Storyboarding

Storyboards are vital. In the storyboards we worked out the types of shots we were going to use, camera angles, the colours and shapes, the mise en scene, the camera movements, the framing and the way we would edit. So in the storyboard we work everything out, we plan, we test, in the real world the storyboard artist costs a lot less per day than the £1 million plus that the movie would cost.

A professional music video would consist of around 90 shots all detailing in very intimate detail what happens in each shot.

So with our storyboard we are trying to visualize, to work out what is on screen. If it works we will then shoot it and then we will edit it together just like putting a puzzle together.

Unfortunately our plan kept changing from our timeline to our storyboard. This meant our storyboard kept changing right up to the day of filming.

The Storyboard is an extension of the timeline, it builds on what the timeline establishes in the way of images and lyrics. The storyboard includes far more information than the timeline does, it includes:

• A drawing of the image
• The timing of the shot
• The shot action
• The sound in the shot (the song lyrics)
• The style of lighting in the shot
• The edit transition to the next shot
• The shot number
• The shot location
  

In the creation of the storyboard we had to think much more in detail about shot timings. The timeline allows us to see what works and does not, whereas the storyboard allows us to look a lot more in depth into the timings of each shot and the movement in each shot and how it will edit into the next shot, after we have completed all the storyboard we will need to film it on a camera and edit it so the storyboard follows the form that the pop video will take. We will cut it on Final Cut Pro, this will enable us to see how it will look as a total product.

Unfortunately, we do not have animated storyboarding software at our school. This shortens the storyboarding process dramatically. This enables the user to type in what they want the character to be doing, the character then animatically acts out what it is instructed to do.

During one of the guitar breaks in our song we decided that this instrumental should feature a close up on the hands strumming the guitar to the music. This is to exaggerate that the band play their own music, organically rather than synthetically. It also connects the music to the instrument that is being played, this is an example of Khuleshov's theory.

Another shot we have used with the music is the shot where the male member of the band's foot is tapping along with the beat of the song. We used this shot to build momentum in the build up to the song, it helps to gain tension and keeps the audience far more captivated than a shot of one of the band member's faces would. It also adds an element of mystery to the video which is very appropriate for the video given that it is about how people have 9 lives.

Most of out shots will be straight intercuts. This is done for many reasons, one of which is the constant changing of the shot meaning that any other transition would look too "choppy" and may lead the audience to feel unsettled. Another reason for this is that the straight cuts may help to play with the quick speed of the song, rather than slowing it down through fussy editing transitions.

Unfortunately, due to the constant change in location of our second performance/narrative element we have not storyboarded for this aspect. We are also unable to storyboard accurately for this part as we have not visited the location, therefore do not know exactly what it is like. We are however visiting the location on the 5th November, which is 17 days before our shoot. When we visit there we will try and look around to see any scope for some good shots, I will also take my camera to show the rest of the group. We should hopefully be able to storyboard between the two dates of visit.