Preliminary task - the story-boarding process:

"Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule."

Story-boarding is a crucial part of any filmed production, no matter how large or small the project is. Although things may be changed during the filming and editing stages (for example, shots may be removed/altered, etc.), story-boarding your work provides a foundation to look back at throughout the entire process. When creating our story-board, Harry and I annotated each frame with important information - the shot  number, the shot type, the camera angle, the mise-en-scene, the timings, and the sound/dialogue that would accompany each shot. 


Overall, our story-board consisted of 22 shots, a lot of which included at least one of the four continuity shots that were needed in our story-board as part of the brief. 

• Shots 3 and 4 contain an 'eyeline match'. In shot 3, our female actress is shown walking towards something that she is looking at. Shot 4 then switches to what she is walking towards/looking at - a door handle. This eyeline match is used to draw the audience in, and inform them as to what is going on in the scene.
• In shots 3, 4 and 5, Harry and I also included a 'match on action' shot. Match on action shots give an impression of 'continuous time'. It cuts from one shot to another, creating a smooth transition from shot to shot - in other words, creating continuity. Our main character walks towards a door, opens the door, and walks through the door - all shown from a completely different perspective. We did this to add a bit of variety to our work.
• Shots 7 and 8 contain a 'shot/reverse shot'; however, this could also be classed as an 'eyeline match'. Shot 7 shows an 'extreme close up' on our female character's face, staring at something out of the frame. The atmosphere  then swiftly changes to an 'extreme close up' of our male character, who is shown staring back at the other character. Using these techniques really creates a tense atmosphere, which is exactly what we wanted to achieve.
• Shots 10 and 11 contain another 'shot/reverse shot', which could also be listed as an 'eyeline match'. These frames are very similar to shots 7 and 8,  as we wanted to continue to increase the level of suspense.  The only difference is that these shots are 'big close up' shots, rather than 'extreme close up' shots.
• Shot 16 consists of the '180 degree rule', which we only used once overall. We only used this technique once, as we felt that it wasn't necessary to use it any more than this. Harry and I used it in order to allow us to film shots from a completely different perspective, rather than filming all on one side.
• In shots 19 and 20, we decided to add in a 'match on action' shot, to show the scenario from a different angle and perspective. Also, (as I mentioned previously) we used this continuity method to add variety to our work. I think it does this successfully.

In conclusion, the story-boarding process was definitely a success. Harry and I agreed on an idea to base our work on, and then we completed our story-board to an acceptable standard. Next lesson - filming!


Final animatic:


Here is our final animatic, which we edited using iMovie. Harry and I used Garageband to create a repetitive bass riff, which sounds mysterious and alluring. This music really reflects and supports the sly, suspicious feel of our small production, which is exactly what we aimed for. Using iMovie, we set the right timings for each frame, and we also recorded  the dialogue for shots 15, 16 and 22. Enjoy!