In Week 2, the lecture focused on the fundamentals of storytelling and how stories are constructed rather than imagined randomly. One of the key ideas was the difference between a chronicle and a narrative. A chronicle is simply a list of events connected by “and then,” while a narrative is a sequence of meaning where events are connected through cause and effect. The lecturer emphasized that story beats should be linked by “therefore” or “but,” not “and then.” This makes the story feel intentional and driven by consequence.
Another important concept discussed was that conflict equals drama equals story. A story truly begins when a character’s desire meets an obstacle, creating friction. We were encouraged to always ask three essential questions: Who is the story about? What do they want? Why can’t they have it? These questions help build emotional engagement and empathy.
The SWBST structure (Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then) was introduced as a simple but powerful framework for building causal storytelling. It reinforces the idea that stories should feel like a chain reaction caused by character choices, rather than events simply happening to a character.
Overall, this lecture helped me better understand that strong storytelling is about structure, character motivation, and consequence.
Feedback
During class, Ting gave me constructive feedback on my Maya recreation of Barbara’s storyboard. She mentioned that the Dutch tilt in Shot 3 was too strong. The exaggerated angle created a dramatic effect that was not fully supported by the narrative intention. This made me realize that camera language must be justified by story context. If the tilt is too extreme, it can feel stylistic rather than meaningful. I plan to reduce the angle to make it more subtle and aligned with the emotional tone.
She also pointed out that the speed of my camera movements needs better control. Some transitions felt slightly abrupt, which affected the overall flow of the sequence. I understood that movement is not only about direction but also about rhythm. In Maya, I will refine the timing curves and adjust the ease-in and ease-out to create smoother and more intentional motion.
This feedback reminded me that strong visual storytelling depends on precision, subtlety, and control rather than dramatic effects.
Story Pitch
For Thursday’s class, we randomly selected three key words: ladder, flood, and freedom. Draw a storyboard using three key words.
Previs – Hunter to Prey
Inspiration
For this Previs project, the theme is “Hunter to Prey”, which focuses on a dramatic power shift between characters. My initial inspiration came from one of the characters provided in the brief, whose body proportion reminded me of Fiddlesticks from League of Legends.
Together with Weize, I analysed several CG cinematics and gameplay development videos of Fiddlesticks. What interested us was how the character uses space rather than only horror design. Fiddlesticks often appears partially hidden, with long limbs emerging from darkness. The silhouette and stillness before movement create strong dominance. We also noticed how low angles and long lenses support the “hunter” identity, while wider lenses make humans look vulnerable. Based on this research, we plan to design a tall hunter who relies on vertical space, then gradually weaken this advantage through environment, creating a clear power shift.
Storyboard
In the storyboard stage, we intentionally used multiple POV shots to express the character’s panic and psychological instability. The handheld movement and eye-line motivated cuts allow the audience to experience the situation from the human character’s perspective. The transitions between shots follow the direction of gaze and emotional rhythm, rather than random cutting. As the tension increases, the camera becomes closer and more unstable, reflecting inner fear. When the power dynamic begins to shift, the framing gradually changes from subjective POV to more objective compositions, visually indicating the transformation from prey to hunter.
Previs