Storyboard or Die!

A storyboard is a series of sketches depicting the composition of the various shots for your short film. The purpose of the storyboard is to communicate the look, specifically the camera angles and shot composition to the other crewmembers on the film project. The sketches can be anything from computer-generated images, to professionally drawn boards, to a series of stick figures and arrows. Storyboards are working tools so they can literally be anything as long as they communicate what needs to be done in terms of shooting.

As a director, storyboards serve as the first draft of your vision. These sketches take written words of the script or treatment and begin to translate them from the paper onto the screen. If your crew is to bring your vision to life, they need to be able to see along with you. Storyboards can do that.

To storyboard, start with a square or rectangle in the ratio of the picture frame. Start at the beginning of the script, and work your way through. Show the key frames of action. Show the composition of shots, particularly anything out of the norm. Indicate any camera movememt with arrows. Use the space below the picture to describe the shot. There are many sources online with storyboarding templates or simply draw it.

Storyboards help the director to organize his/her thoughts and camera and movements to clarify exactly what is needed. A good board helps the director to think through the sequencing and transitions to make sure the shooting script has no holes or awkwared transition from scene to scene. In this sense, the boards serve as a rough pre-edit. It is a risk tool to make sure the script makes sense and sequences well while still early enough in the project to make adjustments and corrections.

The most practical reason we storyboard is to communicate what the director needs so that others can execute it. Producers, assistant directors and DP’s need to plan on spacing and equipment & crew needs and the storyboard illustrates exactly what the director wants. With these sketches, crew can begin to plan their portion of the film project, acquire the equipment, tools and manpower to make it happen.

Storyboards are vital if you wish to execute your project in a timely, cost effective manner (and we know you are broke, so that is important).