I had a few ideas floating around once the prelim task had been pitched to us. Only two of those ideas I took seriously and decided to develop on.
This is the planning behind those two ideas:
Idea 1:
Situation: Speed-DatingThis was my initial idea after being told what to do. It has someone walking in through a door, across the room, sitting down and having a conversation. The script work would also be fun to come up with as I’m setting this in a comedy role. Also the different camera angles would be put to good use here.
Location Report:The kind of location required for a ‘Speed-Dating’ setting would suggest a leisure club place being temporarily used for this weekly ritual of dating. Or a hall with a row of tables and chairs (to give the impression that it is more than just the characters attending the event) could be used. These locations aren’t difficult to find but they could cause a problem considering that a leisure club would cost money to hire out and I would have to consider the hours that the hall would be available; it would be the hall found in my school.
Casting Notes:
When it came to casting for my production I chose a number of my friends to play the roles as it would be fun, easy and (arguably) cheap. But then I reconsidered and decided to cast myself for the three male roles. These three people are the hopefuls all fighting for the heart of my main female character. I decided to cast myself for all three as an opportunity to use props and costumes to change my image considerably and therefore make the whole thing a lot more unrealistic yet, clearly by the stereotyping and the similarity of it all, realistic at the same time.
Main Character (The Speed-Dater/Mariah) –Portrayed by Tina Rugiwa.
I wanted to create a small background for this character; she is quite clearly confident, smart and good-looking but then that begs the question, “Why is she here?” It would suggest to the viewers that perhaps she has had a series of bad relationships and has become desperate in finding a decent partner. But, as this footage will show, she is obviously disappointed by what is put in front of her. I chose Tina because she is a good at conversation and looks a strong, independent woman.
First Guy (The Nerdy Guy) –Portrayed by me.
I want to make this character heavily stereotyped and I will do this by applying some traditional features of a ‘nerd’: high trouser, chunky glasses, shirt buttoned to the top with a bow tie and a sweater vest and use gel to part the hair down the middle. To add character I will make him nervous, constantly fumbling his words, and later have him perspire due to his embarrassment and nervousness.
Second Guy (The Camp Guy) –Portrayed by me.
This character will also be stereotyped; he will wear tight trousers, tight shirt and a sweater that he wears over his shoulders and tie the arms in a knot. I will use a camp voice and make him have a girl’s best friend attitude. To complicate the character and add some background I will make it turn out that he’s not actually homosexual, despite the signs he is.
Third Guy (The Sleazy Guy) –Portrayed by me.
This character will be your typical run-of-the-mill player looking to sleep with someone; that is the only reason he is here. He has a head full of gel and wears a shirt unbuttoned at the top, revealing his many chains (probably all fake). He has a constant smirk on his face because he believes any woman would ‘be lucky to have him’. His mind is quite clearly set on one thing.
Idea 2
Situation: Interrogation.
Apart from speed-dating this was one of my first ideas for this project. The simplicity can be very effective; two men in a room, a table, two chairs. The rest is left to the actors. I liked this one because, as well as my first idea, it incorporated all of the tasks necessary to complete this project: person walking in through a door, sitting down opposite other person, haves a conversation. The genre of this idea would be crime thriller, unlike my original idea. The camera angles would put the viewer right in the action and give the atmosphere an air of unease.
Location Report:
Although the location seems simple enough, with the lack of props and lack of practically anything, it proved difficult to find an empty, dark room in which to film this small scene. No room springs to mind, which isn’t really a surprise as it is not common to have a small, empty room with no windows. But I thought of the perfect place in my school’s drama room. The room is pretty small with no windows and spotlights that I could use to bring attention to the characters and leave the rest of the room in darkness.
Casting Notes:The casting for this scene proved a little more difficult than my other idea purely because, as a serious thriller, it would require a bit more acting expertise. So I looked to my old drama class.
I wanted to play the role of the criminal as it is a role that really interests me. I chose Bradley for the role of the Detective as he wears suits a lot so he would feel natural in the role.
Detective Mark Maroni –Portrayed by Bradley Lewington.
This character is a up and coming detective who just got his big break; arresting the mass murdering criminal who’s been terrorising the city. He dresses smart, for the job of course, and is a pure-hearted individual who believes his job is more than getting paid; unfortunately those around him don’t have his selflessness.
Marlon Reapor –Portrayed by me.
This character is confident, intelligent and has no remorse for his actions. He is intrigued by Maroni as he is the only person to arrest him. He shows little to no emotion, which adds more mystery to him.
Police Officers/Henchmen –I will get two people to stand around the table, silently, as police officers watching over the interrogation. As it turns sour they reveal themselves to be working for Marlon.
As I began taking each idea seriously I found out that I would prefer to do the second idea; the interrogation. This was down to a number or things: I didn't want to be typecast as someone who always goes to do the comic ideas instead of something serious. Also it would be a lot easier to accomplish with the location and people involved. And it had a more diverse usage of the camera that I wanted to try to manage.
This is a very helpful article showing all the different language associated with storyboards. This language helps you to draw out and then film your storyboards. There is a wide variety of filming techniques and this is just a selection of them. Also this article gives an alternative to doing storyboards the ‘old-fashioned’ way of drawing them out. A far more practical way is to take photos of your shots, which is a lot more visual and arguably more helpful.
There are useful techniques, such as the arrows, included in this particular storyboard but also the use of sound effects and explosion drawings to show what the creator wants. Sound effects are difficult to show in storyboards, especially when it is written out, so some people tend to try and hear the sound as they write. Also notable is the length of this storyboard; it is far longer than the other two examples but, obviously, is less detailed. 
