Video Project 2: Feel sympathetic dammit

[EEVILMURRAY]

Word up my peoples. Last time I came to you for inspiration. Now I come to you as an audience. My "plot" is complete, a sexy storyboard has been drawn up. However there is one point my teacher brings up about how, or rather, why should the audience side with the protagonist and despise the antagonist. So here is a bit of audience research.

You may recognize a few elements, the beginning bit is inspired by the intro to The Rock, and the fight scenes are inspired by Dragonball Z [the slowish beginning], Naruto [The circular pan], Masters of the Universe and Broken Arrow [the element of a fight being done against a black background, except mine will be against a green screen and properly made black]

So I have my storyboard here, and as an audience, if you were watching this, how would you find yourself emphathing with Conrad?


Don't judge some of my feeble frames ¬_¬

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With regards to this being part of my research and development, I have to hand in my "R n' D folder" in a few weeks, however I'm semi-confused as to what they expect from us. If we actually come up with original ideas [which mine is chock-a-block of] it's not really something I can show = low mark. However if "borrow" some ideas/concepts from other films [I'd never do a thing like that] they'd accuse me of being lazy or something = low mark.

[uəʌəsʎɐɾ]

Didn't you say you borrowed the opening? :P There's a lot of openings like that. Perhaps chuck their names in (like Saturday Night Fever) and say what impact those had on the audience (made character look cool), and that you wanted to do the same thing differently, or whatever.

The coin-flickey bit (even though it seemed a little weird that this guy had two security guards outside and shit) is in splinter cell, and i'm sure i've seen people throw things to cause a distraction - for some reason Crocodile Dundee is all that comes to mind.

Maybe you're supposed to 'research' what the effect of slow motion is, and why you chose to have flashes (to help the viewer keep up with the tense?) - why you chose to use the methods that you did. Say some bullshit about close-ups accentuating the character's emotions and stuff like that.

You didn't mention many panning effects, so i guess it's all cuts. Why?

[EEVILMURRAY]

Didn't you say you borrowed the opening? :P
Dunno what you're talking about. Most certainly wasn't from The Rock, which I most certainly didn't mention earlier ¬_¬
Perhaps chuck their names in (like Saturday Night Fever) and say what impact those had on the audience (made character look cool), and that you wanted to do the same thing differently, or whatever.
You've lost me here, I haven't watched Saturday Night Fever so I don't understand what you're trying to say.

The coin-flickey bit (even though it seemed a little weird that this guy had two security guards outside and shit) is in splinter cell, and i'm sure i've seen people throw things to cause a distraction - for some reason Crocodile Dundee is all that comes to mind.
I know I've swiped it from somewhere, the concept of using something to make sound to distract etc etc. I just couldn't pin it down to one/ a few things.
Maybe you're supposed to 'research' what the effect of slow motion is, and why you chose to have flashes (to help the viewer keep up with the tense?) - why you chose to use the methods that you did. Say some bullshit about close-ups accentuating the character's emotions and stuff like that.
But would that help you to feel sympathy for Conrad? What do you expect/require, as a member of an audience to develop such "feelings"?

Plus, any suggestions on what bullshit I can mention as to why his wife got murdered in the first place would be a right treat :D

You didn't mention many panning effects, so i guess it's all cuts. Why?
No, not at all.
Naruto [The circular pan],
¬_¬

[uəʌəsʎɐɾ]

Couldn't pin it down? Never seen saturday night fever? Then maybe you should do some of that research...

Be nice to me :P I'm the only person who's replied and I'm being critical to help.

I meant that you did not mention many pan shots in the storyboard, and I asked why this was. If you have a reason then say so!

As for feeling sympathy for Conrad, do you mean in how the camera is situated and everything? Or just the story?

The twist at the end was good, but does that mean he was staggering as he walked to the grave in the first place?

Clearly there was a time gap between her death and her burial, why did Conrad not go see him sooner?

These aren't significant points. The story itself, while a little... cliche... is gripping enough. I don't get whether you want me to talk about the story element, the camera element or what.

[EEVILMURRAY]

I meant that you did not mention many pan shots in the storyboard, and I asked why this was. If you have a reason then say so!

As for feeling sympathy for Conrad, do you mean in how the camera is situated and everything? Or just the story?

The twist at the end was good, but does that mean he was staggering as he walked to the grave in the first place?

Clearly there was a time gap between her death and her burial, why did Conrad not go see him sooner?

These aren't significant points. The story itself, while a little... cliche... is gripping enough. I don't get whether you want me to talk about the story element, the camera element or what.
Aye, pages 17-18 only mention the pan. Reason being it didn't bring the awesome snappy action if used constantly.

As for the sympathy, it's the story. Hopefully I'll work the magic in with possible help from my teacher.

He wasn't staggering, as it would give it away, either he was holding back the pain or it just raped him in one go.

The reasoning behind Conrad not going to see Becky [implied on page 4] was basically he wanted to sort Ash out first.

[Ashley]

I shall read this tomorrow morning and offer insight, useful or not I have yet to decide. But if you could bang those images into a html page and have next/previous buttons it would make life easier :p

[EEVILMURRAY]

I shall read this tomorrow morning and offer insight, useful or not I have yet to decide. But if you could bang those images into a html page and have next/previous buttons it would make life easier :p
I haven't got a clue how to do that, you could just change the number in the link as you go, I'm not sure if that'd help or hinder you.

[Ashley]

First thing first, im in the film?

Anywho. Siding with prot; perhaps just a series of quick flashbacks at the start intercut with him walking. The classic 'body part acting as a cut/wipe'. So when his legs move across the frame it cuts to a quick shot of him and Becky together. Building up this sense of a strong relationship, and then you could go the classic cliched route of having a flashback of them arguing just before she was killed. Perhaps even when Ash bursts into the room to kill her she could be clearly upset and crying and such.

Hating the ant; He seems a bit flat. And it could be a personal thing but that just makes me uninterested. Perhaps make his motives (even if it was just simply bitter twistedness with no 'real' motive) more clear. Which granted isn't easy with "EXPOSITION EXPOSITION EXPOSITION" but perhaps when he is killing her you could tell he is getting a twisted pleasure from it.

And as far as R&D, even an original idea can be R&D...ed. Its just about why you chose ever little thing you did. The close ups (to get the audience to connect with Conrad), the flashbacks, why you did those. The fact there were bodyguards at Ash's, why was that? What purpose did they serve? Alternative ideas you had and such.

[EEVILMURRAY]

All these sexy concepts are going to implemented, I'm feeling them immensely. But as for the empathy idea, I'm thinking of an event, imagine a feature length film in which something like this happens, what reason could Ash have to kill Conrad's wife which Conrad would see revenge over.. Gambling debt, failure to pay a ransom for a cat or the like.

[Ashley]

The first and only real idea I have had on why Ash may want to kill her (and to make him a more despisable villain to boot) is they are related; posisbly siblings. His motive wasn't anything to do with Conrad, but something more personal and dating back further. He could be a bit unstable afterall.

Or maybe that sick idea (and in a very..Saw? Hostel? I forget which) of having enough money (as im guessing hes well off if he has bodyguards) to kill whoever you want. She has spurned him some way in the past (be it they dated and she broke up with him, he liked her but she didn't, she publically humiliated her or whatever) and he wants revenge. But then that wouldn't make the "you know why" line make sense, as Conrad wouldn't. So im sticking to my siblings idea.

[EEVILMURRAY]

Very sexy. I'm feeling that, I'll see about drawing that into my sexy storyboard.