2. STORIES FOR CHANGE: 40-SECOND PSA

A. STORIES FOR CHANGE - THEME & IMAGES

B. STORIES FOR CHANGE - RESEARCH & STORY BEATS

C. STORY THUMBS - ACTION BEATS & SHOT NUMBERS

D. PRODUCTION MAP - A SINGLE SCENE

E. SCENE BUILDS II - STAGING & CAMERA MOVEMENT

F. TONAL KEYS - LIGHTING & MOOD

G. STORYREEL I - FIRST DRAFT / ROUGH CUT

H. STORYREEL II - FINAL DRAFT / SUPPORTING PDF

 

 

Plato once said that "the storytellers change the culture". For better or worse, I believe this is true. While nobody likes or needs artwork that preaches to them, what a good story can do is compel an audience to look closer, think more deeply, and perhaps be more patient with something they don't understand. Done well, and done often, thoughtful and engaging stories can't help but make a positive impact on our culture.

There are even entire festivals dedicated to this idea. Check out the list below or go to filmfreeway.com and enter "social" in the search bar. The last I did this over 2000 festivals showed up!

Socially Relevant Film Festival - New York

Social Justice Film Festival - Seattle

Show Me Justice Film Festival - University of Central Missouri

(In)Justice for All Film Festival - Chicago

 

A. STORIES FOR CHANGE - THEME & IMAGES (6 drawings)

 

This semester, each of you will pursuing a single theme as the basis for a 40-second Public Service Announcement (PSA) that exemplifies, or amplifies a message that you think the world should hear.

 

By way of example, I've listed below a handful of themes that I see reflected the times that we live in. From your unique perspective, how would you add to this list?

• Bullies: Words Matter
• Love the Earth: “. . . the world is not given by our fathers, but borrowed from our children.” —John James Audubon
• Least of These: "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
• Nation of Immigrants: Reflecting on President John F. Kennedy’s classic essay in light of our nation's current events.
• UNICEF's Declaration of Human Rights: Standards that recognize and protect the dignity of all human beings.
• Other themes worth exploring: Mental Health, Gender Identity, The Beauty Myth, Consent, Clean Water, Opioid Addiction, etc.

For this assignment each of you will choose a theme you would like to explore. For this initial step your job is to create 6 images based on the chosen theme. In the best scenerio, your images should ask us to reflect on change, cause us to see circumstances differently, or appeal to the best version of ourselves.

 

The objective is NOT to generate controversy but to find the human story where controversy has blurred our vision.

 

Workflow:

Step 1. - Brainstorm . . . with your classmates for themes you are interested in pursuing.

 

Step 2. - Research . . . multiple stories and articles based on historical incidents or recent events that give substance to your theme and and put a human face on the abstract theme you have chosen. Choose two of the articles that stand out for you in this weeks reading guide, Research Two Articles.

 

Step 3. - Draw . . . Create 6 separate drawings that reflect multiple aspects of the single theme.  Sketch out as many images as you can think of and then clean up the ones that stand out in a second pass.

 

Step 4. - Post . . . Combine your images into a single jpg and post it to your team the Discord channel for feedback. Include a caption or title for each image that gives insight into the story behind the image.

 

Step 5. - Comment . . . Since feedback is a valuable component of this process, make sure you are sharing your constructive thoughts with your fellow classmates.

 

 

Example: The images below are for the topic "Love the Earth"

Captions: 1. Polar Bears, 2. Blue Marble, 3. Love the Earth, 4. Peaceable Kingdom, 5. Wash Day, 6.You can help.

Submission:

• Drawings should be well composed, easy to read and named properly.
• Name your image file and upload as a single jpg to the Discord #stories-for-change channel. Include captions diectly below.
• Check out your classmate's stories-for-change posts and leave some positive comments.

Naming: simpsonB_PSA_images.jpg

 

B. STORIES FOR CHANGE - RESEARCH & STORY BEATS (9-12 Panels)

Expand on one of the 6 drawings from the Images for Change assignment.

 

Based on feedback and personal interest, choose one of the images as the inspiration to create a simple storyline that digs deeper into the image you have chosen. You will create 9 to 12 story beats that convey a complete story arc (beginning, middle & end) for a 30- 40 second PSA. If you find you have drawn more than you need, feel free to edit them down. Save the extras because they may come in handy.

 

Workflow:

Step 1. - Research . . . Now that you have a more focused subject, it's time to dig deeper into your research for more specifics on the topic at hand. Site at least two sources to help guide your process.

Step 2. - Draw . . . Work in your sketchbook or use the multi-panel sheets from the Story Resource Page. Use 9 to 12 images to convey a story arc (ie. beginning, middle & end).

Step 3. - Convert . . . Once you've drawn your story beats convert them to sequential jpg files using JSL Convert and Export Story Panels Tutorial.

Step 4. - Edit . . . Use Batch Renaming in Adobe Bridge to rearrange and renumber your story beats.

Step 5. - Post . . . Zip your panels folder and post a single .zip file to Basecamp.

Step 6. - Pitch . . . Come to class ready to pitch your story beats and share insights from your research.

 

Example: Here are beats for the "Love the Earth" PSA

 

Submission:

• Submit your Research Document to the Reading Guides section in Blackboard.
• Story beats should be compressed into a single .zip file
• Upload zip file to the Basecamp 308_Storyboarding for Digital Media/308_dropbox

Naming: simpsonB_PSA_workingTitle.zip

 

C. STORY THUMBS - ACTION BEATS & SHOT NUMBERS

 

Based on the feedback from your Story Beats, you should have a pretty good idea where you need to make adjustments, what bits need to be left out and where you'll need to add drawings to make the story flow. Film craft, composition, readability and flow are essential to this stage in the process.

 

At this point you will expand your panel count by creating multiple action beats within a Shot. Typically each shot has a beginning, middle & end. Each shot should be framed in such a way that it moves the story forward and carries the weight of the moment that you want to convey. Every shot that has multiple actions should be represented with extra panels. Include only the essential details at this point as we will be recreating these panels digitally when we begin our Scene Builds in Photoshop.

 

Rewatch this tutorial for review: Shot Counts, Action Beats & Identifying Camera Moves

Workflow:

Step 1. - Adjust Beats: Make any needed adjustments to your Story Beats

Step 2. - Identify Scene/Shot Count: Identify scene/shot breaks and diferentiate between cuts & camera moves. Renumber your panels accordingly using the Batch Rename tool in Adobe Bridge.

Step 3. - Plan & Build Scenes in Photoshop: At this point each scene should have its own dedicated Photoshop file. With the original thumbnails as your guide, build out each scene as needed, isolating foregrounds, backgrounds & characters into their respective layers.

Step 4. - Action Beats: Expand single panel scenes by adding action beats. With few exceptions, each shot should have a begin, middle & end. At this point you should consider reworking your drawings in Photoshop. Use Layer Comps to create new action beats within a single scene.

Step 5. - Export Reworked Action Beats: Export Layer Comps to bridge. Rearrange and batch name accordingly.

Submission:

No submissions at this stage in the project. However, come to class ready to show your progress via Bridge.

 

 

 

D. PRODUCTION MAP - A SINGLE SCENE

Give some thought to how movement through character blocking and camera motion can add impact to your story. In complex scenes, you may find it helpful to create a Production Map (or Plan View) to help track blocking and camera placement. From a Bird's-eye perspective, you can track character blocking and camera placement within the set. On more complicatated sequences (like a chase scene) it is often helpful to build a map of the entire sequence.

Choose one shot that requires a camera move and create a Production Map to track the movement of both the characters and the camera.

Workflow:

Go here for detailed instruction on how to build a Production Map.

Zip sequntial JPGs and submit to Basecamp 308_Storyboarding for Digital Media/308_dropbox

File Name:

simpsonB_map_workingTitle_shot04.zip

 

E. SCENE BUILDS - STAGING CHARACTERS & CAMERA MOVEMENT

At this point each scene should have its own dedicated Photoshop file. With the original thumbnails as your guide, build out each scene as needed, isolating foregrounds, backgrounds & characters into their respective layers.

Rewatch this tutorial for review: Storyboard Scene Builds & Action Beats - Photoshop Layer Comps