Brother Thomas Film
Opening Scene
On 13, Jun 2012 | No Comments | In Story Boards | By Steve Leeper
So this is how the film opens. We follow the dragonfly as he makes his way around the cathedral steeple and down into the lush pastures filled with wild flowers and rich with insect life. We finally settle at the base of a fence post and slowly raise the camera to find a rooster just getting ready for his morning crow to wake the countryside.
To see the full page of story panels in a larger image click here.
Storyboards-Day of Epiphany (Part 2)
On 18, Nov 2011 | 3 Comments | In Story Boards | By Steve Leeper
Finally the moment the story has been building to. Br. Thomas finds himself face to face with the Dragonfly. . . one by one the animals join him. A moment of flurry and the Dragonfly leads them all in a celebratory romp through the hills.
The image of Thomas releasing the Dragonfly is the first picture that showed up in my head before there was ever a story to accompany it. If you’ll notice it’s the moment captured in the makette I sculpted years ago.
If you click on the 4 panel image you can see the entire story sequence.
Baby Birds-Image Sequence
On 17, Nov 2011 | 2 Comments | In Story Boards | By Steve Leeper
One of the nice things about boarding a story you wrote almost a decade ago are the surprises that turn up. This is a sequence of images I hadn’t anticipated. They make me smile.
Storyboards-Day of Epiphany (Part 1)
On 14, Nov 2011 | No Comments | In Story Boards | By Steve Leeper
If you click on the 8 panel image you can see the entire story sequence.
This scene marks the beginning of Brother Thomas’ day of epiphany as the dragonfly leads him further from the path and deeper into the wonders of the natural landscape. Shot after shot, image after image, Brother Thomas’ eyes are opened to new revelations at every turn. At this point his only response is to simply drink it all in.
I’m trying to capture a more playful version of that sense of awe that Thomas has as he enters the scriptorium. At the same time I want to play up the trickster role of the dragonfly teasing the animals in the same way that he was jesting with the Saints.
Act 2 Scene 1-Good Morning World!
On 27, Oct 2011 | One Comment | In Brother Thomas, Story Boards | By Steve Leeper
If you click on the 8 panel image you can see the entire story sequence.
Finally I’m posting another scene! The second act has been the least clear in my mind since I wrote the treatment over ten years ago. While the rest of the plot points were fairly well developed Act 2 was pretty much a note to myself that read “insert multiple epiphanies here”. Finally I’m getting to see what these epiphanies might look like and how each one can build into the next… but I’m getting ahead of myself. Those panels belong to the last two thirds of the act and are still pretty rough. With luck I’ll be posting them in a couple of weeks.
These panels are the beginning of the second act. The cock crows to announce a new day and Br. Thomas heads off to the cathedral with the best intentions of actually getting there. Only this morning, with his head full of distractions, it doesn’t take much coaxing from the Dragonfly to get him off the path and running through a field of wild flowers, with his new friends closely on his heels.
Storyboards-Inside the Scriptorim (Part 2)
On 20, Jul 2011 | 4 Comments | In Story Boards | By Steve Leeper
Here’s the second part of the Scriptorium sequence, which means I’m done with the first act!!…for now anyways. It will be a relief to get Thomas outside and focus more on story than atmosphere.
If you click on the 8 panel image you can see the entire story sequence.
Storyboards-Inside the Scriptorim (Part 1)
On 10, Jul 2011 | No Comments | In Story Boards | By Steve Leeper
Boarding the first act in the Scriptorium has been much more involved than I first anticipated. Mostly because the story slows down to take in a richness of atmosphere, introduce the characters and showcase certain details in the space. I’ve spent a lot of time working out lighting issues, exploring a graphic quality for the stained glass, and creating some depth for that atmospheric richness to play out in. It’s a long sequence so I’ve broken it into two separate postings.
I hope to have part 2 up by the end of the week!
If you click on the 8 panel image you can see the entire story sequence.
Short Sequence-Baby Coos
On 07, Jul 2011 | 2 Comments | In Story Boards | By Steve Leeper
Click on the image above to see full story panel.
This is another short sequence of panels that gives you a pretty good idea of how things pace out. This sequence is at the center of the scene where the dragonfly invades the sacred space of the scriptorium and toys with each of the glass characters. It seems that the infant Christ-child is the only one who really appreciates the joke.
Silhouette
On 22, Jun 2011 | 2 Comments | In Brother Thomas, Story Boards | By Steve Leeper
Here’s a short storyboard sequence that I like a lot. Michael Spooner suggested we go for a silhouette on this shot and it really stands out. It gives a nice break from the otherwise thick atmosphere of the room.
Click on the detail below to see the full image.
To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.
More Storyboards-Entering the Cathedral
On 08, Jun 2011 | 10 Comments | In Brother Thomas, Story Boards | By Steve Leeper
So this is the space Br. Thomas walks through every day on his way to work. If you can’t tell from the images (but I hope you can) he feels a little out of place in such a beautiful and austere environment.
The challenge for me in these boards has been to establish a somber tone to the scene and create an almost overwhelming expansiveness to the space. I really want Br. Thomas to feel small and insignificant in the shear weight of all the beauty, history and religiosity. Light and shadow have a lot to do with this as well. The church fathers are merely stone monuments but for Thomas the long shadows they cast only serve to increase his already heightened sense of not belonging.
If you click on the 8 panel image you can see the entire story sequence.
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