Storyboarding: a shot-by-shot visual aid for your film. I’d like to share how I create my storyboards
in preparation for my films, but first I want to explain why they are so
important to you and your crew.
DPs love storyboards because they immediately can see for
themselves what the director is going for visually, and they can see it early. This gives them time to think about it, make
suggestions, adjust, and perfect the director’s vision by adding their
own creative touch to it. They also may
have to add their practical touch as well: sometimes locations force shots to
be adjusted to fit the space, and these are just a few of the things they now
can start thinking about in advance.
This is a great thing! Now almost
everything can be hammered out in pre-production, which means it doesn’t
have to be hammered out on set! Time
on set is valuable and expensive, so by the time you’re in production, you want
just about everything firing on all cylinders before you begin.
Preparation is the main ingredient to a smooth and relaxed
set, and storyboards provide a ton of information for a ton of people you can’t
get from anywhere else. The 1st
assistant directors love them, as it helps them properly plan the whole day of
your shoot by working out the most efficient order to organize scenes, angles,
the tightness of the shot, and predicting all the lightning setups needed in a
day. Now they can provide the most well
prepared shooting schedule and shot list order possible. The storyboard also draws a map for your
script supervisor as he or she is getting familiar with continuity and the
script. Another department that will
benefit is the art department. They’ll
use it to properly prepare themselves for what props and set decoration they’ll
need to bring into each shot. My point
is, in my experience I’ve found that crews absolutely love storyboards. I haven’t had a complaint yet.
That said, I know a lot of people who don’t like to draw
storyboards. I get it: it’s a lot of
work and not everyone’s comfortable doing it.
For me personally, it’s actually one of my favorite parts of prep. It’s probably because I’ve doing it my whole
life.
As much fun as school is for a 9 year old (sarcasm off), I did
tend to get bored in class, and my mind would soon wander into
daydreaming. I’d
usually draw stories in my notebook instead of listening and I got in trouble all the time for it! My first form of creative writing basically
looked like horribly drawn comic books filled with talking heads and bubbled
dialogue. They spoke, threw punches,
jumped buildings, flew into the sky, and got the girl… I just kept the story
going, and going, until they became “sequels.” Then they became “issues,” then “double-sized
special editions”… I’m not kidding. When
I look back and read these, they actually look a lot more like storyboards than
comic books. In high school these stories
took the form of prose, then in college progressed into screenplays (at least
for me). If you’re a filmmaker or writer
you may have a similar story.
It’s only part of what you’re eventually going to
shoot. You have to capture everything mainly
because in the final edit, who knows what’s truly going to be off-screen?
What you picture can be changed based on performances, camera work, coverage,
mixing takes, and so much else.
Anyway, I honestly have no idea if other people do it my way
because I have always done my own storyboards, but the method I’m about to
explain really works for me. Hopefully
it can help you too. I don’t storyboard
an eventual completed version of what I plan to see as a final product. Instead, I account for all my options and
shots I’ll use, including reaction shots and alternate angles. OK, that may have not made much sense. Basically, my storyboards tend to line up better with a shot
list than a linear story. I'll
explain…
First, a quick disclaimer: I am not an artist at all, and my
drawings look almost the same as they did when I was 9 years old. That’s the best way I can prep you. It’s a type.
It’s a style. People on set were
“amazed” and “fascinated” by my storyboards.
I’m still not sure if I was being complimented or insulted! Either way, IT’S HOW I DRAW! So without further ado, here’s an example of my
chicken scratch/brilliance:
I think ahead and try to save time later, so I do my shot
list and storyboard simultaneously. Therefore,
I storyboard each shot for every scene. Here’s
an example of a typical two shot with coverage for two characters from “The
Fortune Maker.” Also note that I put the
starting and finishing dialogue in the description, along with some basic shot
and movement info.
I now clearly recognize that my handwriting is near
impossible to read (ha, and I was mentally preparing you for the artwork) but
this is all part of one scene. MS means
“medium shot,” MCU means “medium close-up,” and the dialogue begins with Tabitha
saying “I have another story…” and then ends with Madame Renee saying “…four
cards left.” Everything that happens in
between is what these panels represent.
Still referring to the example above, I don’t think a lot of
people do this, but I number these scenes (or partial scenes) and add letters
based on its variations. So #1A is a two
shot of Tabitha and Madame Renee. 1B is Tabitha’s
coverage, and 1C is Madame Renee’s coverage.
Sometimes opportunities I like to call “money shots” present
themselves. For example, if I want to do
a creative shot of someone dropping their coffee as an extreme low angle shot,
such as Rod did in “Lust Potion Number Who Cares,” I’d create a “money-shot” and
call it “1D.”
And finally, we also can’t forget “inserts.” Let’s say I want a close-up of my character
picking up his cup of coffee. Then I’d
add that as another letter to the shot list, “1E.”
Maybe I need even more shots here, and if I do, it just
continues. This may drive some people
mad on set, but once explained, I think it works really well. The good news? I’ve never gotten even close to “Z.”
The best thing about this is you can easily correlate the
shot from the storyboard to the shot list.
This method may take some extra time in prep, but I find it saves even
more time on set when I need it most.
Again, don’t forget to include your “money shots!" There isn’t one I put in the storyboard that
didn’t make The Hunter’s Anthology;
these are the shots that make your film interesting visually. Without it, the work comes out pretty
predictable and ordinary.
Storyboarding has been a very important tool for me when
prepping for a shoot. It helps the
entire process on set go smoother and keeps everyone (not just the DP) in the
know. I can’t imagine directing without
it.
