Storyboard Intention & script The Handover · Scene 1 · 9 shots · 1:00
The Handover: Scene 1 storyboard
Nine shots, most of them long takes that join several actions in one camera move. Each has its size, camera angle, movement, character action, dialogue and the intended audience effect; a shot with movement is drawn as a START and an END frame. The small map in each frame shows where the camera stands; the plan at the top shows all positions and the 180° line.
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THE HANDOVER — SCENE 1 STORYBOARD Agent A waits to hand the only copy of a case file to Agent B; the criminal steals it from the table. 9 shots · 1:00 · 16:9 Muqing Chen & Dev Nain · 9-2 Crit B · Scene 1: The Setup · Draft 1 A Agent A B Agent B (voice + outline only) C The criminal FBI Evidence USB (the only copy of the case) Character / camera movement Camera position + field of view (plan) 180° line WS wide · MS medium · MCU medium close-up · CU close-up · ECU extreme close-up · OTS over the shoulder · POV point of view · V.O. voice-over · O.S. off-screen · SFX sound · Low-key = mostly dark · Rack focus = focus pulled from one subject to another
CAMERA PLAN — ART POD Top-down view with every camera position. Shot 02 (B) is filmed elsewhere in the dark. Numbers match the shots below HALLWAY HALLWAY (corner) FBI door window table paint shelf easels 180° line A C 1 push in 3 rack focus 4 deep focus, long take 5 floor, track → tilt 6 high, push in 7 POV 8 floor → handheld 9 arc CINEMATOGRAPHY INTENTION RECORD 1 · The conversation (02–03) Shots: Low-key CU of B; MCU of A at a slight low angle with a rack focus to the drive Why: A looks confident; B stays unknown. The focus pull inside one shot makes the drive the only copy of the case: the thing that must not be lost. Audience: The audience trusts A, wonders about B, and knows exactly what is at stake before the chase needs it. 2 · The creep (04–05) Shots: A 14-second deep-focus long take, then a floor-level tracking shot that tilts up to the grab Why: Dramatic irony: we see the criminal, A doesn’t. Not cutting stretches time; the tilt joins the approach and the grab. Audience: Suspense: the audience wants to warn A and can’t. 3 · The trigger (06–07) Shots: High-angle MS pushing in as A finds the empty table; A’s POV of the doorway Why: The high angle is the view A should have had. The POV hands the criminal’s smile straight to the audience. Audience: Shock at the empty table; the silence after the ticking makes the loss land. 4 · The chase launch (08–09) Shots: One handheld shot that rises from the scraping chair and follows A; an arc into a tracking shot in the hallway Why: The camera breaks from static to moving at the exact moment the plan breaks. Audience: Urgency and speed without a real sprint; the audience is pulled into the chase.
SCENE 1 — THE HANDOVER · 0:00–1:00 Art Pod after school · 2 actors on set · B is a voice and an outline · long takes, few cuts Timeline colour = whose shot it is (red = the USB inserts)
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0:00 0:10 0:20 0:30 0:40 0:50 1:00 The conversation The creep The trigger Chase launch
FBI USB PUSH IN A FBI A EYE LEVEL push in → 01 0:00–0:08 WS ANGLE Eye level MOVE Slow push-in from the doorway The empty Art Pod. A sits at the table, phone to his ear. The USB lies next to his bag. We hold on the room as the call starts. SFX: Clock ticking. Room tone. No music. Establishes the room, the drive and that A is alone. Holding the wide shot longer lets the audience settle before anything happens. B’s face always stays dark B B: unknown place EYE LEVEL · LOW-KEY 02 0:08–0:11 CU · LOW-KEY ANGLE Eye level MOVE Static, rim light only Only B’s outline and phone in the dark. B: “You’ve got the drive?” B stays a mystery. The dark says this is secret work and makes the audience ask who B is. FBI ceiling line visible = camera below eye level A START FBI focus pulls to the drive; A goes soft END SAME SHOT A lifts the drive · focus pulls to it FBI A SLIGHT LOW ANGLE rack focus 03 0:11–0:19 MCU → ECU · ONE SHOT ANGLE Slight low angle MOVE Static; rack focus from A’s face to the drive as he lifts it into the foreground A answers, then lifts the drive toward the camera. Focus pulls from his face to the USB. A: “Right here.” B (V.O.): “Is that the only copy?” A: “The only one. The whole case is on here.” B (V.O.): “Then keep it in sight. I’m two minutes away.” One shot does the work of two: the low angle shows A’s confidence, and the focus pull makes the drive the most important object in the film. “Two minutes” starts a clock. C FBI A C listens deep focus: door AND A both sharp START FBI A C same shot, 10 seconds later: no cut END SAME SHOT C listens at the door · then creeps across the room FBI A C EYE LEVEL deep focus 04 0:19–0:33 MS · DEEP FOCUS · LONG TAKE ANGLE Eye level MOVE Static, deep focus (door and A both sharp). No cut for 14 seconds A turns to the window, back to the room. The criminal appears at the door, listens, then creeps across the room toward the table while A talks. A: “Relax. Witness names, everything. Once it’s in your hands, we move on the gang tonight.” SFX: Clock, breathing. No music. The longest shot in the scene. Dramatic irony: the audience watches the criminal cross the whole room while A talks with his back turned. Not cutting makes the wait unbearable. slow C START FBI C END SAME SHOT track with the feet · tilt up to the hand FBI A C FLOOR LEVEL track, tilt up 05 0:33–0:41 LOW ANGLE → CU · ONE SHOT ANGLE Floor level, then tilting up to the table top MOVE Tracking alongside the feet, then tilt up to the hand The criminal’s sneakers take the last slow steps. The camera tilts up: his hand slides across the table and closes around the drive. SFX: Tick… tick… A (O.S.): “…and they won’t even know we’re–” Hiding his face makes him a threat, not a person. The tilt connects the feet to the hand, so the grab happens inside the same breath as the approach. ? turns back A START to the door tilt up A END SAME SHOT empty table · push in as A looks up FBI A HIGH ANGLE push in 06 0:41–0:45 MS → CU · ONE SHOT ANGLE High angle, looking down at the empty table MOVE Push-in on A, then tilt up with his eyes to the door A turns back. The table is empty, only the bag. He looks up toward the door. SFX: The ticking stops. The high angle makes A small and the empty table big. The push-in follows his realisation; the silence after the ticking makes the loss land. FBI runs out C A’s POV FBI C EYE LEVEL · POV 07 0:45–0:49 WS · A’S POV ANGLE Eye level, POV MOVE Static, then a small handheld shake as he runs The criminal in the doorway. He holds up the drive, smiles, and runs out. SFX: Footsteps. The POV puts the audience in A’s eyes: the smile mocks them too. He exits screen left, matching A’s eyeline in 06. SCRAPE! A START runs for the door HANDHELD A END SAME SHOT chair scrapes · camera rises and follows A FBI A FLOOR → EYE LEVEL handheld ← 08 0:49–0:55 LOW ANGLE → MCU · HANDHELD ANGLE Floor level, rising to eye level MOVE Handheld: starts on the feet, rises with A and follows him to the door The chair scrapes back and A’s feet push off. The camera rises with him and follows him to the door, phone to his ear. B (V.O.): “A? What’s going on?” A: “He took it! He’s got the drive!” B (V.O.): “Don’t lose him. I’m coming.” The scrape is the starting gun. The camera breaking from static to handheld at this exact moment shows the plan breaking. B’s calm voice against A’s panic. ARC around A, then track C A ♪ B: “I’m coming.” (sound bridge) FBI A C HALLWAY arc + dolly 09 0:55–1:00 WS · HALLWAY ANGLE Eye level MOVE Arc around A, then dolly tracking down the hall A follows the criminal down the hallway. Ahead, the criminal turns the corner. B (V.O.): “I’m coming.” SFX: Footsteps echo. The arc pulls the audience into the chase. The criminal vanishing round the corner ends Scene 1 on a question: can A keep him in sight? PRODUCTION NOTES CAST Scene 1 needs 2 actors on set (A, C). Record B’s lines separately; the hand in shot 02 can be either actor in a purple sleeve. PROPS USB drive (an FBI label helps it read), 2 phones, 1 bag, chair that scrapes. The USB must be clearly visible in 01, 03, 05 and 07. MOVEMENT & SAFETY C’s run in 07 and 09 is a fast walk. The handheld camera and the cut to the hallway sell the speed. No physical contact at any point. SCREEN DIRECTION Door screen left, window screen right. A looks screen left in 06, C exits screen left in 07. Keep every camera on the same side of the 180° line.