Thursday, 30 August 2012

Helium Balloons story board ideas

So con tinueing form this story idea, I looked at ways the more abstract version of this story could look by making some storyboard/concept images of the cinematography that could be used to tell thios story.
First there is the start of the story. Here, I wanted to make sure an important shot of a calandar is shown, to show how the protagonist is looking forward to a certain day. We don;t know what this day is initially, but it being highlighted is significant. Furthermore the colours are warmer in this shot.
Secondly, we have this scene where the protagonist comes home after a seemingly average day. We see this shot from a different angle which makes it look jarring and strange. The colours here are also much darker and washed out giving a creepy atmosphere to the scene and making it obvious that something is now wrong.





 Nest there is this scene where the person goes into the room filled with balloons, all of different colours. This room is purposefully very plain and looks clean and neat, and the brightly coloured balloons are meant to look almost cheery. However, it's also an unsettling perfection and very surreal after the previous scene of the person coming into the house and is again meant to unsettle the audience.

Furthermore, after the entry into the sitting room, there should be focuses on the different balloons and the notes attached to them, each saying happy birthday or some kind of message to the departed child.

Police using helium balloons story


Cops use balloons against burglary
Officers put a helium balloon through an open window
Bal-lunacy? ... officers put a helium balloon through an open window
Cavendish Press
COPS are filling residents’ homes with balloons – in a crackdown on BURGLARY.
Officers are popping fully-inflated blue balloons through open windows and doors to teach householders to be more security conscious.
Stunned occupants have returned home to find their lounges and hallways crammed with police balloons displaying the message: “Why Am I Here?”
Attached to them are warning notes telling people not to leave windows and doors open.
Community officers have now armed themselves with bunches of helium-filled balloons pushing them through unlocked properties.
Anyone receiving a bunch, will be visited by community support officers offering a security assessment and tips while secure houses receive a leaflet congratulating them and offering advice about burglary.
Residents in Altrincham and Middleton where the scheme has been launched by Greater Manchester Police said they thought the scheme was a “wind-up”.
Caroline Anderson, 43, said: “When I first heard police were using balloons to tackle burglars I thought it was a wind up but if it makes people close their window and doors then it must be a good thing.
“It was just the thought of police officers sitting there in the police station blowing the balloons up before taking bunches of them out on patrol.
“’I’ve heard of police officers bursting into properties but never bursting police balloons.”
Supt John Graves said: “This is community empowerment in action local people getting involved in the fight against crime, working alongside the police to help their neighbours protect their property and be safer.
“The greater the forces of decency and honesty, the bigger impact we will have and seeing local people volunteering, becoming more involved, and just getting stuck in is an inspiration to us all.
“We know that around one in three burglaries happen because of an insecurity a window left open, a door left unlocked and thieves will hunt for this.
“This initiative is about warning decent people of the threat, and encouraging them to lock it or lose it.”
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4490826/Cops-use-balloons-against-burglary.html#ixzz252Bup100

This story was also in the metro newspaper. It's an article about the police playing helium balloons in peoples houses to remind them how easy it is for burglars to break in if they left their windows open.

This story could be developed in a variety of ways-

First it could be a very simple story, where someone leaves the house and pursues a normal day, but then upon coming home realize they left the windows open, and worries that something could have gone wrong. Coming inside they search their house, only to find this balloon.

A more abstract adaption could be this:

There could be a woman or man, who wakes up and goes along with their daily life. They could check a calendar or their phone to see what day it is and go to the local shops, and on the way back, perhaps buy a balloon from a vendor. As they come back, into their house, they call that they are home, but then the cinematography could shift and make the scene look much darker and sadder. They  enter their sitting room or something similar and it suddenly becomes more surreal as inside there are many balloons, all of different colours and all with a note attached to them.. The person looks very worred and then gets on their knees and begins to cry after spotting an object on the table, which turns out to be a photo of a lost loved one (perhaps a younger sibling or child) who they used to get balloons for on their birthday.

This would take on the theme of balloons representing something that could have been taken or something odd and alien that shows us that;s something wrong.

Sunday, 5 August 2012

interesting photo

Original Tumblr posting

This image has a beautiful composition, and it was totally unplanned. It's a good example of using what has already been provided and it transforms the disastrous flood into an art photography/photo journalistic piece.

Friday, 3 August 2012

Charity story

This image was found on reddit, and it was a news article.

This story intrigued me as it was a such a simple story that could be developed in so many ways, and placed anywhere.

Very easily, you can begin to develop the three main characters- the mother, the son and the stranger.

By splitting up the story into three definite arcs, we can establish the Son and Mother's lives at home, perhaps show her scrounging around for some food for her son. We ca then also show the son looking longingly at the bikes of his friends.

Later on, at the confrontation section, there could be a conflict of the son being left out of his group of friends and then being brought out to the shops with his mother, He could have an arguement with her, and it could even become very deep and express the child's longing for objects that his peers have but he simply cannot. During this we can also introduce the character of the stranger in the background, and make the mother either seem suspicious of them or use the camerawork to make the stranger seem annoyed.

Then in the resolution, the stranger would provide the money for the bike and kindly tell the mother that her son deserves a bike.

There could even be more development of the stranger- they could easily be retooled into a richer, upperclass person, and seem to be snobbish and condescending at first, but then turn out to be very kind and charitable when they give the money.


Thursday, 2 August 2012

Music Video: Editing

This is a video for Young Gun's "Towers", from their album "Bones".

I really like the editing they used in this video. It fits the flow and tempo of the music, speeding up or slowing down with the music. I also like how it creates interesting jumps by cutting to different scenes but with the people in the same position as the previous cut.

Wednesday, 1 August 2012

An Interesting scene

This is actually a location in barking, and very close to my school.

Secluded, picturesque places like this are ideal for a unique environment to film it.