Storyboard Description

1 - Opens with a still of a family photo, with a voice over by main character. ‘It’s funny the way life turns out. I was the eldest, and now I’m the last one left. It is funny isn’t it?’, in a sad, slightly monotonous voice, attempting to make light of something most obviously not. The picture then fades out to black as she says the last line. Behind the speaking their will be a dull droning of background voices, which are not distinguishable.

2 - As photo fades, the image of a slightly cluttered, lived in dinning room fades in behind. The camera is positioned at eye-level, looking over the room, tracking through it slowly. The distant murmuring grows louder, with the introduction of music and voices coming over it. The voice continues in the same manner, ‘Oh, I’m not saying I’ve had a hard life, far from it; two children, a loving family’ at this point a voice shouts out off camera ‘Mum you’re ruining my life!’, ‘I’m not complaining at all’.

3 - The camera continues to track through the room into a corridor, looking into side rooms, ‘I’ve lived in this house all my life, and I’ve never wanted to live anywhere else’ the voice continues, another voice shouts out once more ‘Why do you have to be so stubborn Mum, a (Nursing) home will be much easier on the whole family!’ A figure then fades in to the shot, running down the corridor, before freezing and then fading out.

4 - The camera pans to look up the stairs, and as it begins the ascent the same figure appears, the voice returns once more, this time intentionally NOT talking to the viewer, instead to the voice shouting, ‘This is OUR home, for me and your father’ a childish giggle comes as the figure climbs the stairs, followed by the camera. The figure disappears as it reaches the top of the stairs. ‘Dad’s dead Mum, and you need someone to look after you properly!’

5 - The camera then climbs the stairs, moving to an open door, the figure has now completely disappeared. The murmuring intensifies to a fever-pitch as the camera reaches the door. Below the tangle of voices comes a faint beating, to be reminiscent of a heart beat.

6 - The camera moves through the open door, the heart beat growing louder, now louder the murmurs. The camera moves towards a shape on the bed, the room shadowy, but not dark. The heart beat grows and then the camera freezes.

7 - The camera then retraces itself at high speed, murmuring and ‘heart beat’ now gone. The camera returns to where it began and a white frame replaces the view.

8 - The frame fades out, with the camera filming a cup falling to the floor and smashing in slow motion, a new female voice calls out ‘Grace’ shocked, and the cup smashes. The scene ends with the cup smashed on the floor.

Sound and Vision Line

Inspiration for my Film

With my film I set out to challenge the typical stereotypes of age, especially in concern to the elderly, and also youth. My film features both young, Diana, and old, Grace, and it is the relationship between the two which will feature as the pivotal theme of my film. The majority of the film focuses on Grace's life, and the growing influence of her daughter on her. My inspiration for the film began with 'Fried Green Tomatoes', but in a much more serious light. I wanted to create a film which effects the audience in a positive way, and by doing this generate the atmosphere of a feel good film, but not using only positive methods. Grace's attitude to being diagnosed with Parkinson’s is not that of fear, as most react with, but that of survival, and although it takes its toll on her, she remains the same woman. Diana remains an exceptionally closed character throughout at least the first half of the story, and when she finally does 'open up' to the viewer, it is found she is a very lonely woman, all of her family having passed away, the viewer is expected to feel sympathy for her, and also witness her resilience of character.
The inspiration for my film trailer comes from the Tim Burton film, Sleepy Hollow. Throughout the film, the main character experiences flashbacks, in a broken, dijointed manner throughout the film. This is the inspiration for my trailer - I have taken the disjointed aspect of flashbacks and melded them into one (roughly two minute) trailer, which aims to entice the viewer into viewing the film, because the trailer should be edgy and unique.

Further Research into Films

Film: The Shawshank Redemption
Genre: Drama
Director: Frank Darbont
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Tagline: Fear can hold you prisoner, Hope can set you free.
Synopsis: Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.
Relevance: Shawshank Redemption set out to facilitate the creation of emotion in the audience, primarily for the main character, but also others. I wish to create a relationship between Grace and the audience which, when she does eventually die, sadens the audience, but also makes them happy for her family solving their disputes.

Research into the Romantic-Drama

Film: Ghost (1990)

Genre: Romantic Drama
Director: Jerry Zucker
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Tagline: A Love That Will Last Forever.

Synopsis: After a 'botched' mugging is allowed to stay on earth as ghsot due to his love for his girlfriend. He finds himself trapped as a ghost and realises that his death was no accident. He must warn Molly about the danger that she is in. But as a ghost he can not be seen or heard by the living, and so he tries to communicate with Molly through Oda Mae Brown, a psychic who didn't even realise that her powers were real.
Relevance: As my film will contain aspects of Romantic Drama from the romance between Diana (The Nurse) and Richard (Grace's Son), the investigation of Romantic Dramas was a neccesity. The development in Ghost may verge into the paranormal but the overall aspects of Drama and Love remain, and it is these which will be important to create within my film.

Film: Fried Green Tomatoes
Genre: Drama, Comedy and Self-Discovery
Director: Jon Avnet
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Tagline: The secret of life? The secret's in the sauce.

Synopsis: Evelyn Couch is having trouble in her marriage, and no one seems to take her seriously. While in a nursing home visiting relatives, she meets Ninny Threadgoode, an outgoing old woman, who tells her the story of Idgie Threadgoode, a young woman in 1920's Alabama. Through Idgie's inspiring life, Evelyn learns to be more assertive and builds a lasting friendship of her own with Ninny.
Relevance: Although verging into the more humerous aspects of Drama, this film features several aspects I wish to include in my film. The first is that of Self-Discovery which I hoped to portray in the relationship between Grace and Diana. The other is use of voice overs to tell most of the story, or at least introduce parts of it.

Film: Slumdog Millionaire
Genre: Drama, Crime and Romance
Director: Danny Boyle
Distributed by: Pathe'
Tagline: Love and money... You have mixed them both.
Synopsis: A mumbai teen who grew up in the slums, becomes a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" He is arrested under suspicion of cheating, and while being interrogated, events from his life history are shown, which explains why he knows the answers.
Relevance: This film also contains various aspects of 'Flashbacks' and also romance, which I had intended as main features of my own film.

Outline of my Film

The film begins with a voice over, with short snapshots of video. The images and sounds are a reflection of the main character, Grace’s, life. The film then moves to the present, with Grace, now an older woman (80 – 85) being cared for by a nurse, and talking to the nurse about her own past. Grace obviously doesn’t get on with the nurse, having just lost her husband; she still wishes to be self-sufficient. After an argument with the Nurse when she leaves the house without her say-so and Grace fires her. Her daughter, Sophie, begins to become infuriated and threatens to put her mother in a nursing home, angering her mother. Sophie gives her a last chance, with recently qualified nurse, Diana. Unlike the previous carer, Diana listens to her, and allows her to continue living as she wished. Grace begins to retrace her life to Diana, changing her life for the better, increasing her confidence and expectations in life. Sophie begins to go through marital problems with her husband, Charles, a banker. Sophie reattempts to convince her mother to move into a nursing home, because of financial problems with her husband, arguing with Diana over the matter. Grace is then diagnosed with early on-set Parkinson’s disease. Her son, Richard, returns from America to help care for her, and quickly falls out with his sister over the care of their mother. Sophie’s marriage continues to fall apart, and Charles tries to seduce Diana, who tells Sophie. Sophie them argues with her, reducing Diana to tears, who then quits as her mothers nurse, after Charles blackmails her. Richard then finds her, in a small, slightly run-down flat, and attempts to convince to her to return, as her mother misses her. On their way back to Grace’s house, Richard and Diana share a romantic moment, and then fall in love.


As Diana had been gone several weeks, the state of the family and Charles has begun to steal from Grace. Diana and Richard find him stealing from Grace’s room, whilst she is out. Charles threatens them, but Grace and Sophie return from shopping to find him with Grace’s retirement money. Sophie then files for a divorce, winning a large amount of money. Diana and Richard then become engaged and marry. Grace’s condition worsens, and on their wedding days evening returns to her room, and does not wake up.

The film ends with a voice over by Grace, reflecting about the importance of life, which she wrote in a journal, leaving in to Diana. When her house is searched it was found that she was living surrounded by exceptionally valuable paintings, which are later sold, and shared amongst the family.

Research of Magazine Covers

Unlike Film Posters, Magazine covers have to feature several seperate films or articles, and compete with them for the audiences attention. A good Magazine cover has to immedietly grab the attention of the audience, so they immedietly view the article, and most importantly, buy the magazine.
Here are a collection of magazine covers I have found:

Film - Spiderman 3 (2007)
Genre - Action and Thriller
Made by - Columbia Pictures
Evaluation - The picture used is exceptionally simple, but speaks volumes about the film and its content. The almost feautreless background adds much more depth to the photo. The focus points on the photo gives it significant impact, with both his fierce features, primarily the eyes, drawing you into the picture, with his outstretched hand grabbing the viewers attention, and making the audience want to read on. Another aspect is that the text seems to be placed behind him, giving it a varying depth of field, and so creates the illusion of a 3-D cover.

Film - Clash of the Titans (2010)
Genre - Action, Drama and Fantasy
Made by - Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.
Evaluation - Like in other magazine covers, the photo is focused on exceptionally powerful poses, with little action in the background, instead using it to focus on the foreground, and so the character.  The layered text, also makes the character seem to be moving towards you, and although the pose is slightly intimidating, it will also inspire the audience to read on.

Film - The Hobbit (2011)
Genre - Adventure, Fantasy and Journey
Made by - Warner Bros.
Evaluation - This cover presents a much lighter genre of film, primarily given across by the birght background, and the happy face of the character. This cover also uses a foreground illusion, making the photo seem to come off the page, making it much more attractive. The background contains very little action, with more small features, introducing the area shown within the film simply, but also effectively with the cloudy, overcast background, and the character in front.