StoryBoard

Let Us Begin The Drama👀

Hey Besties!!! 

Since the brainstorming blog post, I have decided to change my approach. After watching a couple student film opening scenes, I have realized that a good story cannot give the plot so easily. There must be suspense, excitement, and confusion. As someone who has watched films before, I wondered why this did not click with me from the beginning. 

No worries! After analyzing my characters and the concept more, I added a few details to the story. I needed to display this thought process through an illustration. I love drawing, but for now, I did a quick sketch of what I would like to incorporate. This does not mean that this is it. Most likely, I will be adding and removing a lot. So bear with me! 

For now, this is what I have so far. 

I am excited to use stop motion for the few couple of seconds of the video! Do not worry, I have used stop motion before. It brings me back to my childhood when I was assigned to create a video with Legos and stop motion. It was a memorable class. The use of stop-motion creates this fun and intriguing element in films, an almost childish and divided movement. There appears to be an overview of Grace's birthday cake. Later in the film, I would like the audience to inquire about this feature. As the cake moves diagonally across the shot, the cake begins to rotate like a clock. The movement of cake intentionally moves in intervals because at one point the cake transitions from cake to a destroyed cake. The audience will create assumptions that someone has tampered with the cake as if someone grabbed a portion of the cake with their hand. After this transition, the stop motion ends there. Mary will grab the cake from the table. The audience has not been introduced to the characters yet, so this way, they would begin to ask questions, "Who is this person?"

We begin to move with the character. We see a family photo frame, another opportunity to introduce the characters. "Why is this photo frame important?" I would also like to place green plants around the place, a portion of Mary's characteristics that I mentioned in my Pinterest board. 

Mary takes away the photo frame too. Then, a close-up of a kid's feet "Graces." Her feet move up and down, to showcase child-like characteristics. This cutaway to a shot of a box. The box has other birthday features that relate to the birthday cake. All these elements relate back to a birthday scene, giving a general background of what the story is referencing. A medium shot of Mary (waist down) placing the picture frame inside the box. We still do not show Mary's face. 

Mary sits next to Grace. They both face the box. They are placed close to the edge of the couch, where tape and scissors lie next to them. 

"Are they moving the boxes to the garage?" 

"Are they moving out?" 

All important questions!

Most importantly, "Why is the picture frame placed in the birthday supplies box?" 

To answer some questions, we will have to visit back to the event. The only evidence of that event is that photo frame, so let us take a closer look by zooming in. 

"Oh no, the frame is breaking! Is this for real? Or is this symbolizing something? Look it's that cake from earlier and it is not smudged!" These observations will require context. So, as we look into the cake, it will transition to the cake on that particular day. 

The shot will move upwards, so the audience can see the characters. The two older characters are the parents. Identifying the close relationship between the parents to the daughter is important. As described in my brainstorming process and Pinterest board, the dad likes to show signs of affection to his daughter through expensive gifts. With such a cute moment, it is time for a picture!  

Mary gestures to James for a picture, but he seems preoccupied. The shot moves toward who he is talking to. Mary feels sad and uncomfortable. Mary looks at the cake, and back to the camera. The camera flashes.

"Is she the one who ruined the cake?" 

"Will she talk to James about her feelings?"

"Has she always felt distant to James?"

"Is James really flirting or just friendly?" 

As Mary looks towards the camera with no emotion/no thoughts. The audience will begin to inquire about what happened next. The shot transitions back to the photo frame as the camera zooms out to the broken photo frame, only it is zooming out not from the cake, but from Mary's face, where the broken glass is closer to her. The cracks are meant to symbolize a broken family. However, this is not the end! This is only the beginning for Mary, after handling the hardships in her life, she will have to move forward. I plan to showcase a suitcase with brighter lighting, as a sign of moving on. However, again "Is she moving?" "Taking a break?" "Going back to close relatives?" "Vacation?"

WOW!

So many questions were left unanswered, but it surely was a dramatic rollercoaster. Stay tuned...