Telling Stories - Storyboards - Ratatouille

I decided to take a look into Ratatouille storyboards and pre-production art, one of the key reasons being that my story is also told from a mouse's perspective. I was curious to see how certain situations were approached from a small point of view.

In this video below, editor Darren Holmes discusses the making of a scene in which Remy is tumbling through (what is to him) a large body of water. The storyboard was the first step in creating this scene. The shots bring the viewer into the experience by following the character through each happening. For example, when Remy is tumbling around underwater after just having gone over a fall, the camera, as well as Remy, chaotically swirls around through the water and sometimes just above it. 

I love this storyboard snippet by Peter Sohn. The way the images are being presented suggest that a bolt of lightening struck the pair but it allows you to imagine what happened in between. The first shot is setting the action (the cooking of a piece of cheese). The second shot is an extreme long shot illustrating a lightning strike from a distance. The third shot is the same as the first but demonstrating the consequences of the second shot.

Finally, here is a deleted scene from Ratatouille shown as a storyboard video. What I really like about this are the low angle shots that place you in the shoes of the characters and as a result, you beging to understand things from the point of view of something that is a few inches tall. But that is also varied with shots that create humour for instance, the shot at 1:40 of a rat becoming startled by a passing biker and scrambling around in plain sight. The shot is high angle so you can see the tiny rat and how ridiculous and vulnerable he looks darting around in the light. 

This sequence also demonstrates the personality and mannerisms of the characters without going into extraneous detail and polish. If you look at 2:39, you will see the rats awkwardly balancing on each others shoulders and wobbling unsteadily. I am amazed at the clear communication of the instability and wonky awkwardness!

Nagy Péter (Animator). Living Lines Library, Ratatouille (2007) - Concept Art, [Online] Available at: http://livlily.blogspot.hu/2012/09/ratatouille-2007-concept-art.html. (Accessed 09/10/2015).