Late Afternoon - STORYBOARDS
With the pitching over we could now focus on the film itself. We were very gratefully to have access to the funding, but nonetheless at €46,000 it was still a lean budget for the scale of the project.
The deadline was fairly tight too. We had until the start of June 2017 to deliver - roughly nine/ten months of production. In order to keep the film on track I knew the duration couldn’t go near (or god forbid over!) 10 minutes.
The immediate priority for me was storyboards. I had a good script, but there was a lot of visuals that needed to be figured out. In fact, a fair amount of the imagery in the script changed once I began boarding. The script was a good starting point, but the boards were where all the heavy lifting happened.
At this point we also did extra research. Talking with people who dealt with issues such as dementia and Alzheimer’s was essential. The film had to be grounded in something real. It helped to solidify some of the ideas that were already there.
The whole boarding process for me was a mixture of exploring/editing/feedback. I explored ideas in the boards. Then I edit them together, intuition and personal taste play a big part here - some ideas would work while others had to go back to the drawing board. Eventually I had a version of the full animatic. I showed this to a few people to get feedback. Then repeat the process.
I paid special attention to the pacing and flow of the film. I wanted it to feel dynamic... to rush by in the same way that Emily, the main character, is swept along by her memories. It had to build into something climatic, even overwhelming by the end.
Another aspect I spent a lot of time on was getting the balance right between sentiment and sincerity. The film had to be emotional without feeling manipulative... it's a hard line to walk. In the past I’ve shied away from making more emotional films because it is hard to get right. It’s a more personal film then my previous ones which makes me feel more vulnerable - you are wearing your heart on your sleeve!
The last shot of the film is a good example. It's very simple - a wave washing the shore, but of course it carries a lot of meaning. I changed the exact shot many many times looking for the right balance... it was one of the last shots to be finalised. I kept searching until I felt like it hit the right note.
There’s a lot more I could talk about in regards to creating the storyboard. This stage was a way of creating a roadmap for the journey ahead. Late on in the production, when there’s no time to think, I couldn’t tell anymore if it the film was working. All I could do was trust the boards and the decisions I made when I had a clearer head. I know that some people don’t like to rely too much on an animatic, but personally it was essential to get keep the film on track and to communicate ideas with the rest of the crew.
Sorry for the loooong post. Next one will be about the concept art so it will have more pictures and less words!