Prof. Michael O'Rourke

DDA-514, Storyboarding & Storytelling

Haiku

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry. The form is very structured, with a certain number of “on” (the closest equivalent in English is a syllable) appearing in a specific pattern. Typically, a haiku poem is not narrative. It does not usually describe a sequence of causally related events. Instead, the poems focus more on images and sounds, a moment, one isolated and perhaps seemingly insignificant event. Below are some examples of poetry – several by classical Japanese haiku masters, and a few by two 20^th century American poets.

Exercise:

Select one of the haiku poems below. (Do not select the last one: "Drunk as a hoot owl....", as we already have used that poem for a classroom exercise focusing on soundtrack.) Develop a short storyboard for the haiku poem that you have selected. Your storyboard can be totally non-narrative, just as the haiku itself is non-narrative. You do not have to create a "story". Think in terms of "poetry" rather than "story". Focus on imagery, sounds, transitions, camera angles, mood, emotion -- a moment rather than a story. Also, your storyboard does not have to "illustrate" the haiku. Think of it more as being "inspired by" the haiku. Add verbal notes and soundtrack notes and icons to make your storyboard clear and complete.

Post your storyboard to your blog. Indicate on your blog which haiku poem your storyboard was inspired by.

Matsuo Basho (Japanese, 1644 – 1694)

Old pond . . .
A frog leaps in
Water’s sound

Matsuo Basho (Japanese, 1644 – 1694)

In my new clothing
I feel so different. I must
look like someone else

Matsuo Basho (Japanese, 1644 – 1694)

Whore and monk, we sleep
under one roof together,
moon in a field of clover

Yosa Buson (Japanese, 1716 - 1783)

A summer river being crossed
how pleasing
with sandals in my hands!

Yosa Buson (Japanese, 1716 - 1783)

Bats flitting here and there;
The woman across the street
Glances this way.

Richard Wright (American, 1908 - 1960)

Whitecaps on the bay:
A broken signboard banging
In the April wind.

Jack Kerouac (American, 1922 – 1969)

Nightfall,
too dark to read the page
too cold.

Jack Kerouac (American, 1922 – 1969)

Drunk as a hoot owl,
writing letters
by thunderstorm.