Workshops
10
SET UP THE SEQUENCE
The discipline is based on composing shots that
are aesthetically interesting and convey information. If
shots clash with other shots then a sequence becomes
disjointed and the story grows difficult to follow. Shots
must work together to guide the audience.14
GET IN CLOSE
Close-ups help show emotion and build tension.
Shots of the face, the eyes, the way a hand moves or
fingers twitching all give us important information
about the characters in the shot. The audience will
know how they’re feeling and how they may react.9
DRAWING FOR CAMERA
Composition is a fundamental part of storyboarding, but this isn’t as easy
as it might first appear: there are several things that have to be considered.
What’s the information I need to convey? Is it geography, atmosphere, action,
movement or emotion? All of these things influence the way the panel is drawn
and where the camera is placed to shoot the picture.
13
WORK HIGH AND LOW
The height and angle from which we view any action can go a long way
to creating atmosphere and building tension. If the camera is low the audience
feels vulnerable and everything else in shot looks threatening. Conversely, if it’s
high we’re looking down on everything, which gives strength to a point of view
and has the effect of making objects in shot look smaller and therefore weaker.11
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Wide shots help to set the scene. They give the audience
a mass of information in a short space of time: the location,
where things are in relation to one another, the time of day,
and so on. These are the broad strokes, and once they’re in
place we can work on fleshing the story out in greater detail.
12
WHO’S DOING WHAT?
Establishing direction is vital. If we see our hero
moving right to left then we must retain that direction
of travel until we can cut out to show a change, either
by cutting to a head-on or angle from directly behind
or by moving the camera, tracking around the figure.