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Below are the raw frames that made up the storyboard as well as some GIFs that illustrate the pacing of the frames leading up to the final animatic.
Final Animatic
Click here to see the final animatic and the master post
Storyboards
“Rocket Launch Sequence”
“Emerging from Manhole Sequence”
“Moon Landing Flag Sequence”
Early mock of various sequences in the animatic adjusted for pacing:
#Animatic1
Prompt
It was different that night…
Logline
Two friends’ get together takes a different turn from the usual.
Synopsis
Two friends, Shade and Jean, meet on a beach and grow close. As their lives get busier and they don’t get time, they decide to come to the beach once every month to catch up on each other’s lives.
One night, they meet as usual. However, a shooting star appears in the sky. It turns out to be a spacecraft. Shade is surprised, but Jean acts as though it is normal.
The spacecraft approaches them, shining down a spotlight onto the beach. Jean walks into the beam of light, while Shade looks on in shock.
Script
Interested to read the “full” story? Read the script!
Script:
Cursed Shovel
“No matter what, I got to get in there.”
The lonely shed sat in the quiet forest. There was not a sound. As Brian walked toward the shed, dead dry leaves crunched under his feet. There was no escape, no running away from what he had to face. He trembled, his face filled with fear.
He inched closer to the shed, now merely a few meters away. The clutched tightly onto the gun in his hand, yet knowing that even that would be able to save him from whatever lurked inside. He stepped forward, and with an outstretched hand opened the door to the shed. The shed was deceptively huge, about the size of a master bedroom. He stepped inside and walked toward the end. There was an uneaten pie in the center of the room which was surprisingly fresh and 3 lit candles on a dust-covered table. Moonlight seed through cracks in the ceiling and a rugged carpet lay on the floor.
It was filled with mundane uninteresting shed stuff, save for a shovel that glowed with a mysterious green aura.
He had heard of the legend, that whoever possessed this shovel could make his wishes come true. He looked around and made sure there was nobody around before grabbing it. As soon as he did, the doors to the shed slammed shut.
The second part of the legend also said that the shovel was being guarded by a powerful demon. He rushed to the door, slamming his body onto it in an attempt to break out.
“No matter what, I got to get outta here!”
Crashed
No matter what, I got to get in there. Jake stood before the gigantic spaceship. Smoke came out from its vents and there were sparks and torn wires exposed on its exterior. It had been heavily damaged. Something had brought the spaceship down, but what?
“We have to go to the police! The CIA! The government!” Mark nervously looked around, his eyes darting side to side.
“We have to find out what’s in there man!” Jake yelled. “There could be an alien that needs our help!”
“I’m out of here,” Mark exclaimed, running in the opposite direction. The spaceship was in ruins, but was fresh.
Jake turned his eyes back to the spaceship. Slowly, a hatch that appeared to be the spaceship’ entrance opened. An unidentifiable silhouette could be seen through the billowing smoke that poured out from the hatch.
“No way,” said Jake. “I know you!”
Keen Smell
“Damn! Where is that smell coming from?” Dog barked.
“Now what?” Cat meowed.
“There’s this smell in the air that’s so tantalizing!” Dog exclaimed.
“It’s just your nose playing tricks on you.” Cat sighed, wondering what Dog meant.
“It’s coming from inside that house.” Dog turned, facing the source of that wonderful smell.
“I want to be friends with whoever lives there!”
Cat walked proudly toward the house, then lamented. “I don’t smell anything!”
Dog’s curious eyes widened as he approached the house. He eyed the house. He stood at its door. It had white walls, a bright red roof and posh windows though he could not see anyone inside through them. The smell was getting stronger. He had to know what was producing such an addictive smell. Then, he noticed that there was a dog hatch at the door.
“No matter what, I got to get in there.” Dog smiled.
In he went, and on the table was the most beautiful hot dog he had ever seen.
A story about a group of friends who encounter a truck that was just about to hit them, only to mysteriously vanish. Together, Jim and his friends must find out where the truck has gone, what its purpose is, and how it seems to disappear into thin air!
A psychological horror film by Alfred Hitchcock. This was the scene that was highlighted as one of the most interesting scenes in the movie. I was curious to find out how Hitchcock had directed it to make it so impactful to the audience, so I chose it!
Fun fact: The blood in the scene is actually chocolate syrup!
00:00~2:21
Storyboard
Analysis
The movie being in black and white helped me see the tones really clearly. Compared to the other storyboard, I noticed one thing as I was drawing. There were a lot less “details” in Hitchcock’s shots, especially the starting scenes. They were kept simple and plain, often showing just the subject against a wall or curtain.
Something I also noticed is how he has different “angles”. At the start, he films the lady’s legs stepping into the bathtub at a low angle (worm’s eye), then later has a high-angle shot on the killer in one of the shots. I think it was to give a distorted look, to make you feel uneasy as you watch her enter the bathtub, like the Dutch angle. To me, the switch to a high angle shot later on showing the killer also amplifies how the killer is “triumphant” over his victim, as though he is above her and winning the fight.
I felt that Hitchcock showing the woman bathing from all camera angles at the start made me feel safe, that there was nothing to be afraid of, until he switches to a shot where the bathroom curtain is behind her.
Suddenly there is a contrast in tone behind the curtain, and it amplifies the tension in the scene and the scene splits into background and foreground because of the introduction of the figure, with the curtain separating the two layers of depth.
The camera slowly zooms in onto that scary looking black figure, whom the audience only sees as a silhouette against the light in the background. I noticed the light appeared a few times as I was drawing the storyboard, which I think is to make the silhouette stand out and have a greater contrast in tone. It felt to me Hitchcock knew how important it was to light his scenes since he wanted this movie to be shot in black and white.
The quick cuts during the stabbing were also very effective at portraying the violence, like as if the killer was stabbing her in rapid succession. Even though we don’t see the knife physically pierce her skin or flesh, we can feel the violence from the quick motions of the killer’s hand as it swipes past the camera.
He also uses a number of extreme close ups during the stabbing, on the woman’s mouth as she screams, so even when her scream isn’t that loud, I can almost hear her pain.
Finally, the scene approaches its conclusion. Hitchcock shows just her hand in the frame on the wall, sliding down, showing how the last of her breath and life is disappearing as the hand descends unti 
l it is out of the frame.
I really love Star Wars! And the reason behind that is this animation made back in 2006. I watched it on Cartoon Network, and as a kid, this blew my mind away. This particular video may be of a fight scene, but I only want to focus only on the first 3 minutes, which is the build-up, rather than the fight itself. The build up prior to the fight scared me as a kid. I was so scared before the fight even began. It was just so full of tension, and I could feel the fear of the characters in this scene. And now, I want to go back and see what made this scene so visually powerful to me as a kid.
00:00~2:50
Storyboard
Analysis
The scene starts by showing an army of battle droids (the dark blue evil-looking robots that are shooting a bunch of red lasers in a certain direction). I notice a lot of overlapping of the droids, especially in the first few frames.
The overlaps helped to create depth, and drawing the droids in varying and contrasting sizes really helped to achieve the depth required to make the battleground look really really huge, and you feel overwhelmed by how the droids appear to stretch across the horizons in one of the frames.
One of the frames has an aerial shot, a bird’s eye view, which achieved something the other frames didn’t show as effectively – it showed the scale of the battleground and the explosions show how “destroyed” and broken the ship is.
In terms of storyline, the purpose of this scene was to introduce a powerful antagonist. We first capture a glimpse of him when he raises his white claw, which against the dark army of droids, captures our attention immediately.
Immediately after this, we see all the droids stop attacking, and we know this guy in the white cape and clad in white everything is the boss, the commander, the big guy. The way he is framed in front of the ship and at the center of the frame also places importance on him.
From then on, it switches perspective. I don’t see the droids anymore as I dive into the ship. I start to see quite some tonal contrast, and I find it interesting. It’s as though we were peering through the debris and makes me feel like I’m there in the wreckage. It also directs my eye to the silhouetted man that is running through the debris.
Then, the people (revealed to be Jedi) have gathered inside a hideout. Now, the composition is mostly of darker colours as they are in the shadows, with occasional lighting from outside, which we see through cracks in the wall or holes which the Jedi eventually use to peer through, to see what’s outside.
The scenes then show the Jedi nervously trying to pinpoint the source of the sound which they are hearing. They can’t exactly tell where it is coming from, and we as the audience are equally confused by the cuts.
The shot goes from this in an earlier frame:
To the environment, and then back to this:
And then back to the environment.
There are many cuts to show the same environment, the same ones the Jedi are looking at and the director cuts between the character and environment while gradually zooming in onto the character/the background. It creates a lot of tension. Nothing is happening, but the way the sequence is cut and slowly centering on something makes us feel that something is about to happen, we just don’t know what.
The frames now go from close ups to extreme close ups, and the framing manages to show us anxiety of the people within the building, from letting us see their perspiration to showing their eyes darting from side to side.
Overall this scene definitely sticks to me as a very tense scene, and manages to make the bad guy feel extremely intimidating. I hope I don’t have to face such a scenario in real life.
