Preliminary Task- Storyboard

The preliminary task is to mainly help us understand how to use the equipment and put the technical aspects we have learnt into action. We have seen lots of examples of other Preliminary Tasks and we feel that they have been boring. (Eg: The audience slowly follows a character through a variety of shots and ends up in a one line conversation before it ends.) We want to create a video that contains some sort of action and/or comedy as well as meeting the criteria to a good standard. The criterion for our preliminary task is as follows:

• A short conversation with the use of reverse/reaction shots
• The 180 degree shot
• An identification/logo

Our preliminary task should contain the following scenes shown in our storyboard but may be different in the finished product.

Firstly our video will display our Silver Studios Identification/Logo. The opening scene will show a lady asking a young lad what qualities he has which would mean he would be appropriate for an occupation. This is shown in a reverse shot as we see the young lad’s shoulder and head in the foreground with the head and upper body of the lady in the background. He will then list his qualities while the camera swings round the table in a 180 degree shot.  In doing so, the audience will be able to see the brief surroundings and a glimpse at the table of which the characters are sitting at. The use of the table in addition to the dialogue will help create the idea that this scene is a job interview. The lad will be seen wearing a white collared shirt and tie re-enforcing the formal manner in which the scene is presented.

Next, our interviewer will ask the lad if he has had any previous problems at work in another reverse shot. An extreme close up shot will be seen as the camera zooms in and the lad pulls a worrying face. Ironically, this is where he encounters a problem- he desperately needs the toilet. It will then cut to high shot displaying the lad pull up his tie, stand up and start to walk away. At some point he will apologise and excuse himself from the interview.

After this, the camera will follow the lad from behind as he proceeds to exit the scene and head for the door. Only his footsteps will be heard creating an awkward atmosphere. As he reaches for the door, the camera will show him opening the door from the other side in a long shot. In this shot, the camera will be fixated upon him as it pans across showing him running away from the building.

The cutting rate will be increased to show the audience the rush the character is in to get to his destination. We then appear to be at ground height as the lad dramatically splashes in a puddle and runs down a small set of stairs. As he does this, we will remain in a low shot but the character will run towards the camera in a point of view style. This makes the audience seem they are right in the middle of the action. He will then run through a courtyard area showing stairs in the background. The effect of doing this is that the audience gets an idea of where he has come from in the previous shot into the current one. This increases the fluency of the scene. The camera will again be fixated in one position following the lad as he runs past the camera and into a different building.

As this happens, the camera will again move in front of the action where the lad runs into the scene knocking over another character in the process. The idea of having paper fly out of “victims” hands increases the comedic value of the piece as he falls to the ground. It also emphasises the quick pace of the scene and implies that nothing will stop the lad in reaching the toilets in time. We will then see the lad continue down a linear corridor to the toilet door. Finally, an over the shoulder shot is used as the lad enters the toilet and into a cubical. The camera will then drop down only showing the lads feet to round the video off as the scene fades out.