As well as printing my storyboard out and mounting on them on a large board to be presented as an actual piece of art I have also created an anamatic storyboard to present the storyboards in a more animated way and closer to what the finished video would actually look like. If I was to make the finished video, as many of the ideas in my storyboards are manipulated and surreal, I would possibly create the video by using stop frame animation still with the inclusion of a digital background image.
Below you can see my twelve final storyboards, I believe they present my idea in the most extreme way possible and capture the creativity of my idea in a stronger sense than even the final video would. I'm also pleased that they bring across the surreal, comic, tongue and cheek attitude that not only many adverts have these days but also the attitude of E4 as a channel and brand has.
Here is the development for my storyboards. Below you can see the different stages and the different layers as an example of how I made the storyboards. I shot the images in raw giving me the freedom to alter the different settings and keep them looking surreal and in keeping with the style of the advert. I used a gradient for the sky then found second hand images for the backdrop with the billboard advert on and used the polygonal laso tool to cut everything out and construct it into an image.
Below you can see the outcome of the shoot for my storyboards. I used a plain white brick wall not only as it would it make it easier for me to mask the model on Photoshop but also as I wanted to use natural light as the setting of my storyboards would be outside because despite the fact they're going to look surreal, I still want them to be believable in portraying my idea. In the shoot I made sure each pose was sort of obvious to an extreme, for example when the model picks something up she bends down in an over the top way the same applies to the facial expressions in the photos, which I also wanted to look over exaggerated.
Below I have uploaded to Soundcloud the four different ten second soundtrack sound bites that E4 have released that can be used for this year's competition.
Despite the fact that I will not be making the final finished film version of this project, I will still use the music to create an anamatic storyboard. The soundbite that I will use will be, HARDCORE3 for it's frantic, electronic and over the top nature, this suits the hyper real, vibrant visual of my idea.
For the E4 sting I will try and produce my third idea, where the girl is upset until she drenches herself in E4 paint. It's a random idea similar to existing stings I have looked at. However with this one I think it will be the easiest to produce storyboard wise. As for this project, I aim to produce proper piece of storyboard art, as I have never really done that much extensive work with storyboards, until now. As well as this instead of drawing the pictures I will construct on photoshop using photography to create a series of photo montages as this is where my strengths lie.
From my research of the existing E4 stings what was evident was how over the top, eccentric and quite funny everything was. Therefore I have three short ideas which I will describe below.
First Idea - Film
The shot opens with a group of people dressed from head to toe in the colour purple the same as the E4 logo, they stand in a line, outside of a church/temple type building. They're all leaning down hands above their heads swinging up and down bowing to something infront of them. The camera cuts to some close up reaction shots of some of their faces, they look mesmerized. The camera then pans around to reveal a giant stone statue of the E4 logo, the statue that these people are praying to.
Second Idea - Animation
Made through stop frame animation the sting opens with a shot of a pavement the camera is virtually on the ground at a very low angle. Suddenly we see something shuffling out of the drain. The camera then zooms toward the drain in the distance and we suddenly lots of miniature E4 logos crawl out of the gutter and start shuffling onto the pavement by a local passer by, the E4 logos crawl up the person and she falls to the ground with thousands of minature E4 logos stuck all over her.
Third Idea - Film & Animation
This last idea is a combination of both film and animation. The shot opens with a view of an everyday road with a giant E4 logo plastered on a massive billboard, a young female walks by and stares at the logo sits and stares at it for a while, before turning around facing the camera looking very upset. She looks around still with a sad look on her face until she spots a bucket which has the E4 logo on it, she picks it up and pours the contents from inside of it and suddenly out comes an explosion of purplte pain which drenches her, she tosses the bucket away, with the E4 logo plastered all over and is happy at last.
With the competition having run before they're are many previous successful winning entries as well as unsuccessful entries which are all online. I have taken and embedded many of them as well a few adverts which have caught my attention of what I want to achieve with my take on this project.
The clip below is possibly one of the more recognizable recent E4 stings. Along with the surreal nature of the E4 brand this one also brings the E4 logo to life which many also seem to do. It's over the top yet at the same time makes the viewer almost confused as to what's going on it sort of never gives a clear impression of what's going on. Visually I like the way the colours are very contrasting and it looks like it's set on a beach as well as on a perfect sunny day.
The next clip below is the winning entry for the 2009 competition, it's a popular sting as it was shown on a regular basis on E4 in the last few years. What I like about this advert is it's complete dream like, random nature which runs throughout. How it starts with the image of an average everyday countryside field, where this giant TV rolls in merging into something even bigger it's like an explosion of random imagery. I also like the way the creatures and animations he made are made from random textures and other objects, like the spider which looks mechanical and the buildings which have been bought to life through the use of teeth and eyes balls which are on TV aerials. Without having the recognizable narrative clips or the comic segments taken from E4 shows, it gets across E4's message just as well.
After winning the competition a lot of work came for this guy, here is another advert he did for record label Polydor. It once again is over the top and comic.
Below is another advert which similar to others is over the top and once again brings the E4 logo to life as an actual being rather than just a logo.
The next one is different than previous ones which I have looked at as it's actually been filmed, rather than a computer generated animation. It actually mixes the two together, I think it really works well, but unlike the other clips it doesn't have as much of the toungue and cheek attitude of E4 as a channel and almost has undertones of being quite dark and sinsiter with the pregnancy.
E4 was launched in 2001 almost ten years ago, by Channel 4 as a digital terrestrial channel, this new entertainment channel was aimed at an audience of age 15-35. Since it's launch it's been the main broadcaster for popular shows such as Friends, Desperate Housewives, Glee, Skins, The Inbetweeners and Misfits and has attracted some of the highest viewing figures for digital television.
As a brand, to couple with E4's younger audience the visual style of the channel and tongue and cheek attitude has become a recognizable look for the channel's viewers. One of the most recognizable elements to the E4 brand, is the series of small stings which run before the start of programmes. I will go into detail analysing them, but from what I've already seen from the channel they're all surreal little video clips or animations which feature humor and are based around unlikely situations. As well as this, they all feature the popular E4 logo which can be seen below...
The logo itself combines both the old Channel 4 logo with the E inside standing for the entertainment. As well as this, the logo itself is curved making it appear younger, laid back, and almost younger than the Channel 4 logo. As well as this it's youthfulness is also shown through the use of the purple colour.
As well as this it also manages to appear younger from the use of the voice over the late Patrick Alan and more recently Peter Dickinson. Where the narration is almost so grand and over the top it comes across as a parody. See for yourself below with this clip advertising the Sunday night E4 line up...
We have been given the task of creating a sting (short advertisement) for the popular cable TV channel E4. It must be no longer than ten seconds long and we have been given a selection of choices as to use for the music. I've posted the full brief of the real competition below, but for our Art Foundation we have been given the choice if we wish in just producing a series of professional artistically creative storyboards which explain and showcase our ideas.
E Stings 2011 – in association with Creative ReviewGuess what peoples, we’re doing that there E STINGS competition again – and as ever we want you to chuck us your funnest, funniest, weirdyest, mischievous-est, cool-est, dumbest, cleverest, randomest, most nonsensical-est telly stuff that you got.We want you to take our logo and create an original brand sting that smacks of E4 attitude and can be played out on our E4 telly-channel – and we’re even giving out prizes for our favourites.It can be live action, it can be animated, it can be 2D, 3D, 4D. It can be hi-fi, lo-fi, big-budget or no-budget. Simply download the E4 logo and a soundbed your choice and get going. The only rules we are cruelly forcing upon you are thusly –
(a) We can't show anything explicit or violent in the daytime, but we might be able to after the watershed as long as it’s broadcastable. So - within reason - your idea can be quite naughty / irreverent / provocative etc. Use your common sense though, anything too grim or sexually explicit won't get shown at all.
(b) It HAS to be EXACTLY 10 seconds long. If it’s not 10 seconds long IT WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED BY THE JUDGES. Sorry, but we’re feeling a bit strict this year. To make things easier we’re providing you with a choice of 10 second audio beds which you are welcome to use in your E Sting (but feel free to use something of your own if you prefer!)
(c) It HAS to have the E4 logo in it... But you probably knew that. (Preferably integratedinto the idea rather than simply slapped on top of your piece at the end).
Download all the soundbeds and the E4 logo hereJust download the E4 logoAfter we’ve received all the entries we’ll pick up to 25 of our favourites and play them out on-air to make our lovely channel look even ruddy lovelier. Once our judge-folks have mulled over this shortlist, they’ll select a first prize winner who’ll take home awhopping £2500 and a runner up who’ll get £500 – don’t say we’re not good to you. They’ll also be a little soiree in London town where we’ll announce the winners - all of the shortlisted finalists will be invited, obz.All you need to do is submit your E Sting in one of the accepted formats (wmv, mov, mpg, 3gp, mp4, mpeg) and fill out your details on the entry form by Friday 1st July…E Stings 2011 – Full Details and Terms & ConditionsThe following are the Terms and Conditions for E4’s E Stings Competition 2011. By entering this competition you are deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions and the E4 Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Failure to adhere to these Terms & Conditions may result in your entry not being considered by the judges.The competition and prizesE4 is once again looking for talented people to submit their own E Stings to e4.com. A panel of judges selected by E4 will review all valid entries and shortlist up to 25 finalists who will all have their E Sting broadcast within the E4 schedule. The E4 panel of judges will pick an overall winner who will receive a cheque for £2,500 and a runner up who will receive £500. 25 finalists will also be invited to an awards ceremony to be held in London.Brief & judging criteriaJudging of E Stings will be based on creativity and originality. We’re looking for entries that encapsulate the E4 brand values and ethos.EntryTo enter this competition you must upload your E Sting to e4.com and fill out your details on the online entry form.Only one entry per person or collaborative group will be accepted. If you submit any subsequent entries the judges will only consider your first entry.Entries must be submitted by 4pm on Friday 1st July 2011.Your E Sting must be 10 seconds long and must be submitted in one of the following formats: wmv, mov, mpg, 3gp, mp4, mpeg. The file you upload must be no bigger than 20mb.Your E Sting must include the E4 logo which can be downloaded from the entry page on E4.com.You may also use one of the supplied audio beds if you wish, but this is not a competition requirement.Your entry must be of broadcast quality and not contain anything that is obscene, indecent, un-lawful or offensive. Your entry must be your own work and must not contain any commercial music. Channel 4 reserves the right to edit your entry.You (and each member of your collaborative group, if applicable) must be over 16 and a UK resident to enter the competition.Once submitted, your entry will be viewed by a panel of judges, chosen by E4, who will decide on a shortlist of up to 25 finalists. All of the finalists’ E Stings will be played on-air within the E4 schedule.Finalists will be notified that their entry has been selected by 5pm on Friday 5th August 2011. Finalists will have five days to respond to this notification or alternative finalists may be selected.Only a selection of entries will appear on E4.com, however all valid entries will be viewed by the judges. 1st Prize winner will receive a cheque for £2500 and a runner up will receive £500.If selected as a finalist you will be required to submit your entry as a broadcast-quality digibeta along with any other data and/or materials at E4’s request.Finalists will also be invited to attend an awards ceremony in central London (dates to be decided by Channel 4) where the final winner will be announced. Travel and accommodation to the awards ceremony are the sole responsibility of the finalists and are not included in the prize.By submitting your entry into this competition you grant Channel 4 a non-exclusive right to publish your entry on the website and/or broadcast your entry on E4 or any other channel owned by Channel 4 and/or to use the entry for promotion purposes including, but not limited to exhibiting the entry at festivals and in galleries.
