Directions: Props

So that I don't forget any props, I made a complete list from the script breakdown of the props that will be needed for each scene, and where I will be getting them from. 

Newspaper Article:

To recreate Emma's newspaper article, I thought about what is evident in the show about this point in her life, such as the young boy finding her on the side of a road by a cafe wrapped in a purple blanket, and then fleshed this out with details such as him being on his way home from school at the time, and Emma being looked after by the Sheriff's wife as the investigation to find her parents is happening. To make this look like a real newspaper article I looked at others online, and found that most journalists only write for a specific topic in a newspaper, such as show business, finance, or public affairs. There are also sometimes contributors to the article as other journalists may go out on location to interview subjects in order to gain quotes or more direct information for the article. For the name of the journalist who had written this article, I used the name of the writer of the episode of Once Upon A Time the scenes are from, and the creators of the show's names for the contributors.  

Handcuffs:

I picked these handcuffs to use in my sequence because of how they look quite real, but are not sharp and have a safety lock meaning the actress can get out of them easily if needed. 

Tracking website:

For the tracker website Emma finds on Cleo's computer I used Photoshop, as I wanted to make it specific to the UK. I picked elements such as the map and compass to represent searching and added features typical of a web page, such as the log in page on start up and the bars on the top of the window leading to different pages of the site to make it look more real. I also used the grey to symbolise how people who are lost would use this website and the blue for the stability they may be able to find. 

Records on Cleo:

The records that Emma is able to obtain from work on Cleo are not too clear in the show as they are covered by photographs, but because of what happens to Cleo, I decided to recreate a death certificate to go under the photographs in my scene. I thought that Emma would give Tasha this as proof that she is telling the truth about Cleo's death, because Emma as a character is always very concerned with the truth due to her superpower. 

Clothing brand logo:

Because I knew the last scene was set in a clothing store, I wanted to create my own logo for the store because I thought this would make it look more real. However, I wanted it to fit within the atmosphere of my sequence, therefore when coming up with design ideas I first started by listing things that would be references to the show and specifically to Emma's character.

Therefore, I listed things such as a broken mirror and poison apple in reference to The Evil Queen as Emma is the daughter of Snow White, a blue star, as Emma blows out a candle of this shape in the pilot episode because of the blue fairy, and things to do with her origins in the Enchanted Forest such as magic, or something to do with the word charming, her father being Prince Charming so their collective family name being The Charming's. 

However, I felt that these things weren't particularly obvious references to the character as they are not hugely important things in her narrative arc. Therefore, to begin with I created more logos around swans, as her surname is Swan, and also trees, since Emma was sent through the portal to this world as a baby in a magic wardrobe made out of a tree. 

Although these were important things in Emma's story, I felt the tree didn't seem right for a clothing brand logo, and the swan was not a subtle enough reference. I kept coming back to dreamcatchers because of how important they are to Emma and her memories. In the show they are used to magically show people's memories, and in Emma's past they signify the relationship she had with Henry's father as he gave her one. 

Emma could also be said to be quite bohemian, highlighted by her tattoo and yellow car, since she does not conform in society because she does not have a permanent home. 

At first both of these factors of running and memories made me think of being free, as in this last scene of my sequence Emma finally lets go of her search for her parents, stops running, and changes her lifestyle. Therefore, I tried to think of a way I could use the word free in my design. This made my think of the Spanish word for free, 'libre', as I thought this could be a more interesting way of presenting it. However, I remembered that Emma's birthday makes her a libra, so using libra as the name of my clothing brand meant I could reference Emma's freedom and also her star sign, which is significant as it shows she has come full circle since her birthday was the day she was separated from her parents and found on the side of the road, as shown in the newspaper article at the beginning of the scene. 

I picked these elements to stick with the bohemian feel, but also included the heart on the dreamcatcher in relation to the connection with Henry's father, and the arrows because a bow and arrows is Emma's mother, Snow White's, weapon of choice. 

I used these colours because of purple's links to ambition, power, and royalty as well as combining the energy of red and stability of blue. The dreamcatcher fits with ambition as it symbolises dreams, but purple is also reminiscent of Emma's parents being royalty. The stability and energy fit with Emma's transition in this scene as she begins to focus her energy on her job so her lifestyle becomes more stable. This is why I also used blue and pink, but also because pink helps to give it more of a feminine edge, showing it is a women's store. Green also symbolises growth as Emma's lifestyle changes.