MAIS 620: Storyboarding a Script

1. Storyboarding A Script
Carolyn Guertin
MAIS 620: Digital Storytelling
Nov 2014

2. Visual storytelling is a very old art form

3. Most cultures have visual storytelling traditions that
resemble nothing so much as comics

4. The main purpose of a
storyboard is to
convey the narrative
flow by defining the
challenges and
problems of a project
through visual and
technical information.

5. Storyboards are used in advertising campaigns, video games, television
series, multimedia CD-ROMs, interactive programming, web design and
industrial and government videos.

6. The first modern storyboard was invented
by Walt Disney for The Three Little Pigs

7. Why use
storyboards?

8. Storyboards are
efficient. They save
time and money.
They are essential
for achieving
complexity or
intricate special
effects.

9. “You storyboard everything because you want to think
about how you’re going to shoot the movie before you
actually shoot it. I mean, it seems self-evident”
~ Ethan Coen, Director, No Country for Old Men, The Man Who Wasn’t There,
The Big Lebowski, Fargo, Blood Simple, etc.

10. A STORYBOARD
CAPTURES A
FILM SHOT BY
SHOT, INCLUDING
CAMERA ANGLES
AND CAMERA
MOVEMENTS

11. What’s the difference between
scenes and shots?

12. The most basic unit of film production is the shot,
a continuous view filmed from one perspective.
• Think of it this way: any time the camera is
turned on, films something, and then is turned
off, that is a shot.
• If the camera set up is changed to show a
different viewpoint, this constitutes a new
shot.

14. • Scenes are a
combination of
shots of the
action that takes
place in one
location or
setting.
• All screenplays
are also made up
of sequences, a
combination of
several scenes.

15. STEPS TO MAKING A MOVIE

16. 1. The Idea
Begin with an idea. C.S. Lewis, when he was 16, had an image
of a faun with an umbrella in a snowy wood come into his head.
Many years later that became the seed for his novel The Lion,
The Witch and the Wardrobe.

17. 2. Concept Art and Design
Rudolph and Hermie Robbie The Reindeer
Translate your idea into visuals. Your characters, backgrounds,
props, etc. will keep changing until you arrive at a design that
works perfectly. Design is an evolutionary process.

18. 3. Storyboarding
Your script and final design should be blocked out in a series of
frames--like a comic--to help you plan how you will present your
story. The strength of your final production will rest on this
foundation.

19. 4. Build or Assemble Materials
Get everything ready before you begin filming. Do you need
props or sets? Do you have to make arrangements for lighting?

20. 5. Filming
With the sets and materials ready to go, set up your camera and
lights for each shot. It will probably take you a few takes to get a
scene right.

21. Why storyboard?
The average feature length
production has 1,200 shots.

22. Shot set-ups are
determined by
different factors.
One is to capture
the best viewpoint
on the action -- best
means both visually
stimulating and
easy-to-follow.
Mood is also a
determining factor.

23. Framing • The frame in
storyboards and
comics is the
equivalent of
camera angles in
film
• Extreme close-ups
produce very
different moods and
effects from long
shots, for instance

24. Framing heights
have a big
impact on the
mood and
meaning of a
shot

25. It is important to remember
that the camera
(represented by framing on
your storyboard) has its
own perspective.
In fact, the camera can
occupy three different
points of view.

26. The objective shot. The camera is in a
neutral position. The audience does not take
the position of any of the characters.
Used in documentaries, sitcoms, interviews.

27. The point of view
shot. The camera
occupies the
perspective of a
particular character.
It increases
audience
involvement.

28. The subjective shot. The
most personal and
interactive shot. The
camera trades places with
an on-screen character,
seeing the action through
the character’s eyes.
Often used in videogames
(first-person-shooter)
where we become the
character or comes into
play when the character
looks in the lens and
addresses ‘us’.

29. How to storyboard?

30. Camera Angles

31. Framing : Long Shot
• Camera shots are
identified by how much
of an average-sized
person or persons are
included. A long shot
shows at least the entire
figure with enough
space at the top and
bottom of the frame so
that the people do not
appear cramped.
David Beckham for Disney

32. Framing: Medium Shot
• shows a person from the waist to above the head.

33. Framing:
Close-Up
• shows head
and shoulders

34. Framing:
Extreme
Close-Up
• An extreme
close-up
isolates only
a portion of
the head and
is used for
dramatic
visual impact.

35. Framing: Eye-Level
We see the world from our normal perspective as if we were
in the scene

36. Framing: Low-Level
• Changing your vantage point means taking another point of view or seeing
from a different perspective. From this low angle, the figure in the foreground
is always dominant.
• In Citizen Kane, Kane’s power is often underlined through the use of low-level
camera angles.

37. Framing: Extreme Low-Angle
• For a dramatically different angle, we can also look up at our
subjects
• This angle encodes power usually (powerful or threatening figures
or people we respect). See how Spiderman’s internal turmoil is
reflected in the camera shot.

38. Framing: High-Angle
• In this dramatic shot, the camera is looking down in a scene in
which a conversation overheard from the top of the stairs is central
to the plot. It acquires heightened drama in The Little Foxes when
interspersed with Low-Angle reaction shots.
High-Angle Low-Angle

39. Framing:
Extreme High Angle
(Bird’s Eye View)
• A high vantage point
provides what is known
as a bird's eye view.
• The camera emphasizes
the speed, force and
angle of the attack while
keeping the identity of
the attacker a secret in
this scene from Psycho.
• It can increase dramatic
tension and underline
the powerlessness of
the subject

40. Framing: Dutch or Oblique Angle
• Extreme cant or off-kilter
angle makes
the world seem
weird, dangerous,
as in the asylum
scenes in
Twelve Monkeys

41. Camera Motions
Even slight motions of the
camera has a dramatic
effect on your filming
Advanced tutorial (optional):
How to Create Emotion with
Camera Movements
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P3oxjnFr0c

43. https://vimeo.com/1461280

44. And last but not least
THE RULE OF THIRDS
HTTPS://VIMEO.COM/14315821