Moving Images, Understanding Media

Chapter 1 Motion Picture Language 29

preparation stages for live action fi lms as well, and they are

used today by many fi lmmakers.

In a storyboard, the director or an illustrator creates a series

of sketches that show the planned shots for a motion picture.

Th ey are done in sequence just as they are envisioned in the

completed movie. Th e drawings can be very simple, using stick

fi gures and simple lines for backgrounds or important objects,

or they can be complex illustrations that show compositional

perspective and a signifi cant amount of detail.

Th ese preparations can be an invaluable help during

production. In particular, by having a plan, certain ideas can

be refl ected on in advance and confi dence can be built before

stepping into the shoot. Th e challenges to be faced on set will

not be completely unexpected, since these preparations have

forced the fi lmmakers to imagine shots ahead of time. As

a result, shot lists and storyboards can free up fi lmmakers

to devise spontaneous creative solutions when they are

necessary. Director Robert Wise, whose fi lms include Th e

Sound of Music (1965), Th e Haunting (1963), Th e Andromeda

Strain (1971), explains his fi rst use of storyboards for the

1949 boxing movie Th e Set-Up:

Ve r y o ft en you plan something in the offi ce and when it

gets on its feet with the actors on the set and gets started,

sometimes it just doesn’t want to play that way. Th e actors will

fi nd new things, new dimensions that you can’t anticipate. It’s only

through the doing, the playing of the scene that that happens. Th en

you have to be able to work what the actors develop into what you

planned or say, “Listen, that isn’t going to work. Let’s try and make

our move this way, or change the set up and go another way.” So

you have to be fl exible, but story boarding, and having a start, gives

you a good handle on how you approach the fi lm or what the feeling

is going to be and what the continuity and the look is going to be,

whether you change that within it or not.

Exploring Motion Picture Language

Motion pictures refl ect a diverse array of factors, including artistic goals

and concerns, traditions and cultures, history and contemporary events. In

turn, we are infl uenced by our own societies, backgrounds, and values. As

you watch movies in conjunction with the work of this text, it is important

to remember to keep an open mind and to make an eff ort to learn from the

movies you see. Typically, when we encounter new places and people in

life, we come to these new experiences with expectations and biases. It is

important to recognize our perspectives and see from a variety of vantage

points, including the contexts of the creative works we encounter.

Figure 1-38 Director Robert Wise looking

through a viewfi nder to set up a shot.

(Courtesy United Artists/Photofest).

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