16/11/2020 storyboarding (SP 1 Understand the functions and differences between storyboard and playboard):
For storyboarding, I am required, as part of my targets, to display a full understanding og how to create a storyboard and also how to use camera shots. Using this video, I will demonstrate my knowledge of camera shots and how to use them effectively:
Using examples from Halo 2 Anniversary edition
Low Angle:
Low angle shots are taken below the eyeline of the characters within the scene, for example looking down at a panel, inside a car boot etc.
High angle shot:
high angle shots are used usually when the character in question is at a lower position than others in the shot, like sitting down or lying on the ground.
shoulder-level shot
Somewhat self-explanatory, can be best used to display a character-to-character interaction in the media.
close up:
close ups are used to display character expressions and to also symbolise who is talking.
I wanted to take a more ‘traditional’ approach to the storyboard, by drawing in pen and pencil instead of doing a digital piece to display my skills fully. I also want to do most if not all of the concept art for the storyboard from a first-person perspective, alike how it is in-game.
Storyboard:
Establishing shot, first thing the player sees upon spawn 
medium shot, exposing the side-angle and entrance of the shack for entry. 
high-angle shot, displays objects on the table– more specifically the button and walkie-talkie, the source of the sound, the catalyst to our protagonists journey. 
wide shot displaying the road to the angel and surrounding areas. 
Somewhat of a master shot, displaying a group of bloodthirsty bandits attacking the main camera (FPP) 
high-angle shot, the protagonist begins to find notes of previous inhabitants which the person on the radio sheds light upon as they are discovered, also explaining their need for the numbers. 
high-angle, Upon unravelling the story within the notes, and discovering the part of the code, the protagonist is directed to a sewer grate. 
establishing shot upon entry of the sewer, displaying the possible paths to go down although most are blocked. 
wide shot, establishes placement of the door compared to the sewer tunnel 
medium shot displays the door opening swiftly when the player has arrived. 
establishing shot exposes the decontamination room directly outside. 
this long-shot down a hallway shows the first face-to-face encounter with the mysterious ‘ants’. 
cowboy shot, the agent turns startled at the protagonists presence and begins to open fire. 
cowboy shot, as the two tussle, the protagonist discovers the incredible power of the agent armour. 
After traversing the entirety of the base that was in their path, the protagonist manages to find their way to a control room of sorts, where they are greeted with the mysterious schematics spoken of. 
medium-wide, with schematics in hand the protagonist desperately begins to flee the facility, only to have the radio man killed mysteriously on the way. 
long shot of the mechanical suit behind the doorframe.
25/11/2020 Update:
The storyboard is now complete, however some of the scenes in my opinion are much more fitting of a playboard instead of in the storyboard, so I will be editing them and changing them slightly so they fit more with a storyboard and adding the more playboard-like pages below.
Playboard:
The Hero’s Journey: How to implement into our story
The hero’s journey is the basic rules and components to create a good story. The normal rules follow a pattern somewhat similar to this, as well as how they apply to our game:
- I: The ordinary world pre-story
- Radio Silence’s world is a desolate, burning result of an apocalypse. Trees and nature swallow most of the world bar it’s dry or burning patches and biomes, the cities turned to constant, unconquered battlegrounds.
- II: The Call to Adventure
- The player begins the game by finding the radio static noise intriguing, leading them to discover the cries for help of someone trapped in an unknown location spewing objectives to help them.
- III: The Reluctant Hero
- The reluctance could be judged upon by the player, whether they see freeing the trapped voice as a chore or aren’t good at following commands.
- IV: The Wise One
- The wisdom can come from two things in our game: Alex’s notes, or from the trapped voice. Alex’s notes and the trapped voice both assist in helping the player discover the hidden base.
- V: Crossing The Threshold
- This would be the killing of the bandits, the enablement of power and discovery of the first note.
- VI: Tests, allies and enemies
- This can be applied to almost every sector of the game; getting to the angel through the Bandits, finding all notes, entering the lower levels, fighting the agents, grabbing the schematics, fleeing. All a large test, with one ally, and many enemies.
- VII: Approaching the inmost cave
- This can be applied to the entry of the lower base, the final test of the game.
- VIII: The Ordeal
- This can apply to the knowledge that the rest of the trapped voice’s team is dead, there is no way to call for help, you are on your own.
- IX: The Reward
- Claiming of the schematics, the feeling as if you are going to now free the assistant and start an uprising against the underground menace… Only to have no knowledge that everything can go wrong.
- X: The Road Back
- This would be the very element and feeling of fleeing to the exit, fighting through waves of the agents as you go. As this happens, the thrill of ‘The Road Back’ is snatched from you as your ally dies at the hands of the mysterious machine you are going to expose.
- XI: The Resurrection
- In our game the only resurrection would be the resurrection of hope for the trapped voice and yourself in completing the mission and fleeing the facility.
- XII: Return With The Elixir
- The elixir is the schematics, but there will be no return. As you frantically push the elevator button, the lights flicker and a loud thumping noise approaches followed by red lights. This is your end.
The ‘rise’, climax, ‘fall’ and resolution of our game:
The Rise:
- The rise would be the discovery of the radio, entry to the area, and would continue to climb from that point. The bandits are fairly easy to kill one-by-one however prove a challenge as a group, so it is best to keep your distance. After clearing the bandits, finding the notes, power switch, would all combine to conceive the climax of our story.
The Climax:
- The climax of our story would be the discovery of the final part of the code the trapped voice needs to gain access to the base, as well as entry into the rabbit hole.
The Fall:
- The fall would be the entry into the underground base. The fall usually is a little more challenging to keep interest in the game, which falls perfectly into our core game ideas before studying this: The agents are far more well-equipped, strong and challenging than the bandits, which is further made harder by the close-quarters, CQB style of combat which may take place within the corridors.
The Resolution:
The Resolution of our game: To perish. No matter how hard you try, in the end the agents will always shut the elevator down and send the riot control suit to kill you, to end the game. There is no escape.
24/11/2020 Animation: Attack
We were tasked individually with developing a 20+ frame animation of an attack. I had a very creative idea to execute: a stick-wielding man whacking dust in the eyes of a soldier, before smashing his shins– causing him to fall, before he was decapitated. Unfortunately I was unable to execute the full extent of my idea, but I got most of it.
The learning objective of this task was to understand the importance of the following:
- Line of action
- Foreshortening (when the asset faces directly at the viewer
- keyframes (frames of an animation)
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