Assignment 3

This is my longest post so far. More than 1200 words! I hope it's not too long-winded...

Storyboard

I was conceptualizing the story when I realized I have dog figurines (magnets), as well as a bone-shaped bag accessory at home. So I thought I’ll continue with my dog theme, and probably extend it to my whole portfolio. (I have started thinking about the rest of the assignments too, and I think the dog theme can fit.)

Since I have a pair of them, I initially thought of a love story. I did a rough sketch and showed it to my parents, but they thought the story was too abstract. To be sure, I showed them the “Revenge of the Strawberries” and they understood that, so I guess it’s my problem. Hence I aborted the idea (love’s complicated ;)) and changed it to the present one.

Again, I did a rough sketch and showed my parents, who understood the story this time. I tried out a few places for the setting and decided to use the top of a display cabinet in my room, since the background (my room wall) is empty and thus does not distract the viewers from the story. However, I need to indicate the passage of time. I then realized that for the background, I can use developed photos taken at different times of the day. (Those were taken by me on a holiday trip to New Zealand.) Another problem I had was that I only have one bone-shaped accessory. At first, I used a heart-shaped accessory, but I think it confuses the story. (Exchanging “hearts” is indicative of a more complex relationship, while bones are more neutral.) In the end I used blu-tack and shaped it into a bone.

The title of my story is “Too Late,” and here’s the explanation:

Frame 1: One evening, two dogs who were neighbors met on the way home. One is called Greeny, and the other, Orange. They both have their favorite bones with them, but Greeny thought Orange’s was nicer and he wanted to exchange with him.

Frame 2: However, Orange rejected Greeny’s offer and went home. Greeny is disappointed. How can he have Orange’s bone?

Frame 3: Suddenly, Greeny had an idea. He can have the bone while Orange is asleep! And so he waited…

Frame 4: When it was late, Greeny went to Orange’s house and took the bone. He managed to do it without waking Orange!

Frame 5: The next morning, Greeny celebrated his new possession.

Frame 6: Orange soon realized what have happened and went to Greeny’s house to demand his bone. He is furious at Greeny, for he thinks Greeny stole his bone. Greeny is ashamed and does not defend himself.

Frame 7: Orange got more and more furious, and he killed Greeny! Orange then took his bone and went home, thinking that Greeny deserved it.

Frame 8: However, when Orange reached home, he saw Greeny’s bone at the corner of his room. Greeny did not steal his bone; he merely exchanged it with Orange’s! Although he may have done it without permission, Orange should not have killed him. Orange is shocked and regrets his actions, but it is already too late…

(I used a child-like tone for narrating the story since the content is like a children’s story.)

There is conflict and “violence” at the climax in Frames 6 and 7, which makes the story more interesting. I also used foreshadowing, as the bone is shown in the background of Frame 7. The twist at the end refers to the bone at Orange’s house.

Camera Angles

After finalizing the sketch, I tried a variety of camera angles for each scene. Generally, I followed the rule of thirds, horizontally, vertically, or both. Here are the main differences I’ve tried out.

Frame 1

Side view, mid shot

Long shot, emphasis on background (Rule of thirds)

Long shot, emphasis on foreground (Rule of thirds)

Top view

I chose the first photo as I felt that it gives the best focus on the setting as well as the characters. The long shots have too much white space and the top view seems unsuitable for an introduction as it gives the feeling that the viewer is looking down at the dogs.

Frame 2

Tilted angle

Mid shot

Long shot

I chose the last photo as it is zoomed out; leaving lots of white space that conveys the feeling of emptiness. This portrays the loss that Greeny felt when he was rejected.

Frame 3

Side view, close-up

Top view, close-up

Mid shot

I chose the last photo as it best captures the happy expression of the dog. Thus I will not need to do further edits, which may look unnatural on the photo. 

Frame 4

Top view, close-up, focus on Greeny

Top view, close-up, focus on Orange

Portrait

Landscape

I composed all the shots so that they look similar to an S-curve. I chose the last photo as it gives equal focus to both characters. This way, Greeny will look less furtive and guilty, which is a type of foreshadowing too? The portrait photo was not chosen as I felt that the white space and the corner of the table are distracting.

Frame 5

Portrait (Rule of thirds)

Landscape (Rule of thirds)

Landscape (Center)

I chose the last photo to break the monotony of the rule of thirds.

Frame 6

Side view, mid shot

Side view, mid shot, tilted angle, facing Orange

Side view, mid shot, straight angle, facing Greeny

Top view, mid shot, tilted angle, facing Greeny

I chose the last photo as the top view makes Greeny look small, and thus portrays that he is at fault. The tilted angle also shows Greeny’s uneasiness at being discovered for stealing.

Frame 7

Long shot, portrait

Mid shot, portrait

Close-up, landscape

I chose the last photo as the close-up gave the most impact. The long shot looks like a crime scene, but that is not the feel I want to portray.

Frame 8

Portrait

Landscape

Tilted angle

I chose the first photo as I felt that its composition is better than the landscape’s. The tilted angle shows uneasiness, but I think shock is the main emotion I want to convey, and so I did not choose the last photo.

Photo Arrangement

After finalizing the photos, I added some drawings in Illustrator to help tell the story better. Then, I started on the layout.

Initially, I arranged all eight photos on A3.

After checking the assignment brief, however, I realized we have to print the photos in standard photo size, which is too big for all eight photos to be contained in an A3. I couldn’t find a layout that fits while following the story’s sequence.

Thus I used two A3s to present the story.

(The two A3s are supposed to be side by side.)

I could have varied the photo sizes more to make the layout more interesting, but I did not want to separate the frames on many pieces of A3, as I feel that this breaks the flow of the story.

As for the sequence, I thought of using page one’s sequence for both pages, as that is the way most people read. However, Frame 5, the first frame on page two, is landscape in orientation, just like Frame 4. On the other hand, Frame 8 is portrait. Hence I feel that by placing Frame 4 and 5 (both landscape) side by side, there is better flow as the viewer reads the story. I then arranged the rest of the story (Frames 6-8) up page two. To minimize confusion, I tried to place Frames 4 and 5 closer to each other than Frames 2 and 8. On the other hand, I had to leave some space for the margin, so Frames 4 and 5 are not as close as I would like them to be.