This week I intend to develop my story ideas into a shot list, including the dialogue and a script for the voice actor.

Shot List

This shot list is a diagram that coordinates with the storyboard, giving more details that I wanted to write about each frame. This will also be a reference for the animation timing, sound design and editing collaborators and voice actors.

Storyboard Content Explained

1. Open door. Protagonist exits house.
2. Close up of hallway- photo frame of the couple
3. Protagonist closes the door.
4. Ground shot, close up that shows the forest. Then the protagonist walks past.
5. Close up of the protagonists hand, holding a flower and dog leash.
6. Protagonist reminisces about how the wife tripped over a tree root.
7. Tree root shot.
8. Protagonist laughs at previous dialogue line.
9. Apple pie shot. Protagonist expresses how he misses her apple pie.
10. Close up of protagonists face making yummy expressions.
11. Full shot of protagonist walking.
12. Protagonist close up of ripped shirt. Protagonist-dialogue line about the ripped shirt.
13. Fully shot of protagonist. Dialogue line about how shaggy he has gotten.
14. The camera slows in tracking his movements. The protagonist slows his walk to a stop. He ends up in the centre of the screen.
15. Protagonist chokes up for a moment, a small cry and then he calms himself down.
16. Protagonist walks off screen on the right. There is scene change with a foreground tree object transition.
17. After the transition, the protagonist appears on the right of the screen
18. Protagonist walks towards the gravesite.
19. Protagonist kneels beside the grave.
20. Protagonist places flower on the grave and says the final line.
21. Slow zoom out.

Storyboard Feedback

Feedback from my explanation at this state was generally positive. I have much constructive feedback on transitions and content that will help me in the future. How the dialogue related subjects come onto the screen with floating object transitions, or the order of shots.

• Starts on a subject, e.g. a couple of birds, then zooms out to the house interior through a window. That is how I can make the shot more fluid rather than how I have it now. I can have j-shot audio of the protagonist moving around the house and humming before you even see him.
• A transition is needed from the protagonist walking to the subject topics, for example the apple pie. I could use leaf floating onto the screen, or a tree that obstructs the view.
• The dog is a nice addition.

Other ideas

I could have a match shot when the protagonist exits the house, to when he is walking in the forest.

I am quite conflicted with the addition of the dog leash/ non-existence dog leash. Since, on the positive side, it is a narrative tool that shows that he does things out of habit, even though he is alone. On the negative side, including it may be too distracting (drawing attention away from main topic= the flower), restricts my camera (to hide the non-existent dog until the reveal), and it is unnecessary (an addition that will take time). on the other hand, including it may be more impactful, and sadder. I would need to block the audience’s view of the dog, with foreground objects such as a tree, in circumstances where I need full shots of the character. The rig for the leash could be a simple swinging chain link.

I have considered having other villagers in town, as he is walking, talk about him. e.g. “There is old Graham, he’s talking to himself again”.

I have many ideas about what the background could be, as I am not set on the forest just yet.

• Forest
• Town
• Tudor style town.

Enviro idea options:

1. lonely house in forest, he walks through forest and the grave is in a glade.
2. Tudor houses, same again. The grave is in a gravesite between tudor houses.
3. Houses upside down/in a jumble.
4. Sound frequency sped up, houses on street jumps.