No. 2
3D PTSD Animation
A background story for a video game character.
Plot: The story is about a murder mystery game where the protagonist has lost his wife in a violent and traumatic mugging. He has been greatly impacted and traumatised by the experience and now suffers not only by grief but that grief has mixed with his PTSD. He has nightmares about the mugging, keeps seeing things that remind him of either his wife, the criminal or that night. His emotions sometimes get out of control which results in outbursts of rage, he can’t move on or get that night out of his mind. Most of all, he has not gotten over his loss or his anger towards the perpetrator. Therefore, he can’t find peace or happiness anymore and rejects it or when he is shown kindness by the people around him. He doesn’t feel that he can accept help or a kind attitude, especially from his best friend (and flatmate) because of the incident. He feels that he could, no, SHOULD have done more to save her life. That he should have been able to save her life. He longs for his lost love and feels alone without her. Now though, he feels that all he has left is enough power to avenge her. He seeks the perpetrator (the antagonist of the game).
Storyboard Shots Ideas
People key:
Prot: Protagonist ‘Hugo’.
Antag: Antagonist mugger.
Friend: His best friend and room mate ‘Keith’.
Wife: victim ‘Naya’.
Scene 1: First Shadow
- Wide Shot – Man walking down street.
- Cowboy shot – Shadow on the ground, man stops walking. Prot partially visible. “Feel so alone”
- Medium shot – Prot looking down at shadow.
- Cowboy shot – Back to shadow. Another shadow crosses his.
Pans upwards
- Full body shot of friend – “Hey, Buddy.”
- Back to Prot. Tries to smile, unconvincingly, out of his glum face. “Hi Keith”
- Friend – “Hope you’re well?” Shrugs, cheery grin.
- Medium close up – Prot’s Smile disappears, sigh. Looks slightly irritated.
- Friend- “Let’s grab a coffee.” Lifts hand up to side as a gesture to say ‘This way’.
Scene 2: Coffee Shop
- Coffee shop exterior establishing shot.
- Wide shot panning sideways through shop interior- At counter. Friend on window side, Prot on other side next to counter, waiting for drinks. Friend chatting away (prot not really listening):
“I know how much she meant to you, everyone agrees that she was an amazing woman. But listen to me, it’s time you start living your life again. You will always have your best buddy right here, you know.”
- Medium close up- bell ding ‘gasp’. Prot is surprised when he notices someone passing outside the window. Friends yapping goes on mute.
- Medium close up– Back of Prot’s head looking at window.
- Medium full shot – Coffee shop window shot of two women walking past.
- Montage of slow-motion extreme closeups (from POV of Prot) – Woman on the side farthest from the shop-looking at friend while they walk past. Montage of her laughing mouth, eyes and hand carrying bag on her forearm.
- Medium shot of her getting shaking- Protagonists vision is getting shaky and a bit blurred.
- Close up – Prot’s face. He is distressed, shaking and his friend has still been talking during this time but now he is coming out of mute.
- Extreme close up – Prots eyes are glassy and possibly tearing up- maybe scared.
- Close up – Fist shaking next to his body.
- Quick zoom out- Prot just realised his friend is talking to him.
- Medium shot – Friend looks worriedly at him “Are you alright? Get your coffee.” Gestures to his left.
- Prot, flustered (either grabs coffee or just leaves). Walks straight for the door.
- Cowboy shot – barista shouts at him from over the counter “Have a nice day!”
- Medium shot – walking away- stops and becomes rigid, turns head when she speaks with an irritated glare back at her.
- Prot’s clenched fists shaking.
- Medium full shot – rushing out of the shop
- Medium shot – friend has hand reaching towards the door the Prot just left from, and shouts “Wait for me” or just “Wait”.
Scene 3 (Possibly exclude)
- Walking home alone after rushing out of the coffee shop, always looking down and passing people (maybe coffee in hand). Fists clenched as walking.
- Looks up and sees more features that remind him of the woman. And maybe a cloak that reminds him of the antagonist.
- Shocked, stops.
- Runs home, eyes closed after a few seconds.
Scene 4: Photo Frame
- Wide shot – Sluggishly walks to house, arms hanging.
- Wide shot – Key in, turn, push door, walk inside.
- Full body shot – Closes door, leans on it and sighs.
- (zooming in slowly from previous shot) Cowboy shot? – Gets up off the door. Walks into house, passing table to his right. He still faces forward while putting keys into a bowl on the table. Sluggishly draping his hands across the table and knocks over a photo frame next to the bowl.
- Close up slow motion – frame smashing on the ground. Glass flying. The Host ‘Dying Soul’ violin.
- Close up – Protagonists eyes, shocked and wide-eyed (from same angle as before: south-west)
- Full shot – Prot frozen and shaking again (maybe starts to shake and breath heavily).
He turns his body anti-clockwise slowly (slow zoom in) and slow-motion as he picks up the frame. (maybe camera can be zooming in/focussing on the frame at this point so that his head gets cut out of the frame.)
- Close up of his face- upset.
- Medium shot- He moves into the living room. Camera is still looking at him from behind. When he gets there, he sinks to his knees still looking at the photo frame.
- Medium shot- mirror image of previous but now from the from. By now he has dissolved into tears and put the frame to his chest.
- Long slow zoom in on his face. Transition fade to shot of him sleeping with has hand still around the frame.
- Close up of the frame: him and his wife. (is it better to put this before or after he put the frame to his chest?)
- Slowly fade to black and blur§ as Prot is sleeping.
- Close up of frame in his hands- picture of him and his wife smiling.
Scene 5: Dream (Possibly exclude)
- Echoed slow motion quick shots.
- Close up – Cloak Whipping.
- Close up – Prots Hands up.
- Close up – Knife on neck.
- Close up – Wallet in hands reaching out.
- Close up – Antags hand gripping the knife handle harder.
- Close up – Antags evil smile growing.
- Close up – Wife’s scared face.
- Close up – Dark eyes of Antag.
- Close up – Protag steps forward slowly.
- Close up – Prots hands still reaching out towards them, one open and upturned, the other with the wallet.
- Close up – Shine/glint of the knife spreading throughout the scene. Wife’s SCREAM & Prot shouts “don’t” or “No”.
- Glint turns the screen white quickly… then fades slowly to next slowly.
Scene 6: Friend in house.
- Wide shot – Friend enters house and calls Prots name “Hugo… You here?”.
Same shot, closes door and steps on glass, lifts leg and looks down. Shakes head and steps over the glass and walks in.
- Full body zooming into a medium shot as he to when he bends down – Stops in front of Prot on the floor and bends down. Puts his hand on the prots arm and says “Hey Buddy.”
- Extreme close up – Eyes jerk open as he wakes abruptly.
- Full body/ Wide shot – Prot stands up quickly.
Prot turns defensively and stands for a second, head turning.
- Close up – As he turns his head towards the friend’s left hand.
- Close up – Friend’s hand with key.
Key glints into a knife/ or just glints.
- Medium full shot – Prot launches at his friend (camera looking at Prot).
- Medium full shot – Prot pins friend to the wall behind friend. Angry expression (camera looking at friend).
- Extreme close up – Prots right hand on friend’s wrist.
- Extreme close up – Prots left hand on friend’s throat.
- Close up – Prot looks at keys again and his eyes realise what was in his hand- his eyebrows go up in sadness instead on anger.
- Zooming out while and he moves backwards.
- Medium full shot/full body shot – Friend crouched with one hand on his knee and his right hand on his throat. Prot says “I’m sorry.”
- Medium full body shot – Prot puts his hand on his head. “I thought I saw a Knife.” Prot falls to knees. Friend says “It’s alright.”
- Wide/fully body shot – Friend stands normally – looking at Prot on the floor for a sec and then moves towards him. Holds him to his body- arms around him.
Same shot zooming in – Prot is shivering. Friend notices by looking down and while looking around for a blanket he says “You must be cold”.
Same shot – Prot says “I am not shivering because I am cold”
Same shot – Friend relaxes his search and hugs Prot further.
Same shot still zooming – Friend after a moment says “Everybody knows how much you loved her, and I know that she loved you too. I know everything is not okay right now… but they will get better. Just remember (he looks down at Prot) “You aren’t alone” or “You aren’t as alone as you think you are”.
- Close up – Prot looks up at Friend and then back down. Holds there for a moment.
- Fade to black slowly.
Scene 7: Double shadow
- Wide shot – Prot walking somewhere (mirror image of initial shot- more colour). Then he stops walking.
- Close up – He looks down at his shadow.
- The shadow splits into two. One shadow looks feminine.
- Close up – Prot smiles slightly. Do I need speech or internal monologue here like “Maybe I’m not” or “Hmm… I am not alone after all”.
- Fade to black.
La Fin