Storyboarding
How storyboards are used for pre-production and planning in different contexts
A storyboard is a production of actions and time throughout, it shows the different locations and characters, it is a arrangement of drawings, with annotations, directions and dialogue.
What we use storyboards for
Television.
Films.
Documentaries.
Video Shorts.
Music Videos.
Animation.
Games Design.
Storyboards in...
Television
Storyboards in television are very similar to storyboards in films yet they aren't as detailed and therefore that shows the differences, In television storyboards use mainly pictures just to show the shots.
Films
Documentaries
Video Shorts
Music Videos
Animation
Games Design
Differences between each storyboard
There are many differences in storyboards for example.
In a game storyboard, the main aspect is where the character moves, if the character does not match where it's meant to go then the game has a fault, which is why the developers use storyboards to predict where the character is going to be needed to go, this is different to the others as, in a music video, it is all about showing the story of the song and that it all matches up. In a film storyboard their has to be continuity and making sure the story makes sense and gives the right genre feel for the audience and to also see problems which may occur in the making of the film, which is why making a storyboard is so important for films to be successful and to help the production.
How it works : Storyboards
In this picture I have circled each important section.
Production Name - This just means what the name of the product of film is called.
Scene No. - A scene in a film means there are a series of acts involved. Scene No just shows what scene the storyboard is currently on.
Page - Just shows what page of storyboard it is, helps keep everything in order.
Panel Number - Means how many boxes are going to presented for a shot in a scene.
Sound/Time - Establishment of how long a sound will be played for and what sound.
Action - States what is happening in the scene, breakdown of the visuals.
Dialogue - What dialogue is going on in the scene and what each character is saying.
Explore Storyboard skills for production purposes
Breakdown of a storyboard
Animatics
An Animatic is an animated storyboard which is put into an editing software which is then cut together using the correct timing and pace of the film, they include the basic sound effects also containing the dialogue recordings.
Shot Descriptions
This area of the storyboard contains the information about what needs to be captured in the shot especially anything that is to difficult to explain into a single sketch. Descriptions can explain how long the shot will be and it can insure that long segments are long enough and during the editing it can help determine which sections need to be shortened. The camera shots is where you write down the type of shot you want in a segment and this can include the camera angles if you want to have an aerial shot or an eye level angle shot.
Sounds in Storyboards
When recording shots for a film there will always be sounds recorded from the camera, unless it's an external microphone then this should be written down on the storyboard so then there will be an indicating to when you should add the sounds. There should be note when using background sounds or a secondary effect, sounds and noise that is not needed has to be noted as well but if its required for a scenario for example a football field then the ambient noise should be added.
Secondary Sounds
If secondary sounds or effects has to be added then the info should be noted down on the storyboard, if a shot needs a voice over, sounds effects or an audio track this would be an example.
Terms in Storyboards
Short Terms for Camera Shots
Aerial Shot - AS
Close Up - CU
Medium Shot - MS
Medium Close Up - MCU
Long Shot - LS
Cowboy Shot - CS
Extreme Close Up - XCU
Establishing Shot - ES