Hello guys, today we will be briefly discussing the storyboard draft, the process where my friend and I made our script converted into a storyboard visual. This will allow our group to have a better understanding of how to plan and structure our scenes out. Honestly, we just need a general idea of how we will process each scene, and what objectives based on media studies will be applied. This is not our confirmed storyboard draft, but it is a general method that will lay out the fundamentals for our media studies portfolio.
In this storyboard, the film opening was structured with a beginning scene with an establishing shot where there are two protagonists at the beginning driving around the neighborhood, enjoying teenage life, with the surrounding area being dark and the neighborhood feeling more isolated. As if this place feels abandoned, where nobody is there, to provide more of that isolation and tension that prevails in a horror movie setting. To capture this scene, we will utilize the over-the-shoulder shot from the back seat of the car, where it displays the emptiness of the road. This was an inspirational idea I took when I analyzed the film openings when assessing The Conjuring and Insidious. From my observations, I utilized their idea of an isolated dark scene where they made the audience feel more clueless and unaware of what will happen next for a certain jump scare or when the antagonist/villain will be exposed. From this inspiration, I will greatly apply this as my first scene for my film opening.
After the opening drive that establishes isolation, the characters stop their car and come across a random garage/storage room that is open. Then the characters enter the garage room to see what this house is about. This is where the atmosphere becomes more claustrophobic. The garage is represented as darker, cluttered, and filled with boxes and old items, and the protagonists have to rely on a flashlight that only provides partial light in the room. This forces the characters to move slowly and cautiously. In this moment, the camera begins with a close-up shot of the character’s face as he steps inside, so we can immediately show emotion and tension. The audience will feel more intrigued about where the characters are tracking down the shadows that are within the room.
After this scene, the storyboard will show more exploration and deeper analysis of what is going on in the room by utilizing over-the-shoulder shots and POV shots to keep the audience scanning the room to identify clues. We plan to build fear through using ambient noises and silence, with small sounds of creaks or shuffling to indicate something is there before it is visualized.
Then the storyboard shifts to a villain POV, which makes it feel as if the protagonists are being watched. An overhead shot will occur where the protagonists look small and vulnerable while they hesitate and search through the objects, increasing the sense of danger.
Finally, the suspense peaks when the protagonist opens the box. The sound drops out to show focus on breathing and silence, then we use a tight reaction shot to show fear. A creepy doll pops out and drags them to the ground. After the protagonists try their best to escape, they fall to the ground. We show them fainting with a high-angle shot where we provide a description for the audience of the protagonists being taken away by the antagonist who pops up to collect them. The final scene will show the protagonists waking up and realizing they are locked to a chair where they cannot move or talk. The whole scene will have an effect that will utilize the color theory concept we learned, such as blue, that will represent the wide range of emotions such as fear being indicated. It shows the antagonist getting ready to kill the body with a weapon known as a chainsaw. The protagonists keep moving as he is terrified of what is going on. We lean into a close-up shot of the antagonist coming right in to kill the protagonist. This will then conclude the horror film storyboard film opening.
For now, that is a wrap of our storyboard planning. I am glad that I am able to apply the media concepts I learned throughout the research to come to light. There is much more to plan and to do better. The storyboard helped us get a general idea of how to store and make a purpose for each shot. This allows the whole film opening to have more of a structured layout of what is going to happen and what camera techniques will apply to influence our filming.
As this is the storyboard planning, my team and I might alter some aspects.
But for now, this will hold as an example of what we need for a horror thriller to be successful.
Now, it is getting late for me, and we will discuss more in our next blog. This is where we will get into the stage of what resources such as characters and props we will use.
Until then, see you guys next time!
Storyboard Layout: 
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