After officially being handed our brief, we are actively going over important concepts and skills that will benefit us for the projects this year. Naturally, this would mean recapping and exploring storyboards and animatics, which was the aim of this lesson, alongside creating a storyboard slide animatic on a given scene.
Task 1
To refresh our memory, we were asked to first research five different camera shots and include an example to back up the research. Before this, I want to include a quick definition I found of camera shots, which I think is quite useful and helped me remember the proper definition:
A camera shot is composed of a series of frames that are shot uninterrupted from the moment the camera starts rolling until it stops. Camera shots are an essential aspect of filmmaking and video productions because by combining different types of shots, angles and camera movements, the filmmakers are able to emphasize specific emotions, ideas and movement for each scene.
1) Long Shot (LS) or Wide Shot (WS)
If the subject is a person, for example, their whole body is in view, but they do not fill the shot. In other words, there is a great amount of space around the subject, and they are usually shown in plain view amidst grander surroundings or beautiful background imagery. It gives us a better idea of the scene’s setting and how the character fits into the scene and is usually used for big, cinematic moments.
2) Extreme Long Shot (ELS) or Extreme Wide Shot (EWS)
As the name suggests, this shot is the extreme version of the long shot. It can make the subject appear small against the location and is used to make them distant, unfamiliar or powerless. This shot is a great way to emphasize the location, or feeling of isolation, and can create an overwhelming or impressive effect on the audience.
3) Cowboy Shot (CS)
This type of camera shot is a variation of the Medium Wide Shot (MWS) which frames a character from roughly the knees up. The Cowboy shot is quite specific and does this from the mid-thighs up. It receives its name because it is often used in Westerns to frame a gunslinger’s gun or holster on his hip, and therefore can showcase a character in a heroic way.
4) Point of View Shot (POV)
The Point of View shot places the audience in the position of the subject so that they can see the subject’s immediate surrounding area as if they are in the scene. While it can be used for objects, it usually depicts an angle that shows what a character is looking at in order for the viewer to take on the perspective of the character and begin to understand their state of mind on a more personal level.
5) Two Shot (2S)
This one is pretty self-explanatory and presents two characters together within the same frame. It is a realistic way to introduce two people and give some information about their relationship. Different variations of the two-shot can be applied to deliver certain messages. For example, when characters are positioned next to each other, it may give the impression that they have equal prominence within the scene.
Task 2
Now it was time to have a go at creating a storyboard ourselves. We were given the choice between two different scenes, the Batman 19189 Museum Scene and Darth Vader’s Rage. I chose to do the latter because I much prefer Star Wars over Batman.
We would not be using the whole clip, as that would take too much time, but instead, be jumping straight to the action at 00:52 and drawing scenes up to maximum 01:53. I used Photoshop because I am quite comfortable sketching and drawing there, and I had the video on a different window throughout, to use as reference.
My first major decision was whether to make the background black or white since the scene is mostly dark, but I ended up choosing white so that the characters were clearer. I made sure to explain that there is low-key lighting in the text later on.
Here are all of the shots I managed to draw within the given time limit. Before even starting to draw, I dedicated some space at the bottom where the text would go by adding a horizontal line. When drawing, I made sure to keep the sketches loose and didn’t fuss about the small details, since storyboards are meant to quickly and clearly convey what is happening in the frame. The quick scratchy shading style is a fast way to add some contrast and show more shadowed areas in the scene. Since red is such a prominent colour in this fight, I added the colour to show the sparks and lightsaber of Darth Vader. I could have gone as far as to even add red to the walls and smoke, but I decided that this would take too much time and I wouldn’t be able to complete a sufficient amount of frames if I did so.
Another very noticeable part of the storyboard is the coloured arrows. Using what I had learned from the previous lesson on storyboards that we had last year, I knew that in order to convey action, arrows are used in the frame. Those are the blue arrows, which give a general sense of movement, whereas the orange arrows all start from the edge of the frame in order to translate the camera movement that is happening.
I think that the parts I struggled with most were adding the backgrounds and choosing key moments to draw. in order to set the scene, a background is needed, and it also shows where we are and the characters are in terms of time and location. However, since it is a storyboard, I knew I couldn’t spend too much time in creating the backgrounds, so I tried my best to keep them minimal and the lines limited and instead, focusing on the foreground and characters. As for which shots I drew, I watched the scene carefully and chose the main shots for each aspect of the scene, e.g. if Vader is deflecting multiple blasts with his saber, I would do the shot around the middle, where the action is most clearly presented. Towards the end, however, I was running out of time and I think I skipped a few shots too many. The shot I drew was Vader lifting a man with the force, and slamming him to the left, shown through the arrows and the camera following, but quite a bit of action happened beforehand which I felt I should have added in with at least one more drawing. Next time, I will be more meticulous and make sure I don’t miss anything important.
After completing all main storyboard panels, I threw them together in After Effects and animated the different layers to fade in and out because cutting from one to the next was a little too jarring in my opinion.
One thing I wish I had done differently is made each shot stay on the screen for longer because it seemed alright like this, but after I added the text I realised that it was actually far too fast.
When describing what was happening, I muted the video and watched it again, pausing every time I reached my shot and summarising the main action within a sentence or two. I also included the camera movement and sometimes the lighting too in case either wasn’t clear enough in the drawing. With storyboard text, it is important to be concise, and I would say I even did a little too much with some of them, but for next time I will watch more storyboard animatic examples in order to get a sense of how much description is appropriate. I am also hoping that anyone who needs to pause the final slide show animatic to read the text will, since the pacing is a little off.
Task 3
This is an extension that I gave myself since I felt that it better concluded the lesson. I decided to create a shot list for the portion of the scene that I managed to storyboard. Since I had never made one before, I did some research on what they are and how they are used in the industry.
A shortlist is a document that maps out everything that will happen in a scene or a video, serving as a checklist. By describing each shot, it gives the project direction and provides a sense of preparedness for the film crew. With so many moving parts, having a concrete document stating which shots demand what equipment, and how long shot setups will take, helps determine so much of the schedule and budget.
Here is the example I used, along with the references for camera movements and shot types that helped me complete my list:
Having these on the side whilst I was creating the shortlist really helped. Not only for the formatting and structure of the list itself but also for a guide to the shots, such as how much of Vader could be seen in the frame (fully body, shoulders and head etc.) and how this corresponded to the shot type, and of course the official names of the camera movements, which I seem to keep forgetting because of the peculiar names.
I added a short description of what was happening, even though this was already done in the animatic because the shot list would feel incomplete without it. It was also a chance to clearly state the lighting for each part, which I only added if there was a change from the last shot (notice that some of them don’t have lighting included because it is the same as the previous shot).
Overall, I think the shortlist was a good asset to create since it truly does make everything more clear and easy to understand, because of the direct, simple format. For my creative project, I will be sure to include a storyboard, animatic, and shot list as well, to show thorough planning and camera skills and knowledge.