Study Task 4 - Scripting and Storyboarding

Script to Screen and Story Types

I began this task by writing up a character development sheet for my protagonist, Frances Edwards.



I also wrote one for my antagonist, Dorothy Roberts.



My Script:

The scene opens on a cold, dark night on an empty street. Empty apart from one woman, who is nervously awaiting someone. She checks her pocket watch and looks anxiously from left to right, scanning the street for any activity. She then begins to pace up and down the road. She is Dorothy Roberts.

Then, a harsh cut to a warmer environment. The shot zooms out from a grandfather clock which is ticking. With each tick tock, you can hear muffled shouts from another room and blunt thuds, as though someone is being hit.

It then cuts to a woman (Frances) holding a glass of brandy. She is checking the time, and begins to smirk. From the shadows projected onto the wall in the background, we can see two figures. One tied to a chair and another interrogating them. As the camera zooms in on the woman, the last shot we can make out of the shadows is a gun being drawn. Then with a loud bang, the room flashes white and then fades in on another scene.

As the woman approaches the room, we hear off screen:

"What do you want me to do with him, boss?

(brief pause) "I want you to-"

Frances is interrupted by a sputtering sound. Cut to the body on the floor. He is coughing up blood.

"-kill him for starters." (said in a sarcastic, slightly irritated tone)

She then coldly looks the body up and down, swiftly pulls out a gun and shoots him.

"I can't abide a snitch."

The animation then cuts back to the police officer awaiting the informant that we know will never arrive, as the credits flash over this shot.


Storyboarding

I began the storyboarding process by sketching my rough ideas onto post-it notes which I stuck on my wall so I could easily compare shots and angles to make sure they were varied and had purpose.

From these rough sketches, I began to digitally translate them by scanning the images into Photoshop and then adding detail and shading where needed. I could also add my directions at this stage.

The first sheet depicts the opening shot in which my antagonist is anxiously awaiting her informant, whom the audience will realise later, is never going to arrive.

I tried to make the last shot in this sheet balanced, by using Dorothy and the rule of thirds to divide the shot up.

I also wanted to mirror scenes (such as the comparison of the pocket watch and the grandfather clock and once more, used the rule of thirds in the last shot with Frances, the table, the painting and the clock.

I could also use these sheets to work out timings. The start is roughly twelve seconds long. The middle is ten seconds, the ending is twelve seconds, and the credits are about six seconds however, four seconds of the opening scene will be rolling the title of the animation.

I tried to make these sheets as informative as possible so that I know exactly what I had in mind when I begin to animate them.

Link to: Sheet 1, Sheet 2, Sheet 3, Sheet 4.