Storyboard project

For the first week's work, I began working on the storyboard. The first task we did was make panels in the storyboard concentrating on an everyday task, and how when you approach it from a step by step perspective. I chose to do the work on the simple task of making a piece of toast. I decided to take pictures of me doing this task, and then use those pictures as references for the panels in the storyboard. I used fineliners, alcohol markers and watercolours for the drawings in the storyboard.

For the second step of the storyboard project, we needed to add to the everyday elements that we included in the first week's work by adding an unexpected element to it, to continue the story by moving from the everyday to the 'neverday'. After spending time thinking of ideas, I was inspired by the songs of the 80s that my Mum was listening to when I came home from the beach with my friend, to add a time travelling storyline to my board. The video of 'Take on me' by a-ha was an influence, with the idea of the character in the video being pulled into a comic book being something that I could look to when placing my character into a new environment and world.

For the second page of panels for the storyboard, I began to explore the idea of the ordinary turning into something extraordinary by introducing the concept of time travel, and that the toaster itself used in the first set of panels is itself a time travelling machine. Using the same materials as the first week, markers, fineliners and watercolours, I used the bright, bold colours of the 80s to suggest that there is something unexpected about to happen, which is also shown in the confusion of the close up of my face with the question marks surrounding it.

After the first two weeks of work for the storyboard project I began watching the Marvel Studios tv programme Wandavision on disney+. I felt that this show is relevant for the project that I am doing. The show contains The main character Wanda coping with the death of her love interest Vision by using her powers to create a fake world were she gets to live a happy suburban life. Each episode is created in the style of family tv sitcoms through the decades, so the characters travel through the decades to tell the story. There are episodes set in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 2000s, and a modern day style tv episode. Since I am exploring the idea of time travelling in my storyboard, I am influenced by the way in which in every episode, the complete aesthetic of the town is transformed to fit the decade in which it is set, although the story remains the same.

I was also inspired by the aesthetic of the programme glow on netflix. The bright colours of the 80s, as well as the fashion was something that I kept in mind when making my own storyboard.

Another film that inspired my work was Back to the future. When I was thinking about introducing a time travelling element to the work, this is immediately what came to mind, with the 80s setting, and the time travelling both being things that are relevant to my own personal storyboard.

During the third week of work, we were asked to explore lighting when it came to the household object or everyday situation that was included in our storyboards. Since my storyboard concentrates on the idea of a toaster turning into a time machine, I decided to take photos of the toaster in our kitchen and attempt to create an atmosphere that could match the atmosphere created in the storyboard itself. I did find this task quite challenging as I wasn't sure how to approach it, but I decided to use a phone screen containing a colour palette from the 80s and then use that to reflect on the toaster and the tiles in the background, to suggest the mysterious colours that begin to appear in the storyboard itself.

I have included a detail on the walkman that indicates that this is the song that is being listened to, which adds to the 80s theme.

Although I don't have my own first hand pictures from this museum, a few years ago my family and I visited the York Castle museum in York, and saw an exhibition that included a recreation of british kitchens through the decades. When I was exploring the idea of adding the 80s kitchen to the background of my storyboard, I was immediately reminded of this, and I began to look for pictures online, such as the ones that I have included here.

For the last sequence of events in the storyboard, I decided to add yet again another plot twist to the story. I added an inception or meta theme, in which the main character is reading about her own story in a comic book, as a sort of foreshadowing to what could happen to her. She decides after reading to take the toaster plug out of the wall to make sure that the toaster doesn't actually take her back in time.

Because of this, I made some research into the idea of different 'cuts' to a film. The way in which although the same scenes are filmed and created, the sequence of events can be adapted and changed, whether subtly or drastically. Although the images in my storyboard are the same ones as the ones used in the original, the story has been completely changed and the tone is also changed. The idea of travelling forward to the future somehow seems more frightening than travelling backwards due to the unknown events of what will happen, while in the past, it has already happened. I also cut down on the amount of panels used to create the new story, as well as adding in minor details such as shading and colours to suit the new storyline better than the original, such as changing question marks indicating confusion in the 80s, to music notes, to suggest that the character is comfortable in the 80s and that there is where she belongs.