Anyone use a storyboard for their video work?

[Lakisalayaw1970]

Anyone here use a storyboard for their video work? What's it like? Do you do it on paper or on the computer? Both?

[wershwie]

Hi!

A storyboard looks something like a comic strip series. It's basically used to show the overall look and treatment of your video (i.e. framing of shots, location, etc.). It's a requirement for most video productions during preprod so everyone working on the video will know how it's supposed to look like and which part they're already working on (during shoots).

Most of the time storyboards are drawn. Some take stills of the shots they "envision" and put them together to complete a storyboard.

Hmmm... Think of it this way: you know the film strips from a movie's reel? Imagine having contact prints of those. (Yikes, andami! Ahaha :P) Cut one frame out after every, say, 1000 frames. Then paste them on a sheet of paper in chronological order. If you look at them, you'll see the development of the story, the composition of the shots, the set design, etc. Someone drew that as the storyboard way before the movie was actually filmed, and it served as a guide for the whole production team in making the movie.

So there. HTH! :cheers:

- leslie -

[Edited on 6-16-2005 by wershwie]

[cannondale]

i do, i draw it on paper first then render it on the computer. its kinda tricky, you need to visualize a lot of things like angles, backgrounds stuffs like that.

[Adel]

I use something called Directors Notebook, but there is an excellent alternative that's much simpler to use and very easy to learn. It's called Directors Boards, and the best part is that there's a free version.

You can find out more about it and download it from here. (20+ mb nga lang!)

[super_ed]

Originally posted by Adel
I use something called Directors Notebook, but there is an excellent alternative that's much simpler to use and very easy to learn. It's called Directors Boards, and the best part is that there's a free version.

You can find out more about it and download it from here. (20+ mb nga lang!)

nice Sir Adel,

been looking for this. though i am used to doing storyboards way back in the atelier, its just so hard to do it on paper nowadays .. gadget dependent na eh

[Lakisalayaw1970]

I've used Final Draft AV2 before as a simple screenplay format.

I've already downloaded and installed Director's Notebook.

I've already finished shooting.

It's just the getting down to the nitty gritty of editing that is slowing me down.

I had 6 interviewees answer the same dozen or so questions. What struck me most was the similarity in a couple of answers.

These interviewees were about 6 to 7 years old during the Japanese occupation.

Some of their answers were so difficult to accept. The horrible conditions were unbelievable to point that you feel it's better to just forget.

Anyway the purpose of the project is to distribute it to their descendants. I see this as a service, a history lesson.

I figure I might have some of their answers as voiceovers- I have some pictures that I took of some Philippine WWII memorials that would work well I think.

[carlo ledesma]

I don't enjoy storyboarding simply because I can't draw, but I find it's essential to any shoot I do. Drawing a sequence of shots allows me to plot out my shoot sched as well as let the actors get an idea of what it is I'm trying to achieve. It also saves time and money on the actual shooting day because you enter the location knowing what you want.

That said, you also should allow for improvs and welcome "happy mistakes" that could occur during a shoot, because sometimes the best moments are the ones you don't plan.

[dirob]

I'm downloading Director's Board as I'm posting this reply thanks ya'll for the head's up on this!

It seems like a lot of people have filled you in on storyboards already. From the ones just drawn, to those drawn then scanned for inking and coloring for computer output, there are other forms too. Photomatics use existing shots ripped off from well-wherever you find the pictures, and there are the animatics (rip-o-matic's) which are in essence your drawn or existing photos edited in sequence within the time frame of your final material.

Storyboards aren't always required for film/video production and can sometimes be detrimental to the project or a waste of time and resources. There are instances in production that lend themselves well to having a storyboard-like to plot out action sequences, complicated camera movements, narrative dialogue sequencing, or dramatic curves. From what you're doing, it seems to be a documentary and in my experience docu's rely less on storyboards and more to a well developed outline to your narrative to piece and thread all your materials into a nice and tight package.

Good luck with your project it really sounds interesting, being a history buff myself!

[Lakisalayaw1970]

Originally posted by dirob
Good luck with your project it really sounds interesting, being a history buff myself!

Thank you. Right now I'm basically stuck. I shot the interviews and I have them now as DV files.

In the past I made a short film using a screenplay but no storyboard. I basically
changed the screenplay into an A/V format and used archived footage. Basically
dubbed narration. It was a monologue.

So now I'm stuck. My workflow, it was suggeted to me, should be screenplay or A/V format then to storyboard, then the actual shoot. :laugh:

I'm in a rowboat full of holes and I'm trying to plug all the leaks springing up.
I would like to get this finished before my nieces, nephews and cousins finish their summer vacation.


I need to get to work. Between enjoying my summer, showing up for my job, working out and seeing friends- I'm totally wiped out.

[Edited on 7.9.05 by Lakisalayaw1970]

[direkyey]

As a director of TV commercials, I use two kinds of storyboards. The first is the client approved storyboard from the ad agency which I am expected to add value to and the second is the director's board which I use to determine a lot of technical stuff like camera angles, movement, type of lighting equipment to be used, etc.

I still prefer the drawn director's boards since I can dictate the emotions of the characters that I would need. Photoboards are also ok just as long as you can find people that are willing to be shot for free aand sets that will be very similar with the requirements of the TVC. The only thing with photo boards is that, I noticed, that clients seem to take it too literally that, if approved, you are not given enough freedom during the shoot. They seem to stick to the board too much.

There is a whole industry in storyboarding. There are about 5 names that make a living out of it. A 30 seconder board goes for P15-18K nowadays and 15's at about P12K. If you get to do about 10 boards in a month you make more than a P100K. Not bad, no?