Practical Task- Story Board

Practical Task- Storyboard

Creating a storyboard allows the whole group to be able to visualise the opening scene so when it comes down to filming, everyone is on the same page to how the narrative goes. Unlike our first storyboard, we rethought the sequencing of the opening and decided to flip the two opposing halves of the opening round, starting with the castle scene and then doing a jump back to the forest scene; the group felt that this worked better and visually looked more impressive as well. 

Using a variety of shots will enable us to be more creative with our editing and will create a more original opening. Using a storyboard too will also ensure that all group members are on the same page regarding the plot, however because most of us did one, we can also share ideas about different camera shots and sequencing to get a more we



Storyboard Draft - Practical Task

As our initial idea has been adapted and changed into our final idea, I decided to do another storyboard, outlining the chain of events that will occur in our final opening scene. Although what is included is near enough the same, the order has been significantly changed, and so the storyboard below highlights the changes.

Shot 1 - shot of killer

Shot 2 - close up of victim

Shot 3 - close up of knife blade

Shot 4 - close up of hands being tied up 

Shot 5 - previous victim tied up

Shot 6 - victim screaming before death

Shot 7 - victim running through forest

Shot 8 - victim getting kidnapped

Shot 9 - victim in the boot of the car

Overall, we decided to change how our opening would be set out, with the castle scene first and then the kidnapping scene, because when it was the other way round, it didn't flow. There wasn't a very large build up in the running scene, but when the narrative flipped to the castle scene, the tension was already very high, so there was a sudden change in tone and suspense. We wanted this to change and so I suggested to put the castle scene first, setting the tone of the film and then having a '4 hours earlier' section, so the running scene would be foreshadowing the murder which the audience knows is going to happen. This should work much more effectively at setting the tone, but similarly the huge change in narrative and suspense won't have a great impact because the narrative is looking back on events which have already happened.

Practical Task - Storyboard

Before drafting the storyboard, as a group we composed a basic plot summary.

The summary is as follows:

A girl is out jogging in a forest when she is grabbed by an unknown figure. She then wakes in the abandoned ruins of a castle to find her self tied up. Her captor is in the ruins too, and is wearing a black mask that covers half of his face. He is also wearing a hearing aid as he is deaf. He then approaches the girl and we see him raise his arm to strike her with a knife before the opening scene cuts to black and the titles appear. 

The first shot in the opening will be of the girl jogging through the forest. She is listening to music through her headphones, and is not panicked. 

After a few varied shots of the girl running we see a close up of her face looking shocked and scared as a hand grabs over her mouth.

Time has passed when she wakes up in the castle ruins. The first shot in the castle ruins will be a point of view shot from the perspective of the captured girl. We will use an elliptical fade in and out to create the effect of a drowsy eye opening and closing. 

We then see an extreme close up of the girl's eye, and we can see that it is bruised and that she is injured. 

We will then cut to an establishing shot of the castle, to determine more about the location in which the girl is trapped. A dark figure can be seen within the ruins, but only just.

We then see a close up of the whole of the girl's face and it is revealed that she has had her mouth duct-taped shut, and her eyes look very drowsy. 

A long shot of the girl kneeling with her back to the castle wall with her hands tied above her head is then seen. This further demonstrates how the girl is trapped and has no means of escape.

Mise-en-scene around the castle ruins will be shown in various shots to reveal information about the killer.

A high angle shot of the killer's table of weapons will be shown to build tension and create fear for the girl's life. 

The killer is then revealed through a close up of his face. Only his eyes are visible as the rest of his face is obscured by the mask.

The scene then flashes back to the killer's previous victims. These shots will be flashed quickly on screen to leave a lasting impact and to shock the viewer.

We then see an extreme close up of the killer's eyes and it can be seen through his eyes that he is smirking, indicating he is glad at the memories of his past murders. 

Another close up shot of the girl's face is shown, except that she now looks shocked and more scared.

We then see an extreme close up of the killer's hand reaching towards a sharp knife.

The final shot is of the killer raising the knife in his hand and slamming it down as the scene cuts to black and the titles appear. 

We plan to use sound within our film opening as a means of conveying the killer's disability. We will do this through using point of view shots from the perspective of the killer, and in these shots we will use no sound, and possibly even add an effect of a slight ringing silence whilst action occurs, in a form of contrapuntal sound.