the Extraordinary education of nicholas benedict
Process
Storyboard
Style frames
Title Sequence based on a book
Research
Book Summary
The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, by Trenton Lee Stewart, is a prequel novel to The Mysterious Benedict Society in that it delivers the backstory of famed genius Nicholas Benedict. Here, nine-year-old Nicholas has just arrived at a new orphanage, Rothchild’s End…But he juggles his share of problems, from his oddly-shaped nose to his narcolepsy, which seems to strike at the most unexpected, unwanted times…he’s also a young genius, so he becomes the brunt of bullies’ persecution, but he perseveres. In time, Nicholas befriends John Cole, an older orphan, and does his best to avoid or outsmart the orphanage’s bullies… Nicholas unearths secrets about a hidden treasure and makes company with a local girl named Violet, a budding artist. With John and Violet by his side, Nicholas plans to solve the mystery of Rothchild’s End. -summary on wordpress.com
The importance of green plaid
In the book, Nicholas finds a green plaid blanket in his room at the orphanage. Throughout the story, he realizes that tracing the patterns of the plaid helps him stay calm and avoid triggering his narcolepsy. He makes a lot of his plans while tracing the blanket.
My design is based around this blanket. Lines of green come on screen building up to an eventually full plaid pattern. There is also a section where the pattern is just made of squares. It gives the same old pattern feeling and adds variety to the design.
Concept
The color palette is many shades of green that build to make a plaid pattern. These are on black to create drama and the titles are a light grey so there softness fits with the rest of the sequence.
Color Palette
Music
The song is “Time Will Catch Me First” by Peter Crowley. The music choice is important as it sets the tone for the entire movie. I chose a piece that is fast passed and sounds orchestral because the story is a mystery set in an orphanage and Nicholas is an old soul.
Pairing items with characters
For each title card, I paired up the character with an item in the story that represents them. Nicholas is with a stack of books because he uses his wit to get out of tight situations. John is paired with a candle because he is always there for the group guiding them together. Violet is paired with a telescope because it represents reaching for the stars and violet encourages the group to go for their dreams. They all have their own roles in the book.