Research and Early Work

Before creating the storyboard we were required to do some research on a film era of our choice. While researching the 1960s era, I noticed spy films were particularly popular due to the shifting cultural values and tensions caused by the Cold War at the time. I thought it would be interesting to explore the spy genre in a more comedic cartoonish light to clash with these rising mature themes. By compiling contemporary films, title sequences, and posters into moodboards, I was able to identify the key artistic approaches and tropes that were used define this period of experimentation. 

With research completed, I created two key frames that would help encapsulate the tone of the storyboard. I first created some sketches of the main character - a sauve but overly eager novice spy who completes daring missions by the skin of his teeth. I took a particular inspiration to Sean Connery's James Bond for the physical appearance.

The first keyframe is the titlecard of this storyboard Reach for the Sky. This would be later renamed to SpyFall. The title card appears as the main character falls from a helicopter above, briefcase in hand. There would be a moment of tension as a rope dangles on screen, slowly revealing the main character had survived the fall with the help of his gadget gun. The briefcase however, opened during the fall and is spilling the important documents the main character secured.

The second keyframe is one of the credit shots, in which the main character tripped over his feet, dropping all of his passports in his fall. The passports reveal the various disguises the main character uses in his line of work, all cleared of suspicion except notably, the main character's real identity. 

Reworking 

After receiving crucial feedback, I decided to focus on four main comments while working on the storyboard. Much of it was centreded on the titlecard keyframe - with the color palette, composition, and integration of text. For one, it was far too vibrant compared to the second keyframe. The blue aggressively dominated the frame, overshadowing it's complementary orange. The composition was also lackluster, appearing flat due to the title text blending into the simple background rather than being integrated into a creative environment. And finally the overall style didn't seem particularly distinct or inspired by the 1960s cartoons era. This particular feedback led me to watch some cartoons from the period to get a better sense of the style to adjust my character designs. Although I didn't strictly stick to this era's style for the final storyboard, it did help me define the designs I was looking for in the final version.

Storyboarding

For the storyboard, I focused particularly on the composition and integration of text. I used dramatic angles, the golden ratio, and other compositional layouts to make each scene more visually interesting and less flat compared to the previous key frames. I also made the text work more seamlessly with the environment, having it interactable in some scenes and appear creatively in others.

Color Palette

The final step of the assignment was creating three distinct color palettes for the storyboard. I chose two complementary palettes and one analogous to capture the themes and tone I wanted during specific transitions in the title sequence. The full notes are below!