Worldbuilding involves creating an imagined world, often tied to a fictional universe. It includes crafting a setting with consistent elements like its own history, geography, and ecosystem.
Worldbuilding is essential in storyboard creation because it provides a consistent and immersive setting that supports the story’s logic, character development, and visual design. A well-crafted world shapes how characters think and act, influences the plot, and ensures that the narrative remains coherent. It also inspires the visual elements of the storyboard—such as architecture, clothing, and landscapes—helping to create a unified aesthetic. Most importantly, a richly developed world draws the audience in, making the story more engaging and believable.
Mise-en-scène refers to the visual arrangement and design of a scene in theatre or film, including elements like set design, actor positioning, and overall composition. It plays a role in both the visual aspects—such as storyboarding, themes, and cinematography—and the narrative direction of the story.
Every element of mise-en-scène carries subtle meanings in a film, guiding the audience’s emotional response at specific moments. This includes the setting and props, costumes, hair and makeup, facial expressions and body language, use of color and lighting, as well as how characters and objects are positioned within the frame.
SHOT SIZE
1. Extreme Wide Shot: Shows a vast area, often used at the beginning of a scene to show the setting or environment. Emphasizes scale, distance, or isolation; characters are often very small or not visible at all.
2. Wide Shot: Shows the entire subject (usually a person) from head to toe. Gives context to the character’s surroundings while still keeping the character visible.
3. Medium Shot: Frames the subject from about the waist up. Balances focus between the subject and some of the background; commonly used in dialogue scenes.
4. Medium Close Up: Frames the subject from about the chest or shoulders up. Focuses more on the character’s facial expressions while still showing some body language.
5. Close Up: Focuses tightly on a subject’s face or a specific object.Highlights emotions, thoughts, or details; draws the viewer’s attention closely.
6. Extreme Close Up: Shows an extreme detail, like an eye, a drop of sweat, or the ticking of a clock. Creates intensity or suspense; used for emotional impact or dramatic emphasis.
PREVIS & POSTVIS
Previsualization is the process of visualizing complex scenes ahead of filming. It helps directors and cinematographers plan camera angles and shot compositions in advance. Postvisualization, or postvis, takes place during postproduction, allowing rough versions of scenes to be reviewed without the cost or time needed to finalize visual effects.
I started to do the blocking animation for the body mechanics. The lecturer told me that my reference is too long and it does. It is already over 5 seconds, so I cut 2 seconds in the beginning.
This week, we learned about how to edit films and what elements should be considered.
Editing: editing is an important thing if the director wants to make the film work. The definition of the editing is: Primary means of building a chain of shots and scenes into a complete film.
I also learned that each edit ends one shot and begins another. In live-action films, this usually takes place after the film has been completed. In an orthodox, narrative animation editors usually work closely with the director and the story supervisor from the point where the storyboards are ostensibly complete.
What editing can achieve:
•To place one shot next to another
•To create a narrative progression
•To end a scene and begin another
•To provide additional detail (e.g. cut to a close-up)
•To indicate narrative effect (e.g. cut to a reaction shot)
•To provide the best possible view of action for the viewer at all times
•The moment of the edit is called the ‘shot transition’
Also, there are 3 golden rules when I try to edit a film:
•Editing should remain invisible to the eye, only the effect is to be experienced – the best cut is the one you do not see
•The storyteller should never let the audience get ahead of them – less is more
•The audience has to be a participant, not just a spectator
What I noticed most is how the Principles of Traditional Animation Applied to 3D Computer Animation.
Squash and Stretch – defining the rigidity and mass of an object by distorting its shape during an action Timing and Motion – spacing actions to define the weight and size of objects and the personality of characters Anticipation – the preparation for an action Staging – presenting an idea so that it is unmistakably clear Follow Through and Overlapping Action – the termination of an action and establishing its relationship to the next action Straight Ahead Action and Pose-to-Pose Action – The two contrasting approaches to the creation of movement Slow In and Out – the spacing of the in-between frames to achieve subtlety of timing and movement Arcs – the visual path of action for natural movement Exaggeration – Accentuating the essence of an idea via the design and the action Secondary Action – the action of an object resulting from another action Appeal – creating a design or an action that the audience enjoys watching Personality in character animation is the goal of all of the above.
Mise-en-scène, a French term meaning “what is put into a scene” or “frame,” encompasses all the visual elements within a frame that work together to tell a story in animation and film. These components communicate critical information to the audience without the need for dialogue.
Settings & Props: Settings & Locations play an important part in the film and animation. When I decide to create a shot, I should build the settings from the beginning or I can find a place that already exists. I can manipulate the mood of the audience by building certain expectations and then taking a different turn.
Costume, Hair & Make Up: I learned that costume, hair, and makeup are used to convey a character’s personality, social status, or occupation instantly.
Facial Expressions & Body Language: I learned that facial expressions communicate emotions directly, while body language reveals relationships and underlying feelings.
Lighting and color: I learned that lighting and color profoundly affect a scene’s mood.
Positioning of Characters & Objects within the Frame: I learned that the placement of characters or objects in the frame directs the audience’s focus.
Lighting & Colour: I learned that these can be to achieve a variety of effects: To highlight important characters or objects within the frame. To make characters look mysterious by shading sections of the face & body. To reflect a character’s mental state/hidden emotions.
Depth-of-field: I learned that the distance of the lens focus.
Types of Shots: There are 4 types of shots: Long shot, medium shot, close-up, and extreme close-up.
Moving Shots: There are 3 types of moving shots:
Pan shot, which is the camera mounted on a non-moving base and films while pivoting on its axis along the line of the horizon from left to right to right to left.
Tilt shot, which is the camera can move up or down while fixed on its axis.
Traveling shot (dolly shot), which is the camera can move forward or backward while fixed on its axis.
Crane shot, which is the camera can move in and out and up and down while mounted on a mechanical crane.
