot, this also creates mystery. The stairs suggestively leading up to a closed door in the background of the shot also creates obscurity, as you don't know what is behind it. It also woks to make the main character seem less powerful, as it is looming over him in an intimidating way.

2. What did you actually do to achieve the effect?

To create the mystery in the shot, we had the main character crouch down, so we were able to see the stairs leading up to the door behind him. We also made him look into the top right corner of the shot, so that the whites of his eyes were visible, again making him seem more vulnerable. We cast a light onto the middle bar so that a shadow formed over half of his face, this gives a foreboding feel to the shot. Lastly, we turned on night vision on the camera giving the shot a SinCity type feel to it.

3. Identify what is successful about your shot.

I think the lighting of the shot was very successful as it emphasizes the whites of the characters eyes, and creates a shadow across his face. I also think the positioning of the main character was good, as it revealed the stairs and doors behind him, giving the shot ambiguity.

4. What would you do differently in hindsight?

If we were to re-shoot, I think we should make the shot darker giving slightly more atmosphere and making it more obvious that it is a thriller / horror. I also think that his face should be lit up more compared to a shadowy background, making him seem like the hero / good guy, and that he is trapped in something dark / evil.