Digital Storyboard

Changes Made To My Short Film

When filming my short film this weekend, I made some slight changes regarding the different sequences in order to enhance my film and the micro-features within it. All these changes will be added to a newly updated storyboard very soon.

New shots I added:

• Shot 2: A face-on wide shot ending in a medium shot which features the teenage girl walking along the pavement as she is texting her friend. It runs for 3 seconds.
• Shot 3: A close-up of the phone to show the conversation between the girl and her friend. Her friend asks "hey, what you up to?" and the teenage girl replies: "I'm going to surprise my boyfriend at his house". This shot is used in order to give the audience context and it runs for 8 seconds. 
• Shot 15: A face-on wide shot into a medium shot which shows the girl and boy walking away from the bench as they gently nudge in to one another, they are also laughing. This shot runs for 4 seconds. 
• Shot 17: A wide shot of the boy pushing the girl on the swings to represent how he always looked after her. This shot will fade in after the wide shot of both the boy and girl swinging on the swings and it will run for 7 seconds.
• Shot 18: A high angled medium-close up of the couple lying down next to one another, they have their eyes closed and are smiling to show they enjoy being in the company of one another. At the end of the shot, the girl will open her eyes and this will be immediately followed by the shot of her sitting on the bench alone to show that the boy is no longer there to be with her. This will run for 4 seconds. 
• Shot 21: An establishing shot of the graveyard to inform the audience on the new environment and to help set the scene. This will run for 12 seconds. Due to adding this establishing shot, the final shot will no longer pan out to show the rest of the graveyard and will remain as a still, medium close up. 

Shots I removed from my short film:

• I chose to remove the low angle and high angle shot of the boy and girl spinning around holding hands as when I tried it out, it did not look very effective at all and they may have ruined the tone of the film because it was extremely cliché. 
• I also removed the medium shot of the couple walking off into the distance arm in arm because I believe that I have many shots that are very similar to this one so I did not want my film to seem repetitive. 

My Short Film- Lengths Of Shots

These are the shot times for my short film:

             Opening title- 4 seconds
             Shot 1- 14 seconds
             Shot 2- 3 seconds (recently added in, not yet on storyboard)
             Shot 3- 8 seconds (recently added in, not yet on storyboard)
             Shot 4- 7 seconds
             Shot 5- 8 seconds
             Shot 6- 6 seconds
             Shot 7- 9 seconds
             Shot 8- 8 seconds
             Shot 9- 5 seconds
             Shot 10- 5 seconds
             Shot 11- 6 seconds
             Shot 12- 7 seconds
             Shot 13- 8 seconds
             Shot 14- 8 seconds
             Shot 15- 4 seconds (recently added in, not yet on storyboard)
             Shot 16- 8 seconds
             Shot 17- 7 seconds (recently added in, not yet on storyboard)
             Shot 18- 4 seconds (recently added in, not yet on storyboard)
             Shot 19- 3 seconds
             Shot 20- 10 seconds
             Shot 21- 12 seconds (recently added in, not yet on storyboard)
             Shot 22- 6 seconds
             Shot 23- 5 seconds
             Closing credits- 12 seconds

Storyboard For My Short Film

Please note that the details on what happens in each shot are also noted on the 'outline' section on my previous post which will be clearer and easier to read. Since filming my short film, I have added and taken away some shots so I will make a new storyboard which shows these changes. 

Development Of My Short Film

Title: Remember

Character development:

• The teenage girl- her name is Katie and she is 16 years old. She is very fashionable and enjoys listening to upbeat/pop music. 
• The teenage boy- his name is Connor, he is 17 years old and he is the boyfriend of Katie. Connor has a very caring personality and enjoys keeping fit and healthy. 
• The mother- her name is Jackie and she is middle-aged. We do not get to see much of her in the short film but from her reaction to Connor's death, the audience should be able to tell that she cared a lot about him. 

Due to there being very limited dialogue within my short film, the audience will not hear the characters addressing one another using their names however their names will be shown in the end credits. This also means a script will not be needed because there is only one very short line at the end of the film. 

Setting: The film will mainly be set outside during the daytime. My key places of shooting will be the bench, the park and the graveyard. There is one scene which is shot inside the house (when Katie finds out Connor has passed away) and the lighting will be slightly darker to represent that something bad has happened. 

Outline: Before the film begins, the screen is black and the title of the film (remember) is written in a white font and "a short film by Jess Wood" is written below the title. This is to inform the audience on what the film is called and who made it. The music that the girl is listening to in the next shot will be heard in this opening sequence.

The first shot will be an establishing shot of Katie walking along the pavement and the camera will pan along with her as she walks. This shot is used to inform the audience on the environment that Katie is in. As she is walking, she is listening to pop music through her headphones which the audience will be able to hear. I am using music instead of dialogue because it effectively creates the desired mood and also the audience are put in the shoes of the character. The next shot is an over the shoulder shot of Katie who is still walking along the pavement. This shot is used to create a realistic effect meaning the audience can feel more involved with what is happening as they can see the surroundings from Katie's point of view.

There is then a long shot of Katie walking down the pathway to Connors house. This shot is used to introduce the audience to the new location and what her destination is. Within this shot, Katie gets out her keys to his house and removes her headphones and at this point, the music stops playing. Next is a close up of Katie unlocking the door in order to give a detailed account of what she is doing. Due to the pop music no longer playing, suspense is created. There is then an over the shoulder shot of Katie walking through the house and into the living room to find Connors mother crying. This shot is used so the audience can see the unexpected situation through Katie's eyes. There is no music at this point and the only sound the audience should be focusing on is the sound of Jackie crying.

Next is a mid shot of Jackie crying whilst holding a small framed image of Connor. This shot is used in order to show her emotions as well as the photograph so the audience begin to understand what has happened. Sad music then begins to play which is quiet at first and gradually gets louder. A close up is then used of the framed image to inform the audience on who has passed away and Jackie's hand is shaking, showing that she is very upset. There is then an extreme close up of Katie to show that she is shocked and devastated because she has realised what has happened. The camera will then pan backwards so the audience can see Katie running out of the room. This is followed by a long shot of the door to show Katie exiting the house and slamming the door behind her.

Next is a wide shot of Katie running towards a bench and sitting down on it; this is to inform the audience of the new environment. Then there is an over the shoulder shot of Katie sat on the bench, the camera will pan up towards the sky and when it pans back down, both Katie and Connor will be sitting on the bench followed by them walking off the bench holding hands. This is when the flashbacks will begin and reflective music fades in. A low angle shot followed by a high angle shot will be used to show Katie and Connor spinning around and looking into each others eyes. The low shot represents how Katie looked up to Connor and the high angle shot represents how Connor truly cared for Katie. We then get a wide shot of the couple on the swings followed by a mid shot of them walking across the field with their arms wrapped around each other. At one point, Connor will let go of Katie and walk off into the distance alone which represents how he has now disappeared from her life.

A wide shot is used to show Katie sitting on the bench alone- the flashbacks have ended. The reflective music then fades out and the original sad music fades back in as an over the shoulder shot shows Katie walking into a graveyard to visit Connors grave; "one year later" is written at the bottom of the screen to show that this is in the future. A mid shot then shows Katie placing flowers next to his grave, this shot is used so the audience can see her completing this action at the same time as seeing her emotions. The final shot is a close up of Katie to show a tear running down her face as she says: "I miss you" followed by the camera panning out to show more of the graveyard. The end credits will then fade in with the sad music still playing.

Running time: I believe I can make this short film under 5 minutes long because I will not show each individual shot for too long as I have used many different shot sizes and types so some may be a few seconds and some may last slightly longer. 

Initial Idea For My Short Film

Genre:

·         Drama

·         Romance

Cast:

·         Teenage girl

·         Teenage boy

·         A mother/Father or older brother/sister

·         (for the cast, I could use my friends and family)

Basic plot:

It would begin with the teenage girl walking along the pavement- she has her headphones in and we can hear the happy/upbeat music she is listening to. She is on her way to her boyfriend’s house to give him a surprise visit and when she arrives, the music stops as she takes off her headphones. She lets herself into his house (she has a spare pair of his keys) and all she can hear is someone crying hysterically. She walks into the living room to find her boyfriend’s mum crying as she looks at a photograph of him. Sad music plays as a close up shot shows this photograph and the girl realises what has happened and she runs out of the house with tears running down her face. She sits on a bench and then there would be a series of flashbacks to show her and her boyfriend together- reflective music is playing and you can hear the sound of them laughing in the background. The shot then goes back to the girl sitting on the bench. The screen goes black and “1 year later” is written on the screen in white letters. The next scene shows the girl walking into a graveyard, kneeling down beside a grave as she places down some flowers, there is a close up of her to show a tear running down her face and she would say “I miss you (insert name here)”. The camera would then pan out to show the whole of the graveyard along with the girl who is still beside the grave, sad music is playing.

How I would make it:

I have friends and family members that I can cast for the short film. I would be able to film it outside of the college because I live in an area that has a graveyard nearby and also numerous benches. The flashbacks can be filmed somewhere as simple as a park or just an open field.

Possible titles:

·         Remember

·         Memories

What the themes would be:

Devastation, love, mourning, reflection, anger and helplessness. Films that share these themes are:

·         The Notebook (love, devastation)

·         Up (mourning, reflection, also has flashbacks)

·         Titanic (love, helplessness, devastation, based on a true story)

·         Dear John (anger, heartbreak, love)

·         A Walk To Remember (reflection, devastation, love)

·         The Fault In Our Stars (anger, helplessness, unexpected turns, love, devastation, realistic)

The intended audience:

I would like it to be a teen audience, ranging from the ages 15-18 so the people are old enough to be mature when watching the film and are able to understand what is going on as the narrative develops. The film is aimed at both males and females however; I feel that females are more likely to show more sensitivity towards the film so in turn are more likely to cry when watching it. However, I do want the audience as a whole to be sensitive so they are emotionally affected when watching this film and are able to display emotions such as crying.

Therefore, the audience should have previously enjoyed films that are realistic and cover the genre of romance in order for them to relate more to this short film and engage to a greater extent with the characters. They should have also enjoyed dramas, rom-coms and family films and are probably less interested in watching horrors and thrillers.

What I am trying to tell my audience:

I am trying to tell them how different people may respond to a death and how it still may have an impact on them in the future. Also how the loss of a loved one can be unexpected so you should always appreciate your loved ones, not take them for granted and to ‘live in the moment’.

How I will create meaning:

I will create meaning mainly through the use of music- mostly sad and reflective music that will help the audience to engage more with the characters and feel the emotions that they are feeling. Due to there being limited dialogue, facial expressions will play a big part in the narrative along with the cinematography. For example, when a character is crying there would be a close up or extreme close up of them to show their emotions.