Storyboarding: Structure, story spines and Acts
In class today, we learned that a story can often be broken down into a very basic structure, and can help writers to create a format to develop basic plot lines. This technique is called a Story spine, and follows this basic format:
Once upon a time...
Everyday...
until one day...
Because of that...
Because of that...
Because of that...
Until finally...
and ever since then...
The moral of the story is...
As part of the exercise, we were asked to break down one of our favourite movies, and I chose to do Your Name, the 2016 film directed by Makoto Shinkai.
The story spine broke down the movie into these basic points:
Once upon a time there was a girl who was unhappy with her life
Everyday she would wish to be somewhere else living somewhere eventful and busy, where she didn't have to follow traditions and live a rural lifestyle
until one day she gets her wish granted and gets to live as a boy living in Tokyo
Because of that she begins to mess with his life but also live out her dreams
Because of that she gains a close bond with the boy who she body swaps with
Because of that he researches her mysterious disappearance and he discovers that she died in an accident.
Until finally he finds a way to save her and her village, despite losing their memories of each other in the process
and ever since then they have been subconsciously searching for each other, until one day they do.
The moral of the story is to appreciate the bonds you form with other people and to appreciate the life you have.
We also have to start considering the plotline of what we want our animatics to have. I know I want to use the character I am creating for fundamentals of animation, which gives me a basic idea of what my animatic could eventually become.
Once upon a time there was a girl who wanted to bring joy to others
Everyday, she suffered from chronic tiredness and insomnia, this leads to her taking an office job due to health concerns.
until one day she made a wish to be cured of her tiredness, and it was granted
Because of that she now has to protect other people from their nightmares or other issues in their dreams.
Because of that she has to become proficient in fighting and problem solving
Because of this she manages to defeat the nightmares and gain confidence and happiness.
Until finally she realises that she does have the power to help others
and ever since then she has been continuing to fight nightmares.
Most films can be split up into 3 main acts, The set up, The Confrontation, and the Resolution. In a one minute film, the setup should take 10-15 seconds. The mid point is the 30 second mark, and the middle act should also take up approximately 30 seconds. The resolution should start around the 45 second mark, and should be around 15 seconds long.
The first act of my story will likely be the everyday life of the protagonist, and the issues she deals with (like her constant tiredness. she will then be granted the power to solve this in exchange for work.
The second act will be her getting used to her new work as she has to now defeat the nightmares of others. this will likely lead to her getting frustrated or scared, or perhaps she feels she cant defeat her enemy.
the third act will have a crisis of her being physically unable to defeat her enemy, but manages to resolve it using her strength of strategy. she gains courage and manages to defeat the evil because she wants to help others. she then returns to her normal world.
Once upon a time...
Everyday...
until one day...
Because of that...
Because of that...
Because of that...
Until finally...
and ever since then...
The moral of the story is...
As part of the exercise, we were asked to break down one of our favourite movies, and I chose to do Your Name, the 2016 film directed by Makoto Shinkai.
The story spine broke down the movie into these basic points:
Once upon a time there was a girl who was unhappy with her life
Everyday she would wish to be somewhere else living somewhere eventful and busy, where she didn't have to follow traditions and live a rural lifestyle
until one day she gets her wish granted and gets to live as a boy living in Tokyo
Because of that she begins to mess with his life but also live out her dreams
Because of that she gains a close bond with the boy who she body swaps with
Because of that he researches her mysterious disappearance and he discovers that she died in an accident.
Until finally he finds a way to save her and her village, despite losing their memories of each other in the process
and ever since then they have been subconsciously searching for each other, until one day they do.
The moral of the story is to appreciate the bonds you form with other people and to appreciate the life you have.
We also have to start considering the plotline of what we want our animatics to have. I know I want to use the character I am creating for fundamentals of animation, which gives me a basic idea of what my animatic could eventually become.
Once upon a time there was a girl who wanted to bring joy to others
Everyday, she suffered from chronic tiredness and insomnia, this leads to her taking an office job due to health concerns.
until one day she made a wish to be cured of her tiredness, and it was granted
Because of that she now has to protect other people from their nightmares or other issues in their dreams.
Because of that she has to become proficient in fighting and problem solving
Because of this she manages to defeat the nightmares and gain confidence and happiness.
Until finally she realises that she does have the power to help others
and ever since then she has been continuing to fight nightmares.
 |
| basic sketches and concepts for the characters and scenes. |
Most films can be split up into 3 main acts, The set up, The Confrontation, and the Resolution. In a one minute film, the setup should take 10-15 seconds. The mid point is the 30 second mark, and the middle act should also take up approximately 30 seconds. The resolution should start around the 45 second mark, and should be around 15 seconds long.
The first act of my story will likely be the everyday life of the protagonist, and the issues she deals with (like her constant tiredness. she will then be granted the power to solve this in exchange for work.
The second act will be her getting used to her new work as she has to now defeat the nightmares of others. this will likely lead to her getting frustrated or scared, or perhaps she feels she cant defeat her enemy.
the third act will have a crisis of her being physically unable to defeat her enemy, but manages to resolve it using her strength of strategy. she gains courage and manages to defeat the evil because she wants to help others. she then returns to her normal world.
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