Process of Storyboarding - Information from Professional Storyboarding: Rules of Thumb by Sergio Paez and Anson Jew
- The first thing to do is to read the entire script - re-read the entire script so that you know the sequence of events including the who, what where, when and why. Need to know how all the characters are feeling internally about what's happening and how they are outwardly acting upon those events.
- Break down the script. Prioritise what is important to show in a scene. Visually scan the script and list all people, places and props that will appear through the drawings.
- Make notes on the script to decide which shot type will be appropriate for the events and movement involved.
- To accompany the storyboard, an overhead sketch of the architectural view can help to figure out the staging of a scene - and therefore help how the storyboard is drawn.
e.g.
- Pick out every word from the script. One block of description may need more than one shot to go alongside it - e.g. if a block of description is establishing the scene of the action, multiple establishing shots may need to be used to establish the locations, characters and events involved.
- Dialogue pieces may call for reaction shots as well as the action shot of the character speaking. Read the dialogue aloud and determine whether multiple shots are needed for coverage of this scene.
- The storyboard must ensure it fulfils the story point of the scene. Every scene and every image has a specific reason for being incorporated into the story - this reason must be clear to the audience. Anything that distracts from the story point should be cut.
- Identify the subtext in the dialogue and who is the focus or sympathetic character. This will help the staging to reflect the acting in the dialogue and therefore help the planning and storyboarding of the scene. Finding the subtext adds layers to the scene as a character may not say how they are feeling but can show visually (which can be depicted through the storyboards).
When it comes to actually drawing the storyboard - there are a few simple guidelines to follow. You do not need to be a storyboard artist to create a simple storyboard as a DOP but certain elements must be clear so that you can work effectively off the storyboard. The storyboard must also make enough sense to the director so that they can approve it before it goes into production.
Guidelines:
- Give figures solid poses with clear silhouettes
- Add simple tones - no more than 2-3 grey tones
- Only use colour when necessary
- Limit the use of arrows - add more panels to show movement to help action flow (but obviously use arrows if necessary to the shot).
When going through the script, there is a simple list of questions that can be used to aid making decisions about the storyboard:
About the scenes:
- How many are in the scene?
- What is the situation at the beginning of the scene and how is it different at the end?
- Who is affected by this change?
- How does this person feel about it?
- How does this scene affect the scene after it?
- How does it affect the one before it?
- How has this scene been affected by the one before it?
Within a scene:
- Who or what are we most interested in at this moment? What's the main focus?
- Who is in control of the situation?
- Where are we? Have the characters moved? If so, where?
- What's the subtext? What is being said or done and what does it really mean?
- What nonverbal cues might illustrate what's really going on?
Storyboards can be created in different ways, below are some examples of different types of storyboard:
1. Storyboards can be sketched with detailed outlines of scenes in order to display how the visuals of the production pan out. Although these sketches are simple, they are detailed in the amount of the scene they show (i.e. they show the objects and environments included within the scene) they are labelled and scaled so that they accurately show how the production will be realised.
2. Storyboards can also be simplified so that the main detail seen is the subjects / characters of the scene (i.e. the environment in which the scene takes place is not shown in detail). This is then compensated for by writing where the scene takes place in the description beneath the shot. This storyboard also features a separate box for the shot type in order to clearly display what is intended.
3. This storyboard is very simplified in terms of the drawings shown, however, what the drawings consist of is detailed below the shot. Furthermore, even though the shots are drawn very simply, they are drawn to scale (i.e. sarah appears small in the wide shot and then the closeup shot of sarah fills the frame). Although the viewer of the storyboard doesn't get as much detail into the visual of the scene, they are able to understand the direction the visuals will take.
4. Whilst this storyboard is also simple in the fact it uses stick figures, it uses arrows and labels to detail how the scene will pan out. This storyboard also uses panels of different sizes to show how the action within the scene changes - this is another option when storyboarding.
5. Another option when storyboarding is drawing incredibly detailed shots in order to clearly display how the visuals of the narrative will pan out. These drawings can also be continued outside of the box to display how the shots will continue and move - arrows are also used to show the direction of movements of both the characters and the cameras. Due to the increased visual detail, less detail is included in the descriptions.
6. Another option when storyboarding is an animated storyboard. This is another option which allows more detail to be displayed to give more of an idea how the visuals of the narrative will pan out. These animated scenes are accompanied by labels beneath them to detail the action.
I will use this research to inform the creation of my storyboard for the production of VET-MAN.
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