In depth | Film storyboards
4
DRAWING THE DETAILS
Once you have something you’re happy with in
terms of structure, you can start to work up more detail.
It’s important to realise, however, that these early drafts
will almost never make it to shooting. Storyboards are
merely a visual representation of ideas, so are always
subject to change at any stage of production.
7
A STYLE FOR ALL OCCASIONS
There are many styles of storyboard art, and
none are right or wrong – it’s just a case of what suits
the occasion. The frustration comes when frames you
like or consider the best at telling the story suddenly
get cut or have to be redrawn in two days! Often the
time at your disposal dictates how basic or refined the
panels are: when a 200-frame sequence needs to be
drawn in a day or so, the degree of finish must suffer...
6
MY CREATIVE PROCESS
Until recently I used to draw with
pencil or pen on plain paper, then scan
images in and cut and paste in Photoshop
to create page layouts. This meant I always
had an original image to work from. Now I
work straight into the computer on a Cintiq
in Photoshop to create a line drawing, often
on a layer over my original thumbnail with
simple tone laid on to give form and
atmosphere. I use Bridge, which enables
me to re-order individual frames quickly
before producing a page layout PDF. This
is useful when the film edit changes.5
IDEA OF COSTS
Producers use storyboards to help estimate
budgets. It’s easy to write “and the ship sank,” but until
you see how the director visualises that sinking you’ve
little idea of the cost. That’s where storyboards come in.
It’s the same with the art department, stunts, locations,
VFX and special FX. It’s when the feedback starts
coming in that the process of evolution takes over.
8
DO THE BEST YOU CAN
...and as a consequence I often end up hating my work. I see the
mistakes and inadequacies, the flaws in the rendering or possible gaps in the
storytelling brought about by input from other people and changes owing to
last-minute revisions. It’s sometimes hard to step back and let them go when
they have your name on them and are representative of what you do. There’s
no disclaimer on the page saying that the sequence was drawn in two days,
or that you were working on these panels into the small hours. They are what
they are, so try to exercise some quality control over all that you do.PRO SECRETS
A KEY ELEMENT
Storyboards are
often overlooked in
production art terms
because they’re
relatively simple
images drawn en
masse, but don’t
underestimate their
importance in
planning productions.
You’ll rarely – if ever- get it right first time,
so don’t beat yourself
up. Just look on any
changes as the next
step. And remember:
story, story, story!