Random Initial Idea

This was the first idea I had for the fully fledged storyboard while I was being briefed. I know this is subject to drastic change over the course of the project, but I just wanted to note this down somewhere.

Like with my Space presentation, I hope to play some kind of musical piece over the storyboard as it plays. Something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZJDNSp1QJA

The scene opens up with a closeup of a wooden arm laying on a workbench of sorts before a frail, elderly hand picks up it. Invisible cut to a view of an elderly gentleman holding the rest of the wooden figure as he pops the arm in place at the shoulder using a steel ball-bearing. Brief close-up of the marionette's face. Although no facial features have been carved into it, the natural wooden grooves and notches resemble a smiling face. He smiles and chuckles to himself as he lifts up the stringed-up handle which was previously out of view and makes the small wooden figure dance for a few seconds before leaving his workroom. Cut to an inside view of the shop window looking out to the Victorian street as he hangs the marionette up on display along with many other marionettes. He's a toy maker and it becomes apparent that he makes marionettes for a living.

A few seconds later, a little girl stops by the window. Her eyes light up at the same simplistic-looking marionette that was put up for display. As she leave the view of the camera to enter the shop off-screen, the picture fades to a scene, of the girl happily playing with the puppet, making it dance, walk and pretending that it can fly. Another fade, this time to a scene of the puppet from inside the girl's bag. There's a gaping hole in the fabric beneath it and it falls through and onto the wet pavement. Pan to the view of the little girl and her mother walking away down the street.

Fade-transition the background to the puppet being inside a glass case, the background now the Victorian History & Culture section of a museum. After all the years gone past, the acculturation of dirt and dust, particularly over its previously featureless wooden face to look like a sad face, has gotten the best of him. One of the ball-bearings on his shoulder is rusty and almost falling off. Gradual pan out from the puppet in the foreground so that we see a museum security guard in the background turn off the museum lights. After the door closes, the puppet's head turns towards it and away from the camera, invisible cut in the middle of the motion to give a view of the puppet's dirt-ridden, miserable face.

Cut to a view of the puppet's broken shoulder as it takes a hold of its limp arm and pops it off, the jagged, broken joint spring in the ball bearing coming along with it. Cut to a view of the lock from slightly above as it pokes the wiry spring inside, picking the lock before the door opens. Cut to a view of the wooden floor beneath the pedestal upon which the glass case sits, followed by the puppet falling limply to the floor along with its handle which falls just beside him. He gets up wearily and dusts himself off before walking off camera. Cut to view of the back of the puppet as he wanders off towards a series of glass shelves containing various Victorian homely appliances and decorations. Pan upwards away from the marionette to a view of these shelves.

We cut to a view from the very back of one of the bottom shelves, behind the glass and the aged items therein. We pan along with the pace at which the marionette walks as various Victorian objects pass the camera by as the marionette looks about and gases at what was once familiar to him, now sealed forever in transparent prisons. The camera and the marionette halt as a square object fills the lower side of the camera, the puppet's gaze fixated on it for a moment before wandering up to it. It longingly places its shapeless, wooden hand upon the glass and gazes at the object before the camera cuts to a view of what the object is through the glass from the front. It's a small, dirty frame with a black and white photo in it. It's of the girl it was once owned by, along with her family behind her. We slowly pan inwards to the view of the girl, who is holding the puppet in her arms and smiling at the camera. Cut back to behind the frame as the puppet's head droops sadly. Cut to an aerial view of the puppet in the corridor of glass cases and slowly pan outwards, giving the audience an impression of just how small he is compared to the world. He sits down next to the frame in the case and lays there, motionless.

Fade to the same shot, but at daytime with all the lights on. We cut to a view of the Marionette's head from a profile view as a group of uniformed children come through to the corridor from the next room, presumably on a field trip from school. Cut to an overhead view of the group of children walking by before a little girl stop by, taking notice of the puppet. It's almost as if it's familiar to her. Cut to a full-body closeup of the puppet the the little girl takes the handle and lifts it up. Cut to a view of her putting it in her bag before running off to rejoin the group.

Fade to a view of inside a familiar workshop, the same one we saw at the start of the story. It's well-lit with electric lighting and moderately renovated with modern technologies. Gradual, continuous pan inwards as we see a middle-aged man hunkered over a model ship before the little girl enters the frame, holding up the puppet to him. He looks at it curiously for a moment before smiling, then turning around to look at something on his workbench. Invisible cut to a view from behind another square object in the frame as he looks at it, smiling: another photo frame. Cut to a view of the photo from the front. It's of the same elderly gentleman from the beginning of the story: his great, great grandfather, the toy maker.

Fade to a view at night and the little girl tucked up in bed and in her arms is the marionette, polished, fixed, cleaned and renovated, looking brand spanking new. Gradual pan inwards from the start of the scene towards the marionette and we get a clearer view of his face: the natural wooden grooves and notches on his face resembling a smile have returned. Fade to black.

End~