Exile Scene:
In the concept art, the Chanda is originally portrayed as strong, and confident. In the exile scene the camera always looks down on the Chanda, and up on the King. This both accentuates the King's power, and emphasises that the Chanda is being stripped of her power, strength, and confidence. Her poses and expressions are indicative of a humbled child; regretful of her actions.
In part of the scene, Chanda's top layer of armour, medallion, and weapon is removed, to show the loss of power. Originally I had the storyboard scripted to have the guards remove her armour/medallion/weapon, but I changed it, so that the King removes it instead. This way it further emphasises the King's power and control. I also decided that Chanda should place her weapon down in front of the King, before her armour/medallion are removed., to portray her remorse for her actions; showing her shame and guilt, as she accepts her fate. This serves to help the viewer feel sympathy for her; she is impetuous and selfish, but she is not a corrupt and villainous person (in contrast to Laufeia, who worships corruption and chaos). When the king passes the sentence over Chanda, he looks down and away. He does not relish having to exile Chanda; she was like a daughter to him, but he cannot change what must be done, for the greater good. This helps the King to remain likeable, even though he is exiling Chanda.
I also decided to add some extra shots to the exile scene: shots of the main villain, Laufeia. I wanted the villain to be introduced fairly early on, but I wanted the scene to have a sense of foreboding, both alluding to Laufeia's sinister plans for Elysia and Baraeuan, and foreshadowing the destruction of the village, Dagneserena. The shots with Laufeia should evoke feelings of unease and apprehension. I decided to add some shots of him after Chanda is removed from the room where she is sentenced to exile; he will go unnoticed by the other characters, but the close up of his face will bring him to the attention of the viewer. As Chanda is about to be exiled, this shot helps to add to the feeling of distress and dysphoria that the viewer should be feeling at this point, to further add to their sympathy towards Chanda. The shots of Laufeia will be a close up of his face, shadowed by a hood, so that all the viewer can see is his mouth grinning, as he watched Chanda being taken away. Keeping him hooded makes the viewer see him as a dark, mysterious figure, to help pique the viewer's interest and curiosity, as the viewer will already be unsure of Chanda's future.
The Scene ends with a bright flash of light, and the shot dissolves to a blank white shot, signifying the end of the scene.
Scene A:
To carry on from the end of the exile scene, sounds of birds tweeting will first fade in, to signify the passage of time and the change of location. The white shot then fades in to a bright sky. The camera will slowly pan down through trees, to the forest floor, where Chanda lies, unconscious. The slow pan will build suspense, because the viewer doesn't know where Chanda is, and what condition she is in. Even when the camera finally pans to her, the viewer will not know if Chanda is alive or not at first. The camera will look down on Chanda, representative of how she is no longer a being of power, and is now a mortal, a "lower" being (again in contrast to the original concept art of her).
The first part of the scene should be full of uncertainty and confusion; is Chanda alive? Who are the people that have appeared, and are standing over her? Where are they taking her? What's going to happen? Then when the village is revealed, it provides comfort to the viewer; a respite from all the negative scenes.
When the village is revealed, the colour changes dramatically, from dark and harsh, to bright and cheerful, to show that Chanda is stepping into a new world, that is not as horrible as it seems. The mortal plane may be primitive in comparison to Elysia, but it is still a place of great beauty and serenity.
When the village is revealed, the camera will pan over the top of the village. This is not a shot that is supposed to be seen through the eyes of the hero; Chanda would be too weak to fully take in the sights, so a high, establishing shot is used to show the village to the viewer instead. The beauty of the village serves to give the viewer hope, that Chanda may actually have a good future.
The villagers take Chanda in and care for her, helping the viewer to bond with the villagers. Chanda begins to then bond with the villagers, in turn helping the viewer to bond with Chanda, as they start to see her friendly, carefree side.The viewers are starting to see the good side of Chanda, as she herself is discovering it. The villagers teach her how to do everyday tasks that she has never had the need to learn before; washing, cooking, crafting, etc.
Scene B:
This scene starts when Chanda is travelling back to the village, after a quest/mission. The forest is portrayed to look happy and picturesque, mimicking Chanda's feeling of contentment and ease; a big contrast to both Chanda and the forest in Scene A - Chanda has changed a lot by this point. When something comes floating down the river, it is expected to be something pleasant, (like a flower, or just a leaf), because the scene so far has been so carefree and pleasant. This part of the scene is about this unknown object, but it's not an unsettling unknown for Chanda; it's more of a peaceful curiosity, which is a contrast to the feelings of unknown that have been in the Exile Scene, and Scene A. Chanda doesn't dread the future, and is happy.
The aesthetic of the whole scene changes when the object is revealed to be a blood-soaked object from the village. The trees rush by as Chanda frantically runs towards the village; the forest now feels even more perturbing than in Scene A. What has happened? Are the villagers okay? Is Chanda going to have to go through more hardship? The same shot is used from Scene A, where the trees part for the imminent reveal of the village, so the viewer will be hoping that the trees will open to the same beautiful, peaceful view as before. They will not be so lucky; the trees part to reveal the village, completely destroyed. The scene pans through numerous shots of the village; destroyed buildings, fires, corpses. This serves to show the viewer the depth of the destruction, to give the tragedy time to sink in.
Originally I had Chanda rush into the large tent that she had been taken to in Scene A, to find the body of the child she had bonded with. She tries and fails to revive the child, and eventually goes to bury her. The death of a child is always tragic, but I wanted the scene to show more about Chanda, and be more connected to the rest of the story, rather than just be a random act. If the village was destroyed by a passing gang, or tribe, then it would still be tragic, but Chanda would not have any direction afterwards, other than to just mourn the loss. So instead, Chanda finds the village elder in the tent. He is mortally wounded, but still alive. He tells Chanda that the attack was spearheaded by Laufeia, and that he was looking for her, but they refused to tell him of her whereabouts, before passing away. This is theoretically just as tragic as if a different villager had died, but tells both the viewer and Chanda that the destruction was caused by Laufeia. This serves to add to the hatred of him, but actually makes the scene even more tragic, because it happened as a result of Chanda being there; despite her growing as a person, things are still going wrong because of things that happened in her life. This scene shows the viewer just how much Chanda had bonded with the villagers, because they were willing to defend her, even at the cost of their own lives. Chanda's distraught
Chanda still digs a grave, but instead the shot shows that the child's teddy has been placed on the graves that Chanda has just finished digging. This implies the death of the child, so adds even more tragedy to the scene. Instead of focusing on just the child's grave completely, the camera will also pan out to reveal the numerous amount of gravestones, showing the viewer that everyone in the village is dead. When Chanda was digging, the camera looks up at her, to signify how she has changed since she first arrived in Baraeuan; she is confident and powerful again.
There are two ways Chanda can react to the destruction of the village:
- Despair.
- Anger.
With Chanda's initial personality, she is most likely to react with anger and determination; she has always been fierce and strong minded, she has just learnt to care more for others now. The loss of the villagers will just serve to fuel her resolve, and give her purpose; to avenge the loss of her adoptive family.
After the graves have been dug, Chanda stands up, the camera still looking up at her. She puts on the cloak that she left on the floor while digging, puts up the hood, picks up the shovel, puts it over her shoulder, and walks out of the village. After thinking about it more, I decided it was better to have Chanda pick up a weapon instead of a tool, to suggest that she is going to battle, not just giving up and walking away. She will pick up a weapon from the ashes of the village, dust it off, and head off into the forest. The camera shows a shot of her back as she walks into the forest, showing that she is metaphorically turning her back on the village, as there is nothing left to stay for any more. I wanted it to be evident that she will never forget the villagers, so I added a shot to the part where she picks up the sword; see sees a pendant on the floor, the one that belonged to the village child. She puts it around her neck before picking up the sword and leaving.
The destruction of the village should evoke powerful emotions, and serve to make the viewer want revenge against Laufeia just as much as Chanda does. So when Chanda leaves the village, we want to follow her, in the hope that she will avenge the villagers. This makes the viewers more invested in the rest of the story.
Contrasts between Scene A and B:
In Scene A, the forest will be dark colours, to signify the unfamiliarity and fear that the hero is experiencing. The village will be bright and cheerful, and full of brilliant greens and yellows, because it is a place that the hero will be able to find inner peace; the village is a beacon of light amidst the dark (so the forest being dark and sinister works both metaphorically, and in regards to the physical aesthetic).
Conversely, in Scene B, the forest will be bright and happy, to represent how happy and content the hero is with her new life here; the forest has now become the familiar and comfortable place. When the hero arrives at the village, the village's aesthetic has changed dramatically; the village has been destroyed, so it is now dark and full of sinister red tones, corpses, and burning buildings. The village that used to be the beacon of light has now been snuffed out; life is now full of misery and uncertainty. The aesthetic of the village serves to show how the hero's life has suddenly been turned upside down again.
In Scene A, the villagers stand over Chanda, while she lying on the floor of the tent. The camera looks down on Chanda, implying that the view is through the eyes of a villager. This portrays her as being vulnerable and powerless; the villagers have the power, as they can choose whether to help her or not. The villagers also live happy and peaceful lives, so they are arguably psychologically more powerful/successful, while Chanda is tormented by the recent exile.
No comments:
Post a Comment