logue is paced, unnecessary action skipped. A rhythm will be evident with the timing, but
the board includes surprises to break the pace. Establishing shots are held long enough for
the audience to take in the information. Viewers need time to absorb any important point.
Comedy is totally dependent on timing. Good board artists feel it with their gut. They set
the gag up and then...whack!
Pacing is important! Sometimes an artist draws on a paper with sixteen panels on it so
he can get a feel of the pacing and the use of shots as he’s boarding. Then he cuts out the
panels afterward and pastes them into the standard format that he uses. If the board is done
before the dialogue track is recorded, the artist may want to act out the action and read the
dialogue out loud to time it for a more accurate board.
Format
Many different formats are used for storyboards today. The size of the panels is stan-
dardized to fit the size of the screen that will be used. For films that will be shown in
cinemascope this aspect ratio is 2.35 : 1. For feature films or direct-to-video with a limited
theatrical release the aspect ratio is 1.85 : 1. For normal direct-to-video release and for
television the ratio is 1.33 : 1. And the ratio aspect for widescreen digital television is
1.78 : 1. In the United States there are two standard TV production storyboard formats: the
normal horizontal format and a vertical Asian format (Jackie Chan Adventures and
LowBrow). Some studios use two panels per page, especially on direct-to-videos; some use
three, four, or even more. Two or three seems to be the most common. Regardless of the
format used, a show formatted one way may also be seen another. Shots must work well
whether seen in either conventional or HDTV. DVDs may be seen on a TV or on a com-
puter. If the DVD is a feature, it may have started life on a wider screen.
Once sent overseas the storyboard panels are usually enlarged as they’re photocopied
so they can be used as the basis for the layout. Board artists never write or draw in the slug
areas of the board. The area in the storyboard panel itself is the area that is within the TV
cutoffline, the area that will be seen on TV. Actual layouts will extend beyond that.
Rough or Tight?
Just how sketchy and rough or tight and detailed the board is depends on the show and who
is doing the boards. Producer/directors or writers doing their own boards may draw more
loosely than staff board artists. Experience has shown that especially on shows that go over-
seas, the tighter the board and the more detail included, the better the finished product. Lack
of easy communication, especially when any communication must be done through a trans-
lator, can take a toll.
Labeling for Boards
The pages of a board are numbered at the bottom right corner in light blue or nonphoto-
copy blue when the first draft is turned in. An approved board gets numbered in graphite
Storyboard for Writers 169