Thursday, 15 September 2005 | Storyboard

I was paired with someone named Smith. For our first homework assignment, we were each asked to create a storyboard for a scene in a film, one that we would shoot the following week during class. The scene didn't have to have a beginning or end, nor any conflict, even; it was designed simply to acquaint us with making decisions, such as what types of shots work best in what scenarios.

Smith was to be the actor in my scene, and I would be the actor in his. Because of my reluctance to humiliate a stranger, I decided to abandon the idea that involved Smith wearing a hockey mask, and I went with something more conventional (boring).

For his scene, I was required to drink a cup of coffee containing a fake severed human finger. Upon discovering the digit, which was buoyant and had a brightly painted red fingernail, I threw the coffee to the ground and took off running down the street. We made some art! Just like that.