THE CHOCOLATE BAR

For the last two weeks, we have given you a storyboard to follow. This week, you need to
plan and storyboard your own sequence. Here’s the story:

A character walks into an empty part of the campus. They stop suddenly in surprise and
amazement when they notice a small chocolate bar sitting in the middle of nowhere.
They look around suspiciously. It doesn’t seem like anyone else is around. Hesitantly, they
reach forward, looking around again, fingers inching closer to the chocolate bar. There is a
look of excitement on the character’s face, they lick their lips as the chocolate bar is almost
within reach. They are millimetres away from the chocolate bar when, suddenly, someone
else snatches it away. Our hero is shocked. The chocolate bar thief sneers in triumph and
slowly opens the wrapper. They take a bite and smile smugly at our hero. They wrap the
remainder of the chocolate bar, drop it in their pocket, give a final sneer and saunter
off. Our hero frowns. Shoulders slumped,  they shuffle away sadly…

Remember the following:

Use shot size to convey the story. Plan for coverage, and make sure you use plenty of close
ups and extreme close ups but don’t forget establishing and bridging shots.

Storyboards should be quick, clear and simple. They show emotion, movement and – most
importantly – give cast and crew a clear idea of how shots should be composed. You don’t
need to be great at art (stick figures are fine) but you do need to draw a close up as a close up!

Continuity editing starts with the storyboard. Make sure you shoot everything from at least
two angles so you can cut between them; or use a master shot and plenty of closer shots to cut
to. Think about how you will move from one shot to another; consider screen direction and
make sure your actors hit their marks to ensure continuity.

Use the tripod.