Storyboarding – Summary Post

Listing and linking all storyboarding-related posts here for convenience! Storyboarding was challenging but an absolute riot.

Summary

[Week 1-2] Reverse Storyboarding – Analysis for 2 Movies

[Week 3] 3 Sets of Storyboards (drawn under duress time constraint) from Prompt 1

[Week 4] 2 Perspective Drawings for “Perfect Day for Bananafish”

[Week 5] 2 Perspective Drawings from Prompt 2

[Week 6] Visual metaphors in storyboard for “Perfect Day for Bananafish”

[Week 7-9] Midterms [Draft 1][Inspiration][Draft 2][Workshop][Animatic & Storyboards]

[Week 9-12] Finals [Everything is here]

Reflections

Would I be a storyboard-artist next time? I have no idea. I really admire the professional storyboardists’ ability to think in movement and space, both things which I absolutely must work on.

I’m not entirely sure if I have the makings of a storyboardist, because the parts of the class I really enjoyed were the story. I confess that the process of bringing them to life felt a lot like pulling teeth, but going through the entire “storyboarding to animatic” process prompted helpful realisations about my own artistic journey.

Regardless, art is not something you can improve on just by watching – sure, it is important to see more and look closer, but if we never pick up a pencil (or a pen, or a camera, or whatever), we’re never going to really learn. Here’s what I will want to improve on in the upcoming vacation/semesters:

– movement (more gesture drawing? dynamic movement? life drawing???? yes)
– perspective/space & characters in space: sketch-walks, perspective drawing?

That’s all for this Sem! Had a blast. See y’all!

 

Storyboarding Final – Animatic & Links

“One small step for a mole, one giant leap for mole-kind!”
Animatic & links

Co-written with Ying Zhi and Hin Ye.
Click here to go to Storyboarding Final master post (you are here!).

Links to all the posts related to Final assignment:

1. Story draft 1
2. Story final (logline, synopsis)
3. Concept art (link) (link)
4. Storyboards (Part 1: Natasha) (Part 2: Hin Ye) (Part 3: Shadow)
5. Animatic (research) – also, you are here!

ANIMATIC:

Without further ado….

Storyboarding Final – Storyboards

“One small step for a mole, one giant leap for mole-kind!”
Storyboards Part 1

Co-written with Ying Zhi and Hin Ye.
Click here to go to Storyboarding Final master post.

The black frames are due to the unique aspect ratio of 10:9 we chose; I compensated for the lack of a template (on Storyboarder app) by using black frames!

Storyboarding – “One small step for a mole, one giant leap for mole-kind!” Finalised Story

“One small step for a mole, one giant leap for mole-kind!”
Finalised Story

Co-written with Ying Zhi and Hin Ye.
Click here to go to Storyboarding Final master post.

Logline

A rejected scientist rediscovers his childhood dream of being an astro-mole thanks to an unexpected encounter.

Extended Sypnosis

A peaceful lush green forest is first introduced. The camera continues to pan down… down… down…

A few hundreds and thousands of metres below the surface, a civilization of sentient moles thrives underground. But first, we are brought to a space observatory. A scientist bursts out of the observatory into the rainy outdoors as jeers and laughs follow him out. He trips, scattering the papers clutched in his hand and dislodging his thick black-framed glasses. A box of his belongings is thrown out, labelled with his name – Cule.

Alone, Cule the mole collects his life’s work and leaves. As he does, a paper flutters down into a puddle – a childish drawing of a mole planting a flag on the earth. Cule looks at it defeatedly, and leaves.

Flash-forward – the moles live completely underground and are oblivious to the world above them. Cule is now merely an ordinary office mole, wearing a tie and office suit is walking home from work. He passes a TV display, which is broadcasting the MoleNews. A news reporter is talking. Cule sees himself being featured shamefully on the news as he is kicked out of the science community, tripping and falling as he stumbles his way out of the building in embarrassment.

Cule looks down, dragging his feet as he continues to walk along the pavement.

As he walks, a young mole approaches him. He expresses excitement in Cule’s scientific exploits, but Cule is not interested. The young mole insistently shows him a drawing he did – it had always been his childhood dream to see Cule’s plans come to pass. Cule hesitates, but walks away in the end, a parallel to the way he had given up on his dreams before.

However, the young mole is insistent – from that day, he begins to follow Cule around, bugging him at every juncture: in the toilet, at work, in the supermarket, on the streets. In the end, Cule snaps and angrily tells the young mole off, slamming the door and shutting the young mole out. He retreats into his room, where old posters of his dream to travel ‘to infinity and beyond!’ are stuck onto the walls.

He dejectedly approaches his desk. At this point, a piece of paper flutters down with a loving note from his parents. Cule begins to recall his young self, how hopeful and idealistic he was, and how his parents had loved and supported him… this gives him strength.

He puts on his glasses again, and goes outside. The young mole looks up with hope in his eyes…

Time skips forward, and we see a news reported before a huge machine, a rocket. The rocket tunnels up and out to the cadence of victorious music.

Boom.

On the surface, Cule exits from a manhole cover to see tall skyscrapers blocking a blue sky. The mole population watching the event on their home televisions are astounded. He takes out a mole flag and plants it on the ground.

“One small step for a mole, one giant leap for molekind.”

Storyboarding – “One small step for a mole, one giant leap for mole-kind!” Script, Draft 1

“One small step for a mole, one giant leap for mole-kind!”
Script, Draft 1

Co-written with Ying Zhi and Hin Ye.
Click here to go to Storyboarding Final master post.

DISCUSSION & BRAINSTORMING

First script

“One small step for a mole, one giant leap for mole-kind!” Script, Draft 1

However, after consultation, we realised that there were a lot of things we still need to sort out, so we decided to forget about everything we talked about, and just work on the key scenes/main ideas that we wanted to keep!

SORTING OUT THE STORY

Main Ideas:
* Cule the Astronaut, space motifs (MASA, quotes, parody)
* Cule succeeds in going “aboveground”

BELIEF: Mole-kind needs more land – there is more land aboveground

  • “Going Underground” starting pan – iconic
  • Cule was laughed out of the scientific community/accused of wasting research money; disgraced, he quits and becomes an office worker (BUT we only find out after)
  • Some fresh grad mole starts to bug him about it – catalyses his change
  • Fresh grad says “it has always been my dream, wasn’t it yours too?”
  • Cule says something hurtful – slams door of home on FG mole
  • “Bedroom of broken dreams” iconic + PICK UP GLASSES
  • Cule makes a choice to try again and goes to FG mole and is all “yo lets do it”
  • Just do it
  • “Succeeds in going aboveground” iconic

Storyboarding – “That’s not the way I remember it!” Workshop Process

“That’s not the way I remember it!”
Workshop/Critique, for Draft 1

I was fortunate enough to receive comments from two very amazing groups of people, so I thought I would post them here. Honestly, there are so many amazing possibilities I felt could have been included, alas, I couldn’t include it all.

Shoutout to the amazing people Jesse, Irene, Qiwen, Gab and Gloria for the awesome critique!

Guidelines to workshop a story, by Jesse

Workshop 1, with Gab & Gloria

HOW DO WE LEARN ABOUT THE CHARACTERS?
Show/tell

– Testimony
– Witnessed behaviour
– Exposition
ARGUMENTS
What disagreements do the characters have?

1: The way they walk is different – character, Cheddar more fearful?

2: More context?? Brie ballet – body language, or encounter

3: More about the interactions – cheeky kids, good friends, chemistry

4: Tiny scuffle between Mozzee and Chedder? Brie – diplomatic, quiet?

HOW DOES THE STORY ARC? 
Beginnings: what events sets the story off?
Poetic, Dramatic, Plot based
What is the Climax?
– plot event
– political
– emotional

1: Bring Brie to forest – neutral third route, to actually find the ball

2: HINT THAT THERE IS SOMETHING at the end (ominous music…)

3: Corgi saves Brie? Or the crew, from the beast.

4: Build climax when they enter forest

5: Seems flat? Similar? Cheddar and Mozzee’s experiences seem very 2-dimensional, instead of wildly fantastical like intended.

Workshop 2, with Jesse, Irene & Qiwen

HOW DOES THE STORY ARC?
Beginnings: what events sets the story off?
Poetic, Dramatic, Plot based
What is the Climax?
– plot event
– political
– emotional

1: Cheddar exaggerates a slight from another friend mozzie tries comfort and be more objective/placating

2: Turtle crosses path cheddar and mozzie, mozzie spins fantastic tale and is scolded by cheddar

3: Cheddar examines baseball bat worried about scolding from parents – Mozzie – being unhelpful, blames cheddar for bat damage

4: How come across other kids flying kites, and they want to fly kites as well, but are run off by bully kids.

5: Frisbee almost hits cheddar, cowers in fear and mozzie catches it and cheerfully tosses it back to the owners.

6: Stop at a tree mozzie explains that the leaf is super poisonous, cheddar doesn’t believe, then dares cheddar to eat it, cheddar refuses, then mozzie eats it, cheddar freaks out and mozzie makes fun for being so gullible.

7:  Butterfly flies across the road, mozzie chases after but cheddar warns of danger in a nagging way

HOW DO WE LEARN ABOUT THE CHARACTERS?
Show/tell

– Testimony
– Witnessed behaviour
– Exposition
ARGUMENTS
What disagreements do the characters have?

1:  Brie went to ballet and is sad that the others didn’t join

2:  Cheddar and Mozzee made a mess (at ice cream); Brie stayed behind to do damage control while the others went ahead

3:  Brie is the one who lost the ball. Too scared, or to go get the ball.

4: or all three go to get the ball but brie separates from the group and meets later

3RD ELEMENTS
What third elements are introduced
– How do the characters react, and what do we learn based on the reactions?

1: Baseball – Mozzee has the baseball is holding it triumphantly flailing and Cheddar nervously will try to treat it more preciously. Brie is not playing along?

2:  Tree?

3: Frisbee kids

4:  Dog owner is slightly annoyed by the Mozzee’s over-affectionate reaction toward the dog.  Cheddar tried mitigate, Brie steers clear.

 

Storyboarding – “That’s not the way I remember it!” Part 2

“That’s not the way I remember it!”
(Draft 2)

* edits are bolded and italicised
** this post is a little bit messy, because I’m still trying to figure out the ‘punch’ for the best ending.

Logline:

As three friends are walking home, two of them recount their drastically different experiences to their third friend, describing imaginatively (or not?) about their encounter with a dog in the woods, when they had been tasked to retrieve a baseball

 

Synopsis:

Three friends, Cheddar, Brie and Mozzee are returning home together. As they go, Cheddar and Mozzee talk about what happened at baseball training in the park, when they had lost the baseball in the woods and had to go retrieve it. In the woods, they encounter a dog. Cheddar (who’s afraid of dogs) and (bold, brave, go-getter) Mozzee, have completely different recollections.

[Ending 1, if it was a short story that ends at the 1:30 mark]
At the end, the three of them laugh about it, but the scene cuts to a pair of glowing eyes at the fringe of the woods, suggesting that perhaps there is more to the woods that is not merely the work of a child’s active imagination…

[Ending 2, blockbuster movie – just kidding, I meant short film]
The baseball turns out to be very important to the three of them and their friendship, so they decide to return to the park with Brie to retrieve it. 

 

Extended plot:

Cheddar and Mozzee wait outside the ballet studio, for their friend Brie, to finish his weekly Ballet class. It is a ritual of theirs, the three best friends, to meet up each week after their respective classes – Cheddar and Mozzee have just come from Baseball practice at the park, and are sweaty and caked with mud.

As Brie exits his class, Cheddar and Mozzee are arguing. A frisbee whizzes past, making Cheddar squeak and duck while Mozzee leaps to catch the plastic disc, laughing. She tosses the frisbee back to an appreciative audience. Brie compliments her catch, looking on in amusement as Mozzee teases Cheddar for his reaction. 

They begin to walk, heading for the ice-cream parlour that they have their weekly hangouts at. On the way, Cheddar and Mozzee begin to talk about what happened earlier that day, when an important object of theirs had gotten lost in the park’s woods.

Cheddar recounts a dramatic and terrifying encounter with a giant and fearsome beast, play-acting as if he were deep in the amazonian jungle – despite the adventurous description, his encounter reveals his fearful and cautious character as he fails to confront the beast. At this point, Mozzee interrupts loudly, complaining, “That’s not the way I remember it!” Brie chides her for interrupting, for which she seems abashed about (although she still doesn’t apologise to Cheddar), and Brie softly and curiously asks Cheddar about what happens next. Cheddar flushes in embarrassment, confessing that he had run away and had not been able to retrieve the important object they had lost.

At this point, Mozzee argues vehemently that Cheddar had gotten it all wrong, and begins her own recount. Mozzee recounts a magical and picturesque forest. She play-acts as a knight, bravely marching through the beautiful, fairytale-like woods. She describes an encounter with the “magical guardian of the woods” who had been about to bestow the important object upon her before she was interrupted.

“You didn’t get it back either,” Chedder complains. Mozzee sticks out her tongue at him, arguing that ‘at least she hadn’t turn tail and ran’ – Brie quickly steps in to mediate; he also interjects quietly but disappointedly, “So you lost it? The ball?” Cheddar and Mozzie glance at each other, looking upset – it is revealed then that the ball had been an important gift from Brie to Cheddar and Mozzee, as a token of their friendship. 

Cheddar makes a decision, and hesitantly  suggesting that they return to the woods – together, this time. Mozzee, who seems unexpectedly contrite, agrees. Brie tries to lighten the atmosphere by saying that if anything, Mozzee would protect them. The three of them begin to head back to the park. 

(…)

 

Thoughts?

How long is this supposed to be/going to be? I guess it seems like a rather inconsequential question, but it’s rather important to me because I think knowing the length would help me about to punch in the right character traits/plot points; I’ll ask Jesse about this later.

At this point though, I have no idea how to end it! #frustratednoise I have ideas, so I’ll just plant them here first –

Ending 1:

Mozzee finds the ball when she goes into the forest, and with Cheddar being comically afraid of the harmless looking puppy. They do not return to the forest. At the end though, the scene cuts to the park; there is the sound of children laughing and screaming with delight as they play baseball in a nearby field – but the camera zooms towards the edge of the forest, where a pair of glowing, blinking eyes appear and a low growling noise is heard, suggesting/foreshadowing the presence of a mysterious beast.

Ending 2:

Mozzee does not find the ball and the ball turns out to be important to the friendship of the three best friends. The three friends decide to return to the forest, where they get more than they bargained for and meet a bear. It is then that they are saved by the puppy that had scared Cheddar earlier. The three (and dog) escape with the ball and their lives.

After discussion, Ending 3:

Combining Ending 1 and Ending 2. Thank so much Gab & Gloria for your help!

Mozzee does not find the ball and the ball turns out to be important to the friendship of the three best friends. The three friends decide to return to the forest. After a suspenseful sequence, they find a Corgi puppy with the ball in his mouth. Brie and Mozzee are amused, but Cheddar vehemently insists that he had seen a real monster. The three leave the forest for ice-cream in a much more light-hearted tone.

At the end though, the scene cuts to the park; there is the sound of children laughing and screaming with delight as they play baseball in a nearby field – but the camera zooms towards the edge of the forest, where a pair of glowing, blinking eyes appear and a low growling noise is heard, suggesting/foreshadowing the presence of a mysterious beast.

 

Storyboarding – “That’s not the way I remember it!” Vis Dev

“That’s not the way I remember it!”
Visual Development
Concept Art & Ideas (References)

* Artwork is NOT mine!

References for my million dollar blockbuster production. At this point, I’ve done sketches and part of my storyboard for the prompt, which I will post consequently. But for now, here are my ideas for my story, and the general tone/mood/atmosphere that I am gunning for…

Also, this visual development piece by Zac Retz is just really good. Putting this here so that I can check it out later. You should check it out too, I feel like it gave me a very good idea of the kind of standard I should be aiming to be/to surpass!

Art by Kim Yong Nam (Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/55134827/Character-design)

The same cheerful spirit that I envision Mozzee, the only girl of their group, to have, although Mozzee is much more tomboyish than the character Kim Yong Nam has drawn.

Art by Memo Siwaporn (Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/56322659/MY-SUMMER)

This work is a depiction of a special, traditional Thai’s new year celebration, a water festival called “Songkrans Day.” What I like about this work is the playful, welcoming vibe and the warm nostalgia which effuses this picture. While I like this work and will likely reference/turn to it for inspiration, I will probably aim for something that is more cheerful and upbeat rather than nostalgic though.

Art by Eva Eskelinen (Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/57593177/One-day-she-will-catch-you)

References for the forest that Cheddar and Mozzee were in, perhaps? I like this, but it’s too bright for Cheddar’s description and too dark for Mozzee’s. Considering that their description has to be hyperbolic for the contrast between characters and for plot, as well as for dramatic effect, this depiction would most likely be the middle ground between their imaginations, the “reality” that will be depicted should the characters choose to return to the forest to explore again with Brie.

Art by Andrey Osadchikh (Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/56232945/Echoes-of-the-war)

Mysterious… I like the vibe. Likely closer to Mozzee’s (and Brie’s) description in the story.

Art by Sarah Webb (Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/51847733/Kochab-comic)

Really love the sense of adventure and exploration in Sarah Webb’s comic; if my story were a graphic novel, I’d want to be able to look at it in this way? (How different is storyboarding from a graphic novel, though? It is possible to create a storyboard that looks like a graphic novel and vice-versa, right? Hmm…)

Art by 君 Jun (Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/41987899/Secret)

Although I will not be having any scenes in my story that has a similar calmness about this picture by 君 Jun (except for at the start, when Brie is in the ballet studio), I love the way the lighting falls. This is one thing I’d very much like to learn? The depiction of sunlight here brings out the sense of cheerfulness and childlikeness, which I enjoy – and would like to interject in my story as well.

Art by Ernest Sala (Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/49960827/Breath-of-the-wild)

Colours in Ernest Sala’s fan art of Legend of Zelda is the most likely match to Mozzee’s recount. Love the brightness and cheer in this picture!

Will post more soon. Thanks for reading!

Storyboarding – “That’s not the way I remember it!” Part 1

“That’s not the way I remember it!”
(Draft 1)

Logline:
Two kids recount their encounter with a dog to a third friend.

Synopsis:
Three friends, Cheddar, Brie and Mozzie are returning home together. As they go, Cheddar and Mozzie talk about what happened at Baseball training in the park, when they had lost the baseball in the woods and had to go retrieve it. In the woods, they encounter a dog. Cheddar (who’s afraid of dogs) and (bold, brave, go-getter) Mozzie, have completely different recollections. 

Extended plot:
Three friends, Cheddar, Brie and Mozzie are returning home together. Cheddar and Mozzie have just come from Baseball practice at the park, while Brie had been at Ballet class. As they return home, Cheddar and Mozzie talk about what happened today, when their baseball had gotten lost in the park’s woods.  Cheddar recounts a dramatic and terrifying encounter with the dog, but ultimately fails to retrieve the ball; Mozzie argues that that was the way she remembers it and proceeds to tell them about her exciting adventure in the woods, where she had met the “magical guardian of the woods”. At the end, the dog (a small pup) appears, causing Cheddar to scream and Mozzie to pet the dog with glee, suggesting that the dog had been the creature in the woods all along

Script: