Hope World Script by Beth Rands on Scribd
The first page has 6 panels: one large panel at the top, a row of two and then a row of three. I chose this layout because it would create a build up to introducing the main character, rather than showing her front and centre in the first panel. This first page has no dialogue or sound effects, I wanted to do this because then the reader will focus on what's going on in the panels, rather than just the words. Although we don't see Ten's face until the 4th panel, I think I have made it obvious that we are seeing the main character because revealing the protagonist in the first page is a convention of graphic novels and comics. The first panel is an establishing shot of the street that the CD shop is on, it is late in the evening and there aren't many people around. The second panel is a worm's eye view of Ten's feet at a display stand. Panel 3 is a medium shot of Ten with her hands in her pocket, her glitch is introduced in this panel as I want to establish early on that this is something that controls Ten's life - hence why it is shown before her face. Panel 4 is a medium shot of Ten's face, she has her coat hood up and is looking at the CDs. The fifth panel is a shot of the CD display case, there is a sign next to it that says "2020's Pop only 3 for £2", I used this shot to establish that this graphic novel is set in the future, and also to show the reader that CDs are outdated and are the equivalent of vinyl to us. The last panel is a medium-long shot of Ten browsing through the CDs, we can only see her back. Props on this page are only the CDs.
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The second page has only 3 panels: a row of two and one large panel at the bottom. I chose this layout because there is quite a lot of dialogue, so not much is changing in the scene and I can include quite a bit of text in each box. The purpose of this page is to set up the premise of the graphic novel, and to casually fill in the audience on some backstory. The first panel is an over-the-shoulder shot of Ten and the shop keeper talking about her arm. The second panel is the same shot of the two characters talking, except moved further down the panel to allow more room for dialogue. The third panel is a close-up of the CD on the table, the two characters finish their conversation in this panel. The main prop in this page is the CD.
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The third page has 3 panels: one big one and two long vertical boxes. I chose this layout because this page contains backstory to how Ten got her glitch, so there isn't much action happening. These panels will show Ten walking home from the CD shop and going to her university dorm. The first panel is an extreme long shot of the CD shop, it is very small and old fashioned compared to the huge modern buildings next to it. In the second panel we see a rat drinking from a puddle of liquid that is leaking out of a neon sign - this is to show the audience that this isn't a nice part of town. This also conforms to the conventions of dystopian cyberpunk. The third panel is another extreme long shot of Ten entering her dorm, the building is a block of 20 apartments.
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The fourth page has 6 panels: a row of three, one large rectangular box and a row of two squares. I chose this layout because I wanted to spend a whole page focusing on Ten to help the audience connect with her more, I also want to create an eerie tone by having lots of panels with no text to reflect the cyberpunk sub-genre. The first panel is a close up of Ten unzipping her coat. The second panel is a shot of Ten's feet walking across the room. The third panel is an over-the-shoulder shot of Ten sitting down at her desk. I wanted to include these panels to create a build-up to the fourth panel, as this will make the audience be focused for what is about the happen. The fourth panel is a shot of Ten's glitch, this is shown in colour so it will stand out as the rest of my graphic novel is in black and white. I wanted to include this shot so that the audience doesn't forget about her glitch, as Ten always knows it's there, so the audience should be aware of that too so they can empathise with her more. The fifth panel is a close up of Ten looking upset and worried. The sixth shot is another close-up of Ten holding her arm as if it hurts, this will make the audience feel sorry for Ten as the glitch isn't her fault.
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The fifth page has three large rectangular panels. I chose this layout because this page is all narration, so the action going on needs to fit with the text. The purpose of this page is to move the story along more, because the equilibrium section is not the section of a narrative that is focused on, so I want to move the story on to the disruption of the equilibrium. The first panel is a long shot of Ten at her job, operating a 3D printer, this fits with the text as the narration says that she is scared she might lose her job. In the second panel we see Ten on the underground, the other people travelling on it are avoiding her and giving her weird looks. This fits with the narration as it says that people started to be scared of those with glitches. The third panel is a long shot of a front door left wide open, the apartment inside is empty. This fits with the narration as it says that people were disappearing.
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The sixth page has five panels: two rows of two and one large box. I chose this layout because this page is where the action starts, so I wanted to have a more exciting top row with the diagonal lines, and I also wanted to have room for a full-body shot of Ten in the last panel. The purpose of this page is to start the second narrative stage - the disruption of the equilibrium. The first panel is a close up of Ten putting her bag down on the floor, this is to help set the scene and add some context. The second panel is a close-up of Ten's phone ringing as it lies on her desk. The third panel is a shot of her picking up the phone - hence the zig-zag lines to separate panels 3 and 4. Panel number 4 is an over-the-shoulder shot of Ten's mother telling her that her sister has gone missing. The last panel is a long shot of Ten lying on her bed, she is lying on her stomach and crying.
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The last page has 4 panels: two large rectangles and two smaller boxes. I chose this layout because more action is starting to take place, so less boxes are needed as it is a lot more fast-paced. The first panel is an extreme long shot of Ten walking down an alleyway, she explains in the narration that this is where she used to live when she was hiding from the police. The second panel is a long shot of Ten talking to a man sleeping in the street and asking if he's seen her sister. The third panel is a shot of Ten outside a bar called The Snake. The last panel is a long shot of Ten sitting on the curb with her head in her hands.
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A large part of the text in my graphic novel is narration, since there is a lot of backstory to explain. Therefore, I will use a plain black square box to show when Ten is thinking and when she is narrating a scene. This is because the rest of my comic is in black and white, so black box outlines will fit in well with this theme, also this type of box fits the conventions of comic books and graphic novels. When a character is talking, I will use traditional speech bubbles with a plain black outline - as this is what comic book readers expect to see, so it won't distract from the narrative. I think my target audience will like this design because it is minimalistic, whereas if my graphic novel was aimed at young girls I would use lots of bright colours - my plain design is more mature.
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Unit 9 Storyboard by Beth Rands on Scribd
D1 by Beth Rands on Scribd