Final Storyboard

Why it has changed:

The storyboard has changed slightly as it was hard to religiously stick to the previous one whilst editing - so here is the storyboard and connotations of each scene that can be seen in the finished version of the music video.

I have decided to present my storyboard in a written version rather than a visual one as I am not an artistic student so the visuals would be out of proportion and would look misleading.

1^st scene – Lighting match going from lit to extinguished. Symbolic of the protagonist in the music video, it resembles how he has lost his hopes, dreams and passions in life and just wants to go back to a simplistic way of life (His childhood) in order to escape from his responsibilities and work. 0 seconds – 0.4 seconds.

2^nd sequence – Establishing shot from a high angle reveals a phone displaying the time (3:30 am) connoting that the character is sleep deprived, suggesting that his mental state is unstable. Additionally, two books (The Merchant Of Venice by William Shakespeare and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens) these two books connote that the student is cultured and highly intelligent as these are difficult books to read and understand, thus emphasising the tragedy of his feelings towards life. This is followed by a long shot showing a teenager in a hoodie staring at a computer screen. I will intentionally make the computer screen out of focus to create a mystery about what the student is intently watching at such a late time of night. This mystery instantly grabs the audiences attention and the fast pace cutting of clips will retain the audiences attention. An over the should shot reveals that the student is watching a teen pop sensation, however there are obsessive undertones as he is watching her at a extraordinary hour. It then cuts to a close up of the student looking intently at the screen reinforcing the idea of obsessiveness. There are a few cut aways then a cross- dissolve between the mainstream artist and the student’s faces (close up). The connotation of this is that the student wishes that he had the talent, voice and popularity of the star which coincides with the lyrics “I wish I had a better voice to sing some better words.” The layered face of Taylor swift over mine is an intertextual reference to Alfred Hitchcock 1960s Slasher/Thriller ‘Psycho’. It is a reference to the final scene where the mothers face is layered of Norman’s face. The red light connotes a deep anger within the student. Furthermore, the light only shines on half of his face, leaving the other half in darkness connoting that he has a deep dark secret. Moreover, the denotation of his facial expression is that he is angry, reinforcing this idea of repressed and pent up emotions that are dwelling deep inside of him. The only light coming from the screen adds to the authenticity of the time of night. There will be cutting on beat throughout this sequence. 0.5 seconds – 22 seconds.

3^rd sequence – Opens with a cross-dissolve from my face to a leaf – establishes new location. Medium shot shows foot kicking pile of leaves – connotation – foreboding through the destruction of nature, implies whoever is kicking the leaves is evil. Establishes antagonist. Cuts to close up of the protagonist, connotation of body language shows that he is insecure, jump cuts reflect his mental instability. The camera will track his movement to make the encounter seem more realistic. Tomi then ominously walks around the corner – one of the antagonists is revealed, connotation of him walking implies that he is one of the popular teenagers in school. The clothing reveals that this is set during school (As the two characters are in school uniform.) Tomi is wearing all black connoting that he is evil (stereotype of villains). Moreover, his body language suggests that he is aggressive and is a bully as he picks on the protagonist. A close up reveals the effects of bullying on the protagonist – he cries and is filmed from a high angle – connoting that he is vulnerable and weak which culminates to make the audience feel sympathetic towards him. The camera then cuts to a low angle whilst getting closer to the antagonist – the low angle empowers him giving him the highest status in the scene where he can be seen pointing and laughing at the protagonist. Moreover, his power is highlighted as up until this point the clips had been cutting on beat, however it stops when the camera is at a close up of him laughing to connote that he is powerful enough to break the flow and rhythm and pacing of the song. Additionally the close up provides the audience will a greater insight into Tomi’s emotions, showing that he is laughing at him, connoting that he believes that the protagonist is inferior to him as he laughs at his clothing thus making him feel insecure. This increases the pressure on the protagonist to do well at school so that he can get into university and have a stable job so that he can gain money in order to prevent this humiliation. This is one of the reasons why the protagonist is stressed out and has an unstable mental state. On the other hand the bullying aspect of the video could make the video more personal to some members of the audience as a common theme among my target audience was that they were bullied at least once in their life. So this personal feeling could strengthen the bond between the audience member and the artist. The fade to black reflects the dark theme (bullying) that was just shown in the video. It also signifies the end of that sequence and exploration of that dark theme. 0.22 seconds – 0.33 seconds.

4^th sequence - Close ups of water rippling, panning the camera up a stream then zoom the camera to look into the sun. The slow pacing of the shots coincides with the slower pace of the song. The water acts as a symbol of reflection – so the audience have a chance to self-reflect on their life and pure scenery aims to trigger thoughts of the past when they were younger and used to go outside on adventures and explore. The water also represents cleansing, life and freedom, which relates to the freedom that we had when we were much younger. The slow pacing combined with the natural tranquillity provides the audience members a break from the dark and depressing tones featured in the song. Moreover, the fade to white is reflective of the purity in nature and adds a softer transition, which contrasts nicely to the sharp and fast jump cutting. The camera zooming into the sun from a low angle represents the hope for the future that we felt when we were younger. The camera work goes from looking down at nature to looking up, reflective of how the protagonist has been belittled and is now picking himself back up again. 0.34 seconds – 0.44 seconds.

5^th sequence (Chorus) – A cross-dissolve establishes the next location for the music video. A pull focus panning long shot reveals a drum kit. The slow pan coincides with the slower pace of the song and intensifies the build up to the chorus. This is followed by multiple close ups of the drumsticks that sync with the music. These quick scenes act as a visual stimulus to retain the audience’s attention. A few cut away shots will be included to show off the drum kit and to fill the gap between the beats of the song. A low angle close up will show a clock ticking, the footage will be reversed to give the illusion that the audience is travelling back in time, it also syncs with the lyrics “Wish we could turn back time.” There will be cutting on beat throughout this section so that the narrative is conveyed quickly. Furthermore, the fast pace cutting will make sure that the audience doesn’t get bored as they will be constantly supplied with new visuals to retain their interest. It will then cut to a close up of a candle that is extinguished, the smoke shall be going back into the candle, reinforcing the idea that the audience is travelling back in time to a period where the protagonist’s hopes, dreams and passions were still alive/ still “lit.”  The water and sun have the same connotations of self-reflection and hope as they did in the 4^th sequence. It then cuts to a medium-close up of the protagonist and his brother laughing. The denotation of the scene is that they are happy and having a good time, where as the connotations are that the natural light is significantly brighter in this scene than the scenes set in the present, which highlights the beauty of the past making it feel and look more desirable, whilst also making the past feel more welcoming than the dark and depressing present does. Additionally, the protagonist is wearing light coloured cream clothing, reflecting how he was pure and innocent in the past but now has been corrupted by the responsibilities and pressures of being an adolescent as it has deteriorated his mental state. This is connoted and reflected by the dark coloured clothing that he wears in the present (e.g. black suit and jumper.)  Furthermore, the connotation of them laughing suggests that the past was a time of genuine happiness for the protagonist which most of my target audience will be able to find relatable as no one likes the pressures and responsibilities of growing up and being an adult. This idea of genuine happiness is strengthened as the clip is played during the lyrics “To the good old days” when the artist is singing about how he wishes that he could turn back time to the good old days. Once again the panning long shot of the sun has the same connotations about hope as it did in the 4^th sequence. The sleeping scene links with the lyrics “When our mommas sang us to sleep.” The final candle clip during the chorus doesn’t become relight. The connotation of this is that the student can never relight his passions, hopes and dreams as he is stuck in the present and cannot travel back in time to relive the nostalgia because he has to now accept and deal with his newfound responsibilities and obligations like every other adolescent. It is a tragic reality check that all adolescents have to experience in order to fully grow up and transition into adult life. The fade to black emphasises the depressive undertones of this reality check. 45 seconds – 1.06.

6^th sequence – Close ups of the drumsticks again, once again acting as visual stimulation and highlighting the tragedy of the protagonist’s bleak outlook and feelings towards life as he is clearly a talented and intelligent student. 1.07 – 1.19.

7^th sequence – Water scene, same connotations of self-reflection again. Then cut to a swing-set from a low angle – use a pull focus to make the swings go out of focus to link to the lyrics “How come I’m never able to identify where it’s coming from?” Position audience in same place as the artist, unable to find the smell he’s searching for. The swings also act as a visual trigger for making the audience remember their childhood, (The memory could be when they were playing in a park or on a swing etc) which attempts to make them relate to the video more as it may make the audience feel more connected and invested by making that personal connection. 1.20 – 1.24.

8^th sequence – Open with a close up of an extinguished candle with lots of smoke blowing everywhere – connotation is that the smell that he is looking for is all around him but he cannot locate it. Denotation is that it is aesthetically pleasing. Fade to black transition into a new candle flame growing in size – connotation is that it is symbolic; it represents the feelings inside of him building up. Then cross dissolve to fully light candle and it extinguishes when the lyric “One” is sang. This makes the transition look more dramatic. These clips link with the lyrics “I'd make a candle out of it if I ever found it.” 1.25 – 1.30.

9^th sequence - Opens with an over the shoulder shot showing the protagonist looking at an old picture of him and his brother, the camera will slowly zoom in on the picture. The connotation is that he misses the past. The fade to white transition’s connotation acts as a flashback in time to the past. It then cuts to a close up of the brother and then the protagonist smiling and laughing, denoting that they are having fun, once again connoting that the only time the protagonist was ever genuinely happy was in the past reinforcing the tragedy. The visuals link with the lyrics “It'd be to my brother, 'cause we have the same nose” as it establishes who the protagonist’s brother is. Then cut to a long shot of the brother throwing a stone into a lake – have the rock hitting the water sync with the snare drum beat at 1:36. The stone-throwing scene links to the lyrics “a stone's throw from a creek we used to roam.” The connotation of this stone-throwing scene is that it shows that these brothers were just normal kids, which will make them feel relatable to the target audience. The fade to white signifies the end of the flashback and reveals the protagonist in the present looking at the picture sighing. This will be filmed from a high angle to emphasise his depression and lack of power to turn back time. The depressive undertones of this clip links with the lyrics “it would remind us of when nothing really mattered” highlighting the protagonist feelings of futility towards living. Two pull focus close ups will reveal that the protagonist has very little money in his bank account – thus adding to his stress and pressure to do well. The effects of this stress can be seen as his head falls into his hands (filmed from an over the should shot.) The effects of the pressure can also be seen as four close ups of the protagonist will reveal the stress in his face, he will pull exaggerated expressions to emphasise the stress that he is under. These four close ups will be extremely quick as they will cut on each 4 base drumbeat. The last close up will be a fist hitting a desk, connoting that the pressure is building up inside of him and he is beginning to lose control. 1.31 – 1.42.

10^th sequence – Opens with a new setting – camera recoding from a long shot – tracking the protagonists movements from behind, connotation of this is that it makes the audience feel like someone is following him adding tension to the scene. The protagonist will quickly turn around to see if he is being followed – cuts to an extreme close up of his eyes – denoting that he is looking for someone who he suspects is following him – connotation is that he is scared and worried shown through the facial expression and body language, further adding to the stress, suspects that it is bullies coming to beat him up as it set during after school. Cut to filming in front of the protagonist with the camera filming at a canted angle – connoting the unnerving nature of being followed – positions the audience as if they are the ones following him, positions them as if they are looking at him from hiding in a bush. The protagonist is spooked by this, shown by his action of hiding his face by pulling his hood up and checking behind him to see if anyone is following him. Cut on beat throughout sequence + have checking over left and right shoulder on beat as well as putting hood up on beat. Moreover, the fact that the protagonist puts his hood up and hands in pocket connotes that he doesn’t want to be noticed which suggests that he is insecure. The fade to black signifies the end of the scene and the beginning of the chorus. 1.43 – 1.55.

11^th sequence – Chorus – Opens with a clip of a clock ticking showing the progression of time. Then fade to black which reveals two close ups of old baby pictures of the protagonist – connoting the protagonists longing for the past and nostalgia. These close ups are filmed from a low angle, thus portraying the past to be great and implying that these memories are immensely important to the protagonist as they remind him of a time when he was genuinely happy. The candle becomes relight at the end of this sequence – connoting that his past memories are sparking a new found hope for the future as he goes on to speak about the past in the next sequence. (The rest has the same connotations as the last chorus section – see 5^th sequence) This is followed by multiple close ups of the drumsticks that sync with the music. These quick scenes act as a visual stimulus to retain the audience’s attention. A few cut away shots will be included to show off the drum kit and to fill the gap between the beats of the song. A low angle close up will show a clock ticking, the footage will be reversed to give the illusion that the audience is travelling back in time, it also syncs with the lyrics “Wish we could turn back time.” There will be cutting on beat throughout this section so that the narrative is conveyed quickly. Furthermore, the fast pace cutting will make sure that the audience doesn’t get bored as they will be constantly supplied with new visuals to retain their interest. It will then cut to a close up of a candle that is extinguished, the smoke shall be going back into the candle, reinforcing the idea that the audience is travelling back in time to a period where the protagonist’s hopes, dreams and passions were still alive/ still “lit.”  The water and sun have the same connotations of self-reflection and hope as they did in the 4^th sequence. It then cuts to a medium-close up of the protagonist and his brother laughing. The denotation of the scene is that they are happy and having a good time, where as the connotations are that the natural light is significantly brighter in this scene than the scenes set in the present, which highlights the beauty of the past making it feel and look more desirable, whilst also making the past feel more welcoming than the dark and depressing present does. Additionally, the protagonist is wearing light coloured cream clothing, reflecting how he was pure and innocent in the past but now has been corrupted by the responsibilities and pressures of being an adolescent as it has deteriorated his mental state. This is connoted and reflected by the dark coloured clothing that he wears in the present (e.g. black suit and jumper.)  Furthermore, the connotation of them laughing suggests that the past was a time of genuine happiness for the protagonist which most of my target audience will be able to find relatable as no one likes the pressures and responsibilities of growing up and being an adult. This idea of genuine happiness is strengthened as the clip is played during the lyrics “To the good old days” when the artist is singing about how he wishes that he could turn back time to the good old days. Once again the panning long shot of the sun has the same connotations about hope as it did in the 4^th sequence. The sleeping scene links with the lyrics “When our mommas sang us to sleep.” The final candle clip during the chorus doesn’t become relight. The connotation of this is that the student can never relight his passions, hopes and dreams as he is stuck in the present and cannot travel back in time to relive the nostalgia because he has to now accept and deal with his newfound responsibilities and obligations like every other adolescent. It is a tragic reality check that all adolescents have to experience in order to fully grow up and transition into adult life. The fade to black emphasises the depressive undertones of this reality check. 1.56 – 2.16.

12^th sequence – Opens with the protagonist singing in bed – connotation is that he is dreaming about the past – quickly cuts to a close up of the picture seen previously in the video of the protagonist and the brother. The camera slowly zooms in – pull focus, the pull focus is used to make the clip look dream-like to make the audience feel like they are watching the protagonist dream about his past. It then cuts back to more singing. Then cuts to a long shot pan of the bed- connoting that the bed is the “rocketship” where the protagonist and his brother spent most of their time having fun implying that the two mainly played with their imagination. Then cuts to a close up of the protagonist sleeping – links with the lyrics “Used to dream of outer space”. Filmed from a high angle – connoting the vulnerability and childishness of the dream. This vulnerability is then made clear as he appears to enter a nightmare when thinking about having to make money as he turns over in the bed twice – On each turn it hits the rim shot beat of the snare drum to emphasise the protagonist’s pain and struggle. Cut to eye level medium shot of more singing, then cuts to two close ups of the protagonist singing – emphasising his emotions and feelings. Cut abruptly to the protagonists mother aggressively shouting the lyrics “Wake up you need to make money”  - filmed from a high angle – thus empowering her. This will once again increase the stress that the protagonist is under, furthering the deterioration of his mental state. 2.17 – 2.39

13^th sequence – Chorus - Opens with a clip of a clock ticking showing the progression of time. This is followed by two close ups of water and nature – same connotations of self-reflection and tranquillity as before. Followed by two close ups of the old pictures – same connotations as before. Then a cross-dissolve between nature and the drumming – connotes that the protagonist can no longer find peace in nature and has become completely unstable. Then cut to an extinguished candle – same connotations as before. Then a low angle close up will show a clock ticking, the footage will be reversed to give the illusion that the audience is travelling back in time, it also syncs with the lyrics “Wish we could turn back time.” There will be cutting on beat throughout this section so that the narrative is conveyed quickly. Furthermore, the fast pace cutting will make sure that the audience doesn’t get bored as they will be constantly supplied with new visuals to retain their interest. It will then cut to a close up of a candle that is extinguished, the smoke shall be going back into the candle, reinforcing the idea that the audience is travelling back in time to a period where the protagonist’s hopes, dreams and passions were still alive/ still “lit.”  The water and sun have the same connotations of self-reflection and hope as they did in the 4^th sequence. It then cuts to a medium-close up of the protagonist and his brother laughing. The denotation of the scene is that they are happy and having a good time, where as the connotations are that the natural light is significantly brighter in this scene than the scenes set in the present, which highlights the beauty of the past making it feel and look more desirable, whilst also making the past feel more welcoming than the dark and depressing present does. Additionally, the protagonist is wearing light coloured cream clothing, reflecting how he was pure and innocent in the past but now has been corrupted by the responsibilities and pressures of being an adolescent as it has deteriorated his mental state. This is connoted and reflected by the dark coloured clothing that he wears in the present (e.g. black suit and jumper.)  Furthermore, the connotation of them laughing suggests that the past was a time of genuine happiness for the protagonist which most of my target audience will be able to find relatable as no one likes the pressures and responsibilities of growing up and being an adult. This idea of genuine happiness is strengthened as the clip is played during the lyrics “To the good old days” when the artist is singing about how he wishes that he could turn back time to the good old days. Once again the panning long shot of the sun has the same connotations about hope as it did in the 4^th sequence. The sleeping scene links with the lyrics “When our mommas sang us to sleep.” The final candle clip during the chorus doesn’t become relight. The connotation of this is that the student can never relight his passions, hopes and dreams as he is stuck in the present and cannot travel back in time to relive the nostalgia because he has to now accept and deal with his newfound responsibilities and obligations like every other adolescent. It is a tragic reality check that all adolescents have to experience in order to fully grow up and transition into adult life. The fade to black emphasises the depressive undertones of this reality check. 2.39 – 3.01.

14^th sequence – Opens with a close up of a rock smashing into water – symbolic – connotation is that the water resembles the protagonists state of mind and the rock represents all of the pent of stress and emotions that have culminated deep within him. These emotions and stress have completely deteriorated his mental wellbeing and has aggravated his MADD (Mixed anxiety-depressive disorder) resulting in him having a mental breakdown and panic attack in the next scene. The fade to black – connotations of foreboding – foreboding the panic attack. 3.02 - 3.03.

15^th sequence – Opens with and over the shoulder shot revealing the protagonist studying for his final exams. Cuts to extreme close up of his eyes looking away from his work – connotation – looks sad, feels defeated. Pull focus medium shot revealing that the protagonist is looking at an undergraduate university prospectus – connotation – triggers all of the pent up feelings deep inside of him, initiates the mental breakdown as he becomes overwhelmed. This is backed up as the next scene cuts to another extreme close up of his eyes followed by a close up of a different university prospectus, the connotation is that he feels surrounded and swamped by work and high expectations that he has to uphold. Cut away shows complex diagrams that the protagonist has to learn in order to pass his exams – connotation of the pull focus is that it reflects his mental state beginning to show cracks. Multiple fast paced cutting between the protagonist taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down – cutting on beat each time. The fast paced cutting quickly depicts the effects of the culminated feelings and stress that have been building up inside of him throughout the video – they are all unleashed in this extreme outburst of emotion. The clips of the protagonist screaming will slowly speed up as the cuts become more frequent to show that the effects are getting more intense whilst also intensifying the situation and highlighting how he is breaking down as the clips get more violent as the scene progresses. It also aims to illustrate and highlight the protagonists suffering as the ordeal is exaggerated in order to make people realise that mental illness are a problem in secondary schools and that they needed to be considered and taken seriously. He then loses it and punches the desk, and then he throws all of the work off of the table and breaks down with his head in his hands at the end. Each of these actions will hit the snare drum beat of the song to emphasise the aggression and pain that he is in. The protagonist’s scruffy hair and unclean, unshaven appearance also show the effects of stress on him as he looks fatigued and homeless. Cut to black to end the music video. 3.04 – 3.28.