Exercise 4.2

Storyboarding

This exercise required me to storyboard a minimum of 15 minutes of recorded film or TV footage, pausing at points where there was a cut or change in shot, and thumbnailing this information, using only enough detail to describe what was most necessary.

I began by storyboarding an episode of a situation comedy – Big Bang Theory – and then I repeated this exercise with a clip of Titanic (drama) to see the difference between the two.

Comedy

Within these first frames, I learnt that I did not need to focus on the setting; the focus of the sitcom is the characters, their expressions and movements (and these change ever so slightly to indicate a change in the story). I also learnt to pick up the pace, by not including so much detail.
It became a useful exercise to make little drawings of these changes in facial expression, especially if these happened within a single shot.
Sometimes I used arrows to show that the characters were moving away or towards someone and the camera was following them. This never had a huge bearing on the narrative but was important for continuity; where the character ended up in the room.
I found that hair styles were vital to help distinguish the characters from one another.
Sometimes I would add a ? to show confusion, or lines to show a character was speaking loudly.

After this first storyboarding exercise, I felt I had already learnt lots about only including the most important information to convey the narrative. In this particular genre, the focus was on each character’s development; their facial expressions and slight movements would indicate that a change had occurred and move the narrative forward.

Drama

I deliberately chose a scene in Titanic that was tense and leading to action, to contrast with the subtle narratives at play in the sitcom.

Already, the differences in genre were apparent; some of the shots were stills on character expressions, some were moving with the characters and some were showing the scenery.
When I paused to capture the characters, they were often blurred, due to lots of movement taking place. I tried to portray this effect with my rapid drawing style. It was important to spend less time on these drawings to achieve that panicked effect.
The expressions that you do see during this scene are filled with fear; otherwise, you see silhouettes of the characters in the water or running away from the water, with the lights flashing on and off.

How did the task benefit your drawing development?

Not only did this task require me to draw the same characters multiple times, it also placed a time restriction on this, so I had to work quickly, instinctively and fairly consistently (so that characters could be recognised across frames). I found this difficult at first, but I think with so much practise in such a short time, I managed to improve my methods of drawing a character and their expression quickly. It certainly helped me learn how to distil information and capture only the most vital aspects of a shot; what was needed to illustrate the narrative at that point. As I worked, I added my own touches to help explain anything I could not quite show in my drawing, such as arrows to show movement or little drawings of shifts in facial expressions underneath the frame. I certainly feel that this exercise forces you to be confronted with your drawing ability and gives you the environment to practise intensely for a couple of hours.

What about your observational skills and understanding of the cinematography?

After comparing these two genres, I feel that my storyboards show some key differences in the way cinematography is employed to tell a narrative.

In the comedy, the focus was on characters – every frame featured a character or multiple characters in the comedy. They were usually positioned centrally, and shown fairly close up, to clearly capture any shifts in facial expression. Sometimes, if physical comedy was in play, a wider angle would be used. Even when the characters moved, the camera would follow them, keeping them central. This forces the audience to pay closer attention to their stories, their emotions and words, and how these move the narrative forward.

On the other hand, the drama/action sequence from Titanic used a mixture of shots, focusing sometimes on the two central characters, sometimes on their environment. At the beginning, the cinematography is used to build tension by shifting between the characters’ frightened expressions to the water spilling from behind closed doors, rapidly building up pressure. There is also a screaming child in the corridor, which the camera flits to. When the characters move, sometimes the camera follows them, but sometimes it is still, watching the characters move into, towards, and then past the shot. The balance here is between showing what is happening to the ship, so therefore capturing the changes in the environment, and showing how the characters are reacting to those changes and what is happening to them in the environment. All these shots move the narrative forward.

How did shifts in angle and viewpoint add to the narrative?

It was especially evident in the drama when shifts in angle added to the narrative. For example, close ups of the characters’ panicked expressions usually meant some noise would come from the door, ready to explode with the pressure of water building up. If the camera showed their full bodies, they were usually running – either towards or away from something. Slow motion was used to extend the drama when the water released. Quick changes in shot built up that initial tension.

In the comedy, usually the camera focused on specific characters to show their reaction or to show them speaking. These changes in shot happened pretty much every time someone said something; it was important for the audience to see their moods because the exchanges between the characters drove the narrative forward.

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