Research: How to Create a Storyboard

A lot of the images in my final artefact will be set out in a storyboard, so I need to research the techniques that are used to create a storyboard, like the camera angles, and how they affect the mood of the scene.

What is a storyboard?

A storyboard is a method used in film or animation, to visually convey a story. Similar to a comic strip, a storyboard is laid out in a series of sequential sketches. Storyboards show what camera angles are being used, what characters are in the frame, and what the characters in the frame are doing or saying. A storyboard is a good way to draft a scene shot by shot, so that you can make changes easily, at an early stage, before production begins. The frames are normally sketched in a simple manner, just using basic outlines of shapes and backgrounds, and stick figures - there is no need for detail works of art at this stage.

Storyboard Language:

There are many terms used in storyboarding, to describe the camera angles, movement, and transitions between shots.

1. Camera.

Close-Up Shot. The camera is close to the subject, to focus on what they are saying, or to show facial expressions. With a character, this normally involves focusing on the shoulders and above.

Medium Close-Up Shot. The camera focuses on a single subject. With a character, this normally involves focusing on the waist and above.

Extreme Close-Up Shot. The camera focuses on a single feature of the subject, i.e the mouth, a hand, etc. This serves to draw attention to it.

High Camera Angle. The camera looks down on the subject. This serves to make the subject seem small, weak, or unimportant. It can also be used to give the impression that the subject is being watched by a more powerful presence.

Level Camera Angle. The camera angle is even with the subject.

Wide Angle. The whole subject is shown, placed in context in their surroundings.

Long Shot/Extreme Wide Angle/Establishing Shot. The camera is far away from the subject. This serves to show a wider view of the subject's surroundings.

Over the Shoulder Shot. This shot is used to put the focus on the main subject, to show that what they are saying or doing is of higher importance than the secondary subject.

Low Camera Angle. The camera looks up at the subject. This serves to make the subject seem more powerful and important.

Point of View Shot. The camera mimics the vision of a character in the scene.

Reaction Shot. This can be a shot of someone looking off-screen. It can also be a shot of a person that is being spoken to, so that we can see their reactions.

Tilted (Dutch) Shot. The camera is at a tilted angle. It is used to give the feeling of unease, and makes the viewer feel off balance.

Two Shot. The camera shows more than one person, but shows them at the same angle/distance. This is used when a conversation is happening, between people whose actions/words are intended to be equally as important as each other.

Extreme Close-Up (brianlemay.com)

2. Movement.

Pan. The camera moves steadily across from one part of a scene to another.

Tilt. The camera moves up or down, so that it can follow the action or the subject.

Track. The entire camera moves to follow a moving subject.

Zoom. The camera moves closer to the subject, or further away from the subject. Also known as "Truck". Zoom/Truck in is used to draw the viewer's attention towards something, and Zoom/Truck out is used to reveal something to the viewer that was initially hidden.

Reveal. The camera stays in place, but the subject moves through the frame during the shot.

Rack Focus. The camera has one subject in focus, and others out of focus, and then the focus changes to a different subject in the same scene.

Background Pan (brianlemay.com)

Truck Out (brianlemay.com)

3. Transitions.

Dissolve. The first shot fades out, while the next shot simultaneously fades in.

Fade Out. The scene gradually darkens, until the scene becomes black. Can be used at the end of a scene to imply that time has passed between scenes.

Fade In. A black scene gradually brightens, until the desired scene is visible.

Jump Cut. The view changes abruptly from one scene to another, or from one frame to another frame in the same scene. This is often used to disrupt the flow of time, or to make the scene seem more frantic, or chaotic.

Dissolve (brianlemay.com)

Fade to Black (brianlemay.com)

The 180 Degree Rule:

In Jennifer Albright's article, How to Make a Storyboard - Storyboard Lingo and Techniques, she talks about the "180 degree rule". This is a convention used to maintain visual acuity, and to stop the viewer from becoming disoriented. Consider the master shot shown below:

videomaker.com

The overhead shot shows an imaginary line drawn between the two subjects. Keeping the camera on the same side of this line is desirable, for both the viewer and the editing staff.

videomaker.com

The scene above keeps the 180 degree rule in mind. The close up shots of each subject are consistent with the way they are facing in the master shot. Here is what the shot will look like if the 180 degree rule is broken:

videomaker.com

This shot is disorientating, because they are now seemingly facing the same direction, rather than facing each other. Sticking to the 180 degree rule will save a lot of time later in the editing room.

Time to get sketching!

Research - Colours and Lighting - Testing Colours on a Simple Picture

I have looked into the theory behind colours and the emotions they can evoke, but now I want to actually test how colour can effect a single image. It will be a quick exercise, just changing the overall colour of the entire image, using Photoshop.

I started with a fairly simple image:

The original image is very bright and cheerful. Lets see if changing the colour can change the overall mood of the image.

 

 Changing the colour to a deep orange gives the image a feeling of foreboding and unease.

Darkening the orange scene gives the image an increased feeling of danger and unfamiliarity; a big contrast to the original image we started with.

  

Making the image dark, but more grey-brown than orange, gives the scene a slightly more eerie feel.

 Next, I wanted to try some more subtle colour changes. Here's a reminder of the original image:

 

By keeping the main colours but changing the hue and saturation, the scene was given a slightly colder, harsher feeling, as can be seen below:

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Colour has a big effect, but colour alone is not enough. The contents of the scene also need to be adapted to fit the aesthetic. For example, in the more negative-looking scenes, you would most likely want more clouds, and less grass. This further adds to my thought in previous posts, that a scene needs to have a lot of thought behind it, not just one blanket method, even though each aspect has an effect in itself.


I am now going to look into perspective, and will then start drafting the scenes for my artefact, so that I can start getting feedback.

Research - Colours and Lighting - Colour Theory

Colour Theory has many definitions, concepts, and design applications. I am going to start by looking at the following basic categories: the colour wheel, colour harmony, and the context of how colours are used.


The Colour Wheel:

colormatters.com

There are different categories of colour, based on the above colour wheel.

colormatters.com

Primary Colours: Red, yellow, and blue. These are the three pigment colours that can't be mixed or formed by combinations of any other colours. These are the three colours that all other colours are derived from.

Secondary Colours: Green, orange, and purple. These are the colours that form as a result of mixing primary colours.

Tertiary Colours: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green, and yellow-green. These colours are the combination of a primary colour and a secondary colour. That is why the hue is a two word name.


Colour Harmony:

A harmony is a pleasing arrangement of parts. This can apply to many subjects: music, poetry, colour, etc.

In regards to colours, harmony is something that is visually pleasing. It engages the viewer and it creates an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience. If something is not in harmony, it is either dull or chaotic. At one extreme is a visual experience that is so bland that the viewer is not engaged. The human brain will reject under-stimulating information. At the other extreme, is a visual experience that is so overdone, so chaotic that the viewer can't stand to look at it. The human brain rejects what it cannot organise, what it cannot understand. Colour harmony delivers both visual interest and a sense of order.

Extreme visual unity leads to under-stimulation, while extreme complexity leads to over-stimulation. Harmony is a dynamic equilibrium.



Some Basic Formulas for Colour Harmony:

There are many theories for colour harmony, but these are some of the basics:

1. A colour scheme based on analogous colours.

colormatters.com

Analogous colours: three adjacent colours on a 12 part colour wheel. There is normally one dominant colour among the three.


2. A colour scheme based on complementary colours.

colormatters.com

Complementary colours: Colours that are directly opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as red-purple and yellow-green. Opposing colours create maximum contrast and maximum stability.


3. A colour scheme based on nature.

colormatters.com

Nature is a great place to find colour harmony. As seen in the picture above, the three colours (red, yellow, and green) create a balanced design, regardless of whether this combination fits into a technical formula for colour harmony.


Colour Context:

Colour context is a very complex area of colour theory. Colour context is the name given to the way colours behave in relation to other colours and shapes. Different background colours can have a big effect on any one colour, as can be seen below:

colormatters.com

Red seems more brilliant against a black background, and slightly more dull against a white background. Against an orange background, red seems more lifeless, and drowned out; in contrast with the blue-green colour, it exhibits brilliance.


Different Readings of the Same Colour:

colormatters.com

Colours can appear vastly different, just by changing the background colour. In the above image, the small purple rectangle on the left appears to have a red-purple tinge when compared to the small purple rectangle on the right. In reality, they are both the same colour, as evidence by the image below. In this way, three colours can be perceived as four colours.

colormatters.com

Observing the effects colours have on each other is the starting point for understanding the relativity of colour. The relationship of values, saturations and the warmth or coolness of respective hues can cause noticeable differences in out perception of colour.

tigercolor.com

Warm and Cool Colours:


The colour circle can be divided into warm and cool colours.

Warm colours are vivid and energetic, and tend to advance in space.

Cool colours give an impression of calm, and create a soothing impression.





Tints, Shades, and Tones:


Tint: when a colour is made lighter, by adding white.

tigercolor.com

Shade: when a colour is made darker, by adding black.

tigercolor.com

Tone: when gray is added to a colour.

tigercolor.com

The Meanings of Colours:

Colours are often associated with specific emotions. In this section I will explore which emotions are typically connected to which colours. Some colours have different meanings in different countries and cultures, but I will focus mainly on a more generalised scale.


Red:

Red is often seen as a colour of extremes.
Associated with: Love, passion, seduction, violence, danger, anger, adventure.


Yellow:

Yellow is the colour that catches the eye more than most.
Associated with: happiness, optimism, enlightenment, creativity, sunshine, warmth, spring.


Blue:

Blue is a colour that has many meanings, depending on the shade used.

Dark blue is associated with: trust, dignity, intelligence, authority.
Bright blue is associated with: cleanliness, strength, dependability, coolness.
Light (sky) blue is associated with: peace, serenity, ethereal, spiritual, infinity.

Blue can, however, also often be associated with depression, and sadness in American culture. This is a good example of how colour symbolism can evolve in different countries.


Green:

The colour of nature and the environment.
Associated with: growth, rebirth, fertility, nature.


Orange:


Associated with: energy, vitality, cheer, excitement, adventure, warmth, good health.

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Now that I have done some colour research, my next task is to actually experiment with colours to see how it affects an image.

Research - Colours and Lighting - General Observations

Since I began this dissertation, I've started noticing visual subtleties in films and tv programs that I watch.

For example, in the 2000 film, The Patriot, there is a sequence in which the scene layout and content stays the same, but the colour of the backdrop changes. The colour of the sky changes, from blue and clear to red and stormy, to match the aesthetic of the looming battle. Changing just one part of the scene has changed the mood of the entire scene, from happy and idyllic, to a feeling of danger and foreboding.

The Patriot (Captured using the Snipping Tool)

The Patriot (Captured using the Snipping Tool)

In the American crime drama, Castle, colour and lighting techniques are often used to enhance the mood of a scene. It is not something I noticed when I first watched the show, but looking back now, it seems so obvious!

Castle (Captured using the Snipping Tool)

Castle (Captured using the Snipping Tool)

In many episodes of Castle, the scenes have a soft, golden hue. This is to emphasise the cheerfulness of the corresponding scene. If you compare the above images to the ones below, you can really see the difference. The above images are happy and warm, whereas the images below are cold and harsh, reflecting the danger present, and the imminent death of a character in that scene.

Castle (Captured using the Snipping Tool)

Castle (Captured using the Snipping Tool)

Another example of how colour and lighting can drastically effect the look and feel of a picture can be seen in the picture below:

Picture from Kamui Cosplay

The above images are of a Skyrim cosplay, by Svetlana Quindt. The original picture, on the left, looks great, but doesn't quite have that feel of a Skyrim game. With some tweaking in Photoshop, the picture has been altered massively  by just changing the colours: a bright and sunny day has been transformed into a colder and more threatening atmosphere.


In later posts, I will look into Colour Theory, and how specific colours can evoke specific emotions.

Research: What Affects the Mood and Aesthetic of a Scene?

Now that I have a basic idea for the storyline behind the scenes in the art style guide, I need to look into what actually affects a scene - what makes it a happy scene, or a sad scene. In a previous post (http://giselleczajka.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-tumbleweeds-on-my-blog-got-bit-out.html), I talked about a lesson in which the teacher pointed out the flaws in a scene that was supposed to feel eerie and atmospheric. This showed me some of the many things that can affect the aesthetic of a scene.


I will list some of the main things that can change the mood of a scene, and put them into sections, so that they are easier to research. There are general ones; ones that are affected by style choices (the genre you pick, etc); and ones that are affected by the characters and actors in the scene.

General:

• Colours/Brightness -the right colour or lighting choices can have a dramatic effect on the mood of a scene.
• Perspective/Focal Points
• Materials - If you want a scene to look eerie, you want the textures on objects to look run down, and old, to mimic the mood of the scene. If an abandoned room has a broken bed, but the bed is topped with a pristine white mattress, it breaks the immersion of the scene: the mattress should be discoloured, or have rips and loose springs.
• Weather - Choosing whether a sky is sunny or stormy can drastically affect the mood of the scene.
• Realism - If a door has a door knob, but no latch, it breaks the realism and immersion of the scene.
• Object Placement -Objects should never be placed arbitrarily: they should always have a purpose. If an object is included in a scene it needs to belong there, and be of matching quality to the rest of the scene: placing low poly or rushed objects in a detailed scene will again break the immersion.
• Seamlessness - Everything in the scene needs to look like it belongs there. If an eerie scene has bright objects placed in it for the sake of adding more objects, they will look out of place.

Drawing books on some basic square shelves in a scene doesn't automatically make it a library scene: every part of the scene must be created with a library in mind - the layout, the colours, the lighting, etc.


Style Choices:

• Genre of the World
• Style of Clothing
• Look/Build of the Characters

Characters/Acting:

• Expressions of the Characters
• Body Language of the Characters

The things listed in the General section will be the main focus, but the other sections are also important, and will be kept in mind when creating the art style guide.

Dissertation Recap! (Style guide content, story notes, marking the style guide, current plan of action, etc)

I have quite a few blog posts, and there have been gaps where I have been working on other modules, so this post is to recap the main things I have posted about (the content of the style guide, etc).

Style Guide Details:

•   About 15-30mins of gameplay for each visit to the village. Village is there to act as a break from the current quests and combat.
•  Mostly digital images, but may include some pencil sketches, especially for initial drafts.
•  Final artefact will be digital, either a PDF or Word document, although I may get a physical copy made, time and funds allowing.

Style Guide Content List:

• Village at point A in storyline: approx. 20 images.
• Village at point B in storyline: approx. 20 images.
• Characters (player and non-player): 5-10 images, plus a small description for the main character and each tribe or group featured in the game. So for example, the villagers that live in the village mentioned above will have a small paragraph describing the village's backstory as a whole, rather than a paragraph for each person. The main character of the game will get their own paragraph, as they feature much more heavily in the game.
• General World Overview: 5-10 images. Just a few images of the area around the village, so game artists know what kind of world the village exists in.

The village at point A and B are the main focus, but I will want some artwork for the world and the people in it, to give game artists more scope when creating the villages.

Story Notes:

• RPG.
• Focuses on one main character.
• Python storyline (the player has freedom of movement, but the main storyline is linear).

Marking the Artefact:

I want to be marked on the contrast between the village at point A in storyline, and the village at point B in storyline. I want to be able to use the knowledge and skills I have gained to make the same location have an entirely different look and feel. I want the emphasis to be on what I choose to put IN the scene, not the quality of the pictures. The pictures will be sketched out similar to a storyboard, like this: Margrave: The Blacksmith's Daughter Early Storyboard. If I have time I will make the storyboard into finished images, but I don't want to rush the artefact, when the main focus is more on the thought behind the images.

 

What emotions/atmosphere do I want the player to experience in the first scene that will be in the style guide:

• comfort
• safety
• happiness
• peaceful/calm
• picturesque/unspoiled

What emotions/atmosphere do I want the player to experience in the second scene that will be in the style guide:

• distress
• danger
• sadness/anger
• chaos/turmoil/disarray
• hideous/harsh (buildings burning, corpses, etc)

The Main Character:

 I want the main character to be imperfect - I don't want him/her to be really strong from the get-go. This way the player can relate to the character more, as they seem more "human". The player can also bond with the character as he/she develops throughout the story. The main character will have trust issues that make it difficult for them to bond with people. This way, when he/she finally does bond with people in the village in the first scene, it will be that much more heart-wrenching when the village is destroyed in the second scene. I intend to build up the feelings of familiarity and safety, and then take a wrecking ball to them!

• Gender and Age: Female, late teens or early twenties.
•  Premise: When an impetuous young goddess is exiled for her reckless behaviour, she must find a way to regain her powers so that she can leave the mortal plane and return home.
•  Possibilities: She feels like her family have abandoned her by exiling her. What if it turns out that an attack on the higher plan was imminent and this was the only way her family could keep her safe? What if they knew she could be the one to end the inevitable war and lead them all to victory?
• Story Challenges and Problems: Keeping a fantasy world exciting, while still enabling the audience to identify with the characters.
• Designing Principle: When a woman from a higher plane of existence is reduced to living as mortals do, she learns that even the most seemingly insignificant beings can be invaluable, and that power is not the be-all and end-all.
•  Best Character: The goddess who is exiled. Lots of space for character growth.
• Conflict: Inner conflict over being exiled and having to learn to live as a mortal. Conflict between her and the person that leads the attack on her home.
•  Basic Action: Fallen goddess searches for a way to regain her powers.
• Character Change: W - Impetuous, impulsive, hot-tempered, selfish. C - By having to rely on help from mortals, she learns to think about people other than herself, is able to grow as a person an earn a space in the higher plane once again. She learns that being born into a higher plane does not make you entitled to be there, and that you cannot take life for granted.
• Moral Choice: Has to choose whether to save her home, or the new home/family she has come to know - which world does she actually fit into now? // Has to choose between going home, and staying with the new family/world/home she has grown to love.

The Seven Key Steps of Story Structure:

1. Weakness and Need. 

Psychological Weakness: Hero is impetuous, impulsive, hot-tempered and selfish.

Moral Weakness: Has no regard for others, and thinks of mortals as insignificant ants.

Psychological Need: Needs to learn that being selfish gets you nowhere, when you are in a crisis support from others can help you survive.

Moral Need: Hero needs to learn to treat others as equals, and stop thinking of people as just a way to get what she wants.

2. Desire.

Hero wants to get her powers back, and leave the mortal plane.

3. Opponent.

The being that attacks her home world. He/she wants to take the powers of her home world, and use them to rule over all planes. The opponent tries to get the hero to join him/her, and rule over everyone. Both the hero and the opponent are selfish at the start of the story, but when the opponent later attacks the mortal village, it makes the hero realise that she cares for the mortals, and that they are important to her.

4. Plan.

The mortal world has shrines that link them to the higher plane. These shrines draw on the higher beings powers, to allow the world to thrive. The hero wants to try and use these shrines as a way of accessing her old powers, or communicating with people from her home world.

5. Battle.

Physical battle. Opponent still tries to convince the hero that they aren't so different, and to join him/her. Hero must choose - give in to her weakness, or fight it.

6. Self-revelation.

Psychological self-revelation: Hero realises that she has been arrogant and childish, and didn't deserve her place on the higher plane.

Moral self-revelation: Hero realises that mortals are just as important as "higher" beings, and that no matter your birthright, how you choose to live the life you are given defines who you are.

7. New equilibrium.

Hero defeats opponent, and is rewarded by regaining her powers and is welcomed back home (she has defeated her selfishness, and arrogance, and has also saved her home world).

How big is the village?

The village will be small, with only a handful of buildings, and no more than a few dozen inhabitants. The village is small because it is supposed to be a cosy and safe environment. A small population also allows the player to become attached to the inhabitants more easily - if it was a massive city, then the people just become nameless faces.

Current plan of action:

I am currently creating some basic sketches for the artefact, which I will then send to the teachers for feedback. I will then make changes based on the feedback, and when I am happy with them I will create the final images.

The Seven Key Steps of Story Structure

1. Weakness and Need. 

Psychological Weakness: Hero is impetuous, impulsive, hot-tempered and selfish.
Moral Weakness: Has no regard for others, and thinks of mortals as insignificant ants.

Psychological Need: Needs to learn that being selfish gets you nowhere, when you are in a crisis support from others can help you survive.
Moral Need: Hero needs to learn to treat others as equals, and stop thinking of people as just a way to get what she wants.

2. Desire.

Hero wants to get her powers back, and leave the mortal plane.

3. Opponent.

The being that attacks her home world. He/she wants to take the powers of her home world, and use them to rule over all planes. The opponent tries to get the hero to join him/her, and rule over everyone. Both the hero and the opponent are selfish at the start of the story, but when the opponent later attacks the mortal village, it makes the hero realise that she cares for the mortals, and that they are important to her.

4. Plan.

The mortal world has shrines that link them to the higher plane. These shrines draw on the higher beings powers, to allow the world to thrive. The hero wants to try and use these shrines as a way of accessing her old powers, or communicating with people from her home world.

5. Battle.

Physical battle. Opponent still tries to convince the hero that they aren't so different, and to join him/her. Hero must choose - give in to her weakness, or fight it.

6. Self-revelation.

Psychological self-revelation: Hero realises that she has been arrogant and childish, and didn't deserve her place on the higher plane.
Moral self-revelation: Hero realises that mortals are just as important as "higher" beings, and that no matter your birthright, how you choose to live the life you are given defines who you are.

7. New equilibrium.

Hero defeats opponent, and is rewarded by regaining her powers and is welcomed back home (she has defeated her selfishness, and arrogance, and has also saved her home world).