Storyboard [Version 1]

Using the original concept art & illustrations, alongside multiple narratives I had written in book or storyboard format, I began to draw out frames simply for their cinematic aesthetic. Rather than going straight into trying to come up with a storyline from the beginning, this worked well as a warm-up. Through this initial step, I was able to start generating ideas for the rough storyboard.

All images in this post are taken by myself and of my own work.

Above: Initial frame sketches.

Above: Additions of the alternate world with a red sky.

It was during this time that I had a vision of two alternate worlds, one with a black and white sky, and white/grey land, the other with a burning red sky accompanied by black land. The red sky idea was inspired by Jodorowsky's vision for his unmade adaptation of Dune. He spoke of this glaring blue sky in his own storyboard, so I decided to use the colour red from my black, red and white schemed illustrative work.

I had some vague ideas, through these parallel worlds, of the protagonist reaching some kind of underworld after rejecting an apparent haven. This, along with the vision him climbing out of his mother, were the two starting points for the rough storyboard seen below.

Creating the Rough Draft:

Above: Initial storyboard - estimated to 1:30 minutes long.

After about a week of switching and swapping small drawn out frames on a large A1 board, I reached a bit of a writer's block. I took a break to do some reading for my dissertation and it was at that point that I found a few helpful ideas/citations to motivate me along.

Within Paul Well's 'Art & Animation', he held an interview with Terry Gilliam where he made a valid point about the genre of animation. The origins of animation stemmed in comedy and a shock-effect with the audience, and continues to exhibit comical elements even in the darkest kind of animation. ‘I entwine humour with the fantastical because it makes it a little more palatable. It avoids it becoming pretentious. Much fantasy becomes airy-fairy, pretentious crap. It’s got no life in it and comedy always brings life to things’ (Wells, 1997). Verging on pretentious is something I need to be conscious of... either I need to take my story in a different direction or I need to execute my idea well. It's just something to keep in mind.

Another area where they spoke about the character Cupid in the Monty Python title sequence, Gilliam state that '[t]he foot, ironically, only becomes meaningful in its own right, divorced from its source and invested with iconic largesse’ (Wells, 1997). Combining this idea with another section of Well's book where they spoke of the off scene character of Laika in the animation, LAIKA - I decided to create hints of the two large feet throughout the film.

Meaning that a blur/suggestion of the legs would appear repeatedly before revealing themselves in full at the end.

Wells,P. (1997). Art & Animation. London: Academy Editions. p.63,65

Above: The final rough draft - estimated to 2:00 minutes long.

With the rough storyboard in place I began painting the final frames in their 2.39:1 aspect ratio for screen. These will then be scanned in and put in a final storyboard format with scenes, frames, duration, direction and movement arrows.

Painting Up Frames for the Final Storyboard:

The 42 frames were created at double the size [15cm x 6.3cm], painted with ink and fine-liner.

Above: All of the final painted fames, 2x size of original rough frames.

Above: Selection of frames scanned in.

Creating the Storyboard Format:

Using a template I had created for 'The Story of Cruel Frederick' storyboard, I input each painted frame, added any text information and then illustration camera and puppet directions with arrow movements. The final storyboard can be seen below.

Above: Example of storyboard before the camera and puppet directions.

FINAL STORYBOARD:

Creating the Animatic:

To check over the pacing of the story and to make sure that the narrative made sense, I photoshopped frames individually to create animated sections and the estimated frame durations. Below, is the full test - totalling at just over 2 minutes. After some feedback from friends, it was advised that many of the frames [including the birth of the protagonist] were slowed down. This, hopefully, means that the final film will come to about 2 minutes 30 seconds - a preferable short film length.

External Feedback:

After presenting my storyboard and animatic to a few friends, one particular piece of feedback was the lack of clarity around the 5 half-sized beings composed to mirror the Mother. They suggested that the Mother have some kind of mark to identify her when the protagonist comes across the illusion of her.

Below, I've mocked up some frames of the Mother with a red circle located on her chest. This will keep the continuity with the story; once the 5 half-sized beings have dismantled, it could be inferred the red circle from the chest was placed on the ground to create the portal.