Headspace
Storyboard & Visual Media
Our team was tasked with a 5-minute student short film to create, including all aspects of the film-making process and project management.
My role was focused around storyboarding, production design, casting, and contributing to writing and producing.
Timeline
8 week academic project, Spring of 2022
Tools
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects
Team
Joshua Chin, Triane Tambay, Anika Richards, Alexis Lee
OUR CONCEPT
Finding a Vision
How can we avoid mundanity in our story?
We wanted to tell a twisted thriller story, avoiding traditional project tropes such as anxiety/self-worth struggles. The idea initially began as a mockumentary; a satirical variation of a documentary.
How can our concept be “Goldilocks” in length (Not too dense or sparse)?
We found it difficult to fit a "mockumentary" concept into the given 5-minute constraints and narrowed to just the scenes we felt were the key emotional moments.
Storyboard
In pre-production, my focus was to create the storyboard that would later guide us in filming. Sitting in the SFU campus, our team brainstormed for the entire day, drafting scene elements on sticky notes. I took the notes home to assemble and elaborate upon the pieces, sketching out our storyboard.
A challenge I discovered was effectively conveying movement or world building to my group members. The use of arrows, lines, and reference photos when drawing shots helped me to offer a better interpreted visual of the scene.
Receiving Feedback
Our process consisted of many opportunities for peer feedback. In the example below, our opening scene had promise, but needed clarity on how the characterization of the protagonist was executed. We considered the feedback and revised our storyboard from its initial draft version.
In Scene 1 Shot 1, we envisioned a collage of self portrait photos to "show" instead of "tell" narcissism, which is an important story trait.
In Scene 1 Shot 4, the "dramatic reveal" of the missing head is paired with the film title (Headspace) to communicate the central conflict.
Revisiting The Ending
Additionally, during reshoots we looked to improve the composition of the end sequence. I was able to organize shots that featured more dramatic morning lighting and better emphasis on key elements driving the scene.
IN RETROSPECT
Headspace represents a significant learning accomplishment for me due to my beginning-to-end growth. Finding my own meaningful role within the team was my biggest initial concern as I found the project daunting and challenging for my skillset.
Creating understanding amongst our team during all steps of the project became my primary focus and highlighted the responsibility of project management. In our case, a “curveball” we faced during filming was a possible exposure during the covid-19 pandemic. Reaccommodating and critically reflecting on the most important next steps were solutions I had to fulfill. As I was the main link between cast and crew, I realized how strongly project successes are defined upon my proactiveness and peer communication.
I am pleased with the end result, especially when reflecting upon my concerns during the development process.
