Using Storyboards to Demonstrate Scene Action
Storyboarding Tips to Help Your Crew Visualize Shots
Jun 15, 2009
One of the things that separate 'good' directors from 'great' ones is the ability to visualize the scenes and shots of their movie before they even shoot the first take. Cast and crew appreciate this ability in a director because it means the director won't waste a lot of time on takes that will never end up in the movie. If a director knows what he or she wants to shoot, it also helps immensely in communicating their needs effectively to the cast and crew- another hallmark of a professional director.
One way that is used extensively in the film industry to visualize scenes is to storyboard them. Typically, straightforward scenes such as a simple exchange of dialog between two characters will not need storyboarding. Complicated or action-packed scenes on the other hand, will often need extensive storyboarding in order to ensure that all the required shots have been gotten, and also in order to effectively communicate the scene to everyone else on the set.
The good news is that you don't need to be a world-class artist in order to produce storyboards for your movie. Depending on your needs, here are three methods to get your vision across using storyboards.
Quick and Dirty Storyboarding
If the only thing you can draw is a stick figure, this is the method for you. This method is great for a quick discussion on the set when you need to convey what you want a shot to look like. Draw a square on a piece of paper... It doesn't have to be perfect. Now ask yourself, are you talking about a wide shot, a medium shot, a close-up, or a 'specialized' shot (such as an extreme close-up, or a shot from an unusual angle)? Now draw the character(s) in the box at the proper height for the shot you're looking for. Remember, just make them stick-figures- you only need to be able to convey where the characters are on the screen and how big they will be in the shot.
Next ask yourself if there will be motion in the shot. What kind? Will the characters move? Will the camera move? Both? Draw a second box and sketch how you want the shot to look when you cut the shot. Again, keep it simple, don't try to draw everything in your shot- just the items that will be moving, and the camera movement.. Don't look now, but you've just expressed visually how you want your shot to look.
Complicated but More Complete Storyboards
If you want to convey a more complete idea of the scene, you'll want to start off with squares that are the proper size to the aspect ratio that you are filming in. You'll need a bit of math if you want to draw these boxes by hand, or you can use one of several storyboarding software packages that are available and will do the 'heavy lifting' for you. The procedure is the same as outlined above- draw how you want the shot to look like at the beginning, then draw how you want the shot to look like at the end. Using a properly sized box has the advantage of being able to get a surprisingly accurate idea of what
Very Complicated, Very Complete
Unless you have the budget and time to extensively map out your action scenes ahead of your shoot, you probably won't find yourself in a position to be able to 'pre-visualize' (also referred to as 'pre-vis') your shots. Pre-visualization involves the use of software packages such as Storyboard Quick or FrameForge 3D, and has the advantage of being able to show the timings necessary for a shot or scene in addition to showing position and motion of the characters and the camera.
Conclusion
Depending on the complexity of the shots you hope to get, or the action in your sequences, you may find that using some form of storyboarding eliminates much of the guesswork for your crew and enables you to get your shots done more quickly because you don't have to talk about your shots with your crew as frequently, or as extensively.
