Picture stories are easily accessible, crossing time, cultural and language barriers. In cave paintings we see images an artist made of himself hunting animals for food, some with multiple legs to indicate movement; these are images derived from action and a desire for understanding, the artist and painting were revered.
Papyrus scrolls like the Egyptian Book Of The Dead (circa 1500 BC) are an example of an 'illustrated manuscript', the earliest being a fragment of Homer’s Iliad, in the Ambrosian Library of Milan. In 1067, the 230 foot long hand-embroidered Bayeux Tapestry represented the Norman Conquest of England in a detailed pictorial narrative.
ART TEACHES US: Drawing teaches us to see, music teaches us to move, architecture answers our need to protect ourselves. Great cathedrals, museums and galleries have been built to house the visual record of our history, creating spaces of visual and textual information, all of them attempting to answer questions about reality and existence.
Yet now we live in a time of technological and spiritual crisis, when even the truth we see with our eyes may be false.
Louis and Auguste Lumière were pioneers of film in 1895, exploring the technical attributes of the camera and its artistic possibilities, creating a dialogue of REALISM that has been a crux of cinema as distinct from the fantastic film tradition of Georges Mélièrs. The first experiments by Louis Lumière showed everyday events. His silent film The Arrival of a Train at the Station (1895) showed a train arriving diagonally across the screen, causing panic in the audience.
“Not only does it enable us to capture movement in its various stages, but we can recompose it at will, since the crank is hand-operated. Motions can be slow, very slow if we wish, so that no detail escapes our attention; and then, subsequently, we can accelerate it, should we so desire, back to normal speed. We shall then possess absolutely perfect reproduction of real movement.”
Louis Lumière, The Cinematograph, La Nature, 12 October 1895. In Auguste and Louis Lumière. (Jacques Rittaud-Hutinet, ed.) Letters. London: Faber and Faber, 1995. p.302.
NIGHTMARES, DADA and POP CULTURE: In 1915 the poet Apollinaire created Graphemes, visual representations of objects and ideas made out of words, written in the shape of the things they spoke of. In the 1930’s anti-Nazi Superman comics hit America while Dadaists like Max Ernst and Marcel Duchamp were involved in a subconscious, transfigurative visual alchemy, creating 3D metaphorical images that correspond with modern ideas of an information space.
On October 30th 1938, a Mercury Theatre radio show, orchestrated by Orson Welles and based on H.G. Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds (1898), convinced over a million Americans that an actual Martian attack was taking place in New Jersey. The actor Frank Readick, who played 'reporter-on-the-scene' Carl Phillips, based his emotional tone on the broadcast account of the Hindenburg Airship disaster, causing mass hysteria and an actual 'Martian-Hunt'. The success of this 'reality' radio-play was the reason RKO films granted Orson Welles total creative control over his first motion picture Citizen Kane, which itself revolutionised the art of visual storytelling.
At the same time, photographer Arthur Fellig, (a.k.a. Weegee, the phonetic spelling of Ouija board, so nicknamed for his 'psychic' ability to be at a crime scene before the police). He had a darkroom in the boot of his car and used flashbulbs to capture grim images of murder and mayhem in New York. He sometimes arranged evidence to make his pictures more saleable, and his work had a strong influence on crime films of the period, later to be called 'Film Noir' by the French new wave in the 1950's.
Also in the 50’s, Abstract artists like De Kooning, Rothko and Pollock dispensed with traditional representation, while 1960’s Pop artists like Warhol, Lichtenstein and Rauschenberg began to 'acquire/explode' commercial imagery from newspapers and comics, reproducing multiple artworks with photographic and screen-printing techniques. In literature, the anti-authoritarian text terrorist William S. Burroughs worked to advance freedom of thought, his 'cut-ups' allowing multiple perspectives and intersection points. They originated in 1959 when his partner Bryon Gysin accidentally cut through the columns of a newspaper, making holes in the text, creating the first hypertextual poetry and rearranging meaning as collage.
"Scrapbooks are such stuff as dreams are made of. Fill in a page in time, glue in a letter or a news clipping from an old town, add a photo, then record the scrapbook’s opening times and locales. They make us aware of what we know, and also what we do not know that we know. Word begets image and image is virus. Get it out of your mind and into the machines."
William S. Burroughs
TODAY: All stories and art forms play on our emotions and deliver meaning. Digital media presents a revolutionary art form that draws on all previous mediums, creating powerful new hybrids like online gaming and immersive cinema, ideally designed to nurture, protect and entertain us in the modern 'information' age. As chaos theory and fractal geometry illustrate our minds connection to the Sub-atomic/Cosmic universe, the electricity inside a computer can extend the electrical systems inside the human mind. So now the content of our stories and artwork can transcend entertainment and education, exploding preconceptions of character, narrative, subject and genre.
Words and images are everywhere, and still the metaphorical associations of the artist are what we all need to help us understand what we are experiencing. Interactivity has the potential to expand the limits of our understanding, but it is extremely complicated to plan.
Anything goes in cyberspace; not everything should be permitted, but anything is possible.
With practice, actual human interaction using computers can become an instinctive, organic response in real time, potentially offering unlimited possibilities to aid our everyday lives – from chat rooms, to a child learning the alphabet, or an elderly person shopping for a wheelchair. No matter how mundane, these activities should always offer a memorable experience for the user.
“In times of radical change, it’s the mutants that make the difference."
from Viva Zapata, a 24 hour action by electronic disturbance theatre Floodnet.com
COLLAGE (CUT UP, FOLD OUT & POP OVER) TECHNIQUES: We’ve all experienced assemblage and collage as art or in a kid's scrapbook, but when applied to research and development collage can convey an extraordinary range of information. Since the subject matter of storyboards (especially in multimedia) can be derived from any previous media, how do we best describe the planning and construction of a proposed presentation?
Collage has many uses in this process, and creative directors in advertising agencies use tear sheets (relevant pages torn from magazines as basic reference for a proposed job) to construct simple style guides to reinforce their preliminary planning notes. From these abstract beginnings, storyboards, timelines, flowcharts and the organisation of multimedia assets can be represented as pages, slide shows, or prototype interactive storyboards. Selection of materials and activities should always be in keeping with the subject, or it may disturb your clients.
In multimedia, writers should be 'visionary', even if they are not artists. They must write about what the audience is SEEING, FEELING, HEARING, etc; then let trained artists do the storyboards.
Showing posts with label PART 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PART 2. Show all posts
Monday, July 21, 2008
CONCEPT DESIGN & STYLE GUIDES:
Referenced, sketched, painted or photographed, this support material is developed in discussion with clients, producers, writers and programmers.
CONCEPT DESIGNS consist of rough preliminary sketches of ideas, with many variations - to be selected and developed into exact illustrations, technical drawings, models/marquettes of all the characters, environments, architecture, props and costumes involved in the presentation.
STYLE GUIDES are the concept designs and other examples chosen to produce a consistent development environment, making all of the presentation's elements inter-relate. Ultimately, style guides are what remain once the designs have been finally culled and selected. Commonly called the BIBLE, these preliminary examples are most likely the result of weeks, if not months, of experimentation and research, with hundreds of development drawings and examples being collected and rejected.
Style guides should be established for everything that the audience sees, so that the storyboards can be made to accurately represent the look of the presentation.
STYLE GUIDES FOR MULTIMEDIA NAVIGATION are used to control the way the different interactive elements will look and behave. For web-pages, the style guide usually includes screen layouts, borders, tools, colour and texture selections. The best way to ensure a smooth visual flow is to be consistent with the interface design; e.g. the image size and framing formats (landscape or portrait), uniform typography, palettes, graphics, characters and navigation metaphors.
Controlled graphics are very important; multimedia works better when the designer doesn’t use too many 'alternatives'. In market research, once audiences become familiar with a process of navigation they have no trouble following it, but a sudden change in navigational methods often confuses them. This points to the need for a consistent metaphor in any application. Use methods that appeal to an audience, taking care they convey a mood that suits the content.
Sometimes, developing innovative storylines or navigation methods can be aided by the early input of the programmers and writers working with an insightful visualizer.
BEWARE: An unconventional element may detract from the actual content and purpose of the application. The audience wants to navigate with the utmost ease, so avoid distracting them from the visual flow.
Navigation Style Guides usually display:
• Placement of logos and other graphic elements.
• The navigation indicators.
• Embedded file information.
• Standardized development tools.
• All the final concept designs for the presentation.
These design cornerstones enable your audience to expect certain types of behaviour and data formations within an interface. This expectation of predictability reduces the amount of time it takes them to navigate and feel comfortable with the interface.
Before you develop multiple pages and start stacking files, identify the components of the process in the flowcharts, including what editors, filters, and directory structures will be used. By standardizing the way files and contents are structured, the pages will most likely begin to look the same anyway.
When designing 3D GAMING ENVIRONMENTS, foundation material is used in a similar way to the STYLE SHEETS used in traditional animation productions. This area of development extends to defining the proportions of architectural shapes for CGI, scripting gaming elements or a video shoot, establishing certain 'signature' filters and effects, theme music and sound designs.
In complex 3D gaming, STYLE GUIDE material is collected and cross-referenced in catalogues that are used to maintain the parameters of the interface during production. Once established, style guides assist the writer's and designer's communication with other members of the development team.
They detail the visual parameters of all the characters, costumes, props, interior and exterior settings, drawn from different angles as basic technical XYZ elevations, while also rendered in full-colour by very talented artists, in three-quarter view, with differing positions and changed lighting effects.
They help to apply uniform conventions to the presentation, perhaps introducing new types of visual communication to the audience. Guides are indispensable to the programmers, reinforcing stylistic consistency in the creation of expensive CGI elements and navigation tools.
Before storyboarding starts the artist must know exactly what is expected from moment to moment; what’s 'going on the screen' for the audience to see and hear, manipulate and learn from.
These moments could be static tableaux, high points of action, important locations, featured information events and navigation metaphors, or anything vital to the flow of information.
Extensive creative research and development should be carried out in the CONCEPT DESIGN & STYLE GUIDES forms before any final storyboarding work begins.
CONCEPT DESIGNS consist of rough preliminary sketches of ideas, with many variations - to be selected and developed into exact illustrations, technical drawings, models/marquettes of all the characters, environments, architecture, props and costumes involved in the presentation.
STYLE GUIDES are the concept designs and other examples chosen to produce a consistent development environment, making all of the presentation's elements inter-relate. Ultimately, style guides are what remain once the designs have been finally culled and selected. Commonly called the BIBLE, these preliminary examples are most likely the result of weeks, if not months, of experimentation and research, with hundreds of development drawings and examples being collected and rejected.
Style guides should be established for everything that the audience sees, so that the storyboards can be made to accurately represent the look of the presentation.
STYLE GUIDES FOR MULTIMEDIA NAVIGATION are used to control the way the different interactive elements will look and behave. For web-pages, the style guide usually includes screen layouts, borders, tools, colour and texture selections. The best way to ensure a smooth visual flow is to be consistent with the interface design; e.g. the image size and framing formats (landscape or portrait), uniform typography, palettes, graphics, characters and navigation metaphors.
Controlled graphics are very important; multimedia works better when the designer doesn’t use too many 'alternatives'. In market research, once audiences become familiar with a process of navigation they have no trouble following it, but a sudden change in navigational methods often confuses them. This points to the need for a consistent metaphor in any application. Use methods that appeal to an audience, taking care they convey a mood that suits the content.
Sometimes, developing innovative storylines or navigation methods can be aided by the early input of the programmers and writers working with an insightful visualizer.
BEWARE: An unconventional element may detract from the actual content and purpose of the application. The audience wants to navigate with the utmost ease, so avoid distracting them from the visual flow.
Navigation Style Guides usually display:
• Placement of logos and other graphic elements.
• The navigation indicators.
• Embedded file information.
• Standardized development tools.
• All the final concept designs for the presentation.
These design cornerstones enable your audience to expect certain types of behaviour and data formations within an interface. This expectation of predictability reduces the amount of time it takes them to navigate and feel comfortable with the interface.
Before you develop multiple pages and start stacking files, identify the components of the process in the flowcharts, including what editors, filters, and directory structures will be used. By standardizing the way files and contents are structured, the pages will most likely begin to look the same anyway.
When designing 3D GAMING ENVIRONMENTS, foundation material is used in a similar way to the STYLE SHEETS used in traditional animation productions. This area of development extends to defining the proportions of architectural shapes for CGI, scripting gaming elements or a video shoot, establishing certain 'signature' filters and effects, theme music and sound designs.
In complex 3D gaming, STYLE GUIDE material is collected and cross-referenced in catalogues that are used to maintain the parameters of the interface during production. Once established, style guides assist the writer's and designer's communication with other members of the development team.
They detail the visual parameters of all the characters, costumes, props, interior and exterior settings, drawn from different angles as basic technical XYZ elevations, while also rendered in full-colour by very talented artists, in three-quarter view, with differing positions and changed lighting effects.
They help to apply uniform conventions to the presentation, perhaps introducing new types of visual communication to the audience. Guides are indispensable to the programmers, reinforcing stylistic consistency in the creation of expensive CGI elements and navigation tools.
Before storyboarding starts the artist must know exactly what is expected from moment to moment; what’s 'going on the screen' for the audience to see and hear, manipulate and learn from.
These moments could be static tableaux, high points of action, important locations, featured information events and navigation metaphors, or anything vital to the flow of information.
Extensive creative research and development should be carried out in the CONCEPT DESIGN & STYLE GUIDES forms before any final storyboarding work begins.
STORYBOARDS:
Some early examples of film animation are Felix the Cat (1914) by Felix Messmer, Winsor McKay's Gertie the Dinosaur (1915) and the Ub Iwerks films (1929); these artists established planning methods that are still used today. The most creative and demanding aspect of project development, storyboards were first used as a CROSS-MEDIA DESIGN TOOL by Disney Studios in 1936, during the making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
These storyboards were drawn and used to plan the camera shots for live-action footage of dancers. Later, animators would 'Rotoscope' the dancers into cartoon characters, combining them with traditional cel-animation techniques. This enhanced the realistic movement of Snow White and her Prince Charming as they interacted with Grumpy, Dopey, et al.
Storyboarding is what writers, artists and designers do before the animators, programmers or camera crews begin to work. Extending from the work done in scriptwriting, the storyboard can be used to help determine the internal logic of all the elements of a film before production begins. With this method of multimedia scripting, the development team can plan activities for characters, computer users and production teams, designing and testing the appearance and effectiveness of the complete product.
Storyboarding is a complex form of collage, a 'scrapbook' that is organised into a linear 'story-telling' form, a way of representing moments in time and space that deliver dramatic meaning. There are distinct differences between designing film storyboards, web-page storyboards and those for gaming environments, due to the kinds of movement involved, but they all look similar hanging on the wall.
More broadly, storyboards can be a compilation of any visual material (drawings, sculptures, products, photographs, directional pointers) and text (activity descriptions, dialogue, copy or script notes, character and camera directions). For multimedia applications, each frame should include detailed notes about the different interactive elements, navigation methods and transitions involved.
Through a series of images and labels, the storyboard frames show all the key moments of the presentation, describing the content and sequence of each scene, moment to moment, capturing the first impression of the presentation’s visual impact.
They must include written details about subject and composition, movements, illumination, lenses, sounds and transitions, the pace of scenes and any other elements of dramatic timing and interaction. The scale or length of storyboards is dependent on the type of presentation it describes; in multimedia they include navigation methods, the interactivity available and any other elements involved.
For 3D GAMING ENVIRONMENTS, artists should indicate moving TRANSITIONS in their sketches, showing how much background is seen in each frame as we move through the 360˚ world. If the user/character is offered a choice of any kind, a NARRATIVE PLOT-POINT or TRANSTIONAL INTERSECTION occurs, causing a branching in the storyboard, creating an optional activity.
The PLOT-POINTS and INTERSECTIONS found in multimedia and 3D gaming flowcharts are reflected in the very complex, lateral tangents that appear as the storyboards develop. Interactive elements need to be properly sequenced to create a smooth, unified application. This is recorded in the script and/or flowcharts first, then we see it all MOVING in the storyboards.
When storyboarding these plot-points or intersections, the 'travelling' transitions can become a convoluted maze of scenes and sequences, so very detailed descriptions need to be kept in the corresponding LABELS. In gaming design, these labeling systems become extremely complicated, requiring reference manuals of their own, but these details are very important to programmers; they should all be noted in the flowcharts before storyboard work starts.
VISUAL STYLE has little to do with the effectiveness of a visually told story. When images are in the context of a convincing, compelling and dynamic story, the audience will be drawn in.
The violent world of Scarface (1983) is directed by Brian De Palma for maximum realism. In contrast, the Baz Luhrmann musical Moulin Rouge (2001) uses a delirious camera, jump cuts and a bizarre colour palette to create a totally different kind of atmosphere. Yet the world of Scarface is no more convincing than the fantasy of Moulin Rouge. In both, extreme style only serves the story.
Just like film and comic books, digital media are two-dimensional forms attempting to convey the illusion of three dimensions. To create this feeling of depth, the designers and artists should use changes in the DEPTH OF FIELD to highlight the differential between foreground (FGD), middle ground (MGD) and background space (BGD).
The concept of DEPTH OF FIELD (DOF) answers the question of where we want the camera lens to focus in any of the three planes, where the focal sharpness will fall - and this can be very difficult to represent in storyboards. DOF Sharpness can be increased or decreased based on the amount of light falling on the subject and the type of lens used to focus on it.
Moving through soft focus to sharp focus naturally gives the image a sense of depth. It can also be done by using changes in scale, lighting, texture, rendering density, detail and colour. If there is a dark object in the FGD, making the BGD light will create a sense of depth, and vice-versa.
Storyboards are a means to an end, not an end in itself. It doesn't matter how 'artistic' they are - storyboards need to make clear what happens in every situation the audience may encounter.
These storyboards were drawn and used to plan the camera shots for live-action footage of dancers. Later, animators would 'Rotoscope' the dancers into cartoon characters, combining them with traditional cel-animation techniques. This enhanced the realistic movement of Snow White and her Prince Charming as they interacted with Grumpy, Dopey, et al.
Storyboarding is what writers, artists and designers do before the animators, programmers or camera crews begin to work. Extending from the work done in scriptwriting, the storyboard can be used to help determine the internal logic of all the elements of a film before production begins. With this method of multimedia scripting, the development team can plan activities for characters, computer users and production teams, designing and testing the appearance and effectiveness of the complete product.
Storyboarding is a complex form of collage, a 'scrapbook' that is organised into a linear 'story-telling' form, a way of representing moments in time and space that deliver dramatic meaning. There are distinct differences between designing film storyboards, web-page storyboards and those for gaming environments, due to the kinds of movement involved, but they all look similar hanging on the wall.
More broadly, storyboards can be a compilation of any visual material (drawings, sculptures, products, photographs, directional pointers) and text (activity descriptions, dialogue, copy or script notes, character and camera directions). For multimedia applications, each frame should include detailed notes about the different interactive elements, navigation methods and transitions involved.
Through a series of images and labels, the storyboard frames show all the key moments of the presentation, describing the content and sequence of each scene, moment to moment, capturing the first impression of the presentation’s visual impact.
They must include written details about subject and composition, movements, illumination, lenses, sounds and transitions, the pace of scenes and any other elements of dramatic timing and interaction. The scale or length of storyboards is dependent on the type of presentation it describes; in multimedia they include navigation methods, the interactivity available and any other elements involved.
For 3D GAMING ENVIRONMENTS, artists should indicate moving TRANSITIONS in their sketches, showing how much background is seen in each frame as we move through the 360˚ world. If the user/character is offered a choice of any kind, a NARRATIVE PLOT-POINT or TRANSTIONAL INTERSECTION occurs, causing a branching in the storyboard, creating an optional activity.
The PLOT-POINTS and INTERSECTIONS found in multimedia and 3D gaming flowcharts are reflected in the very complex, lateral tangents that appear as the storyboards develop. Interactive elements need to be properly sequenced to create a smooth, unified application. This is recorded in the script and/or flowcharts first, then we see it all MOVING in the storyboards.
When storyboarding these plot-points or intersections, the 'travelling' transitions can become a convoluted maze of scenes and sequences, so very detailed descriptions need to be kept in the corresponding LABELS. In gaming design, these labeling systems become extremely complicated, requiring reference manuals of their own, but these details are very important to programmers; they should all be noted in the flowcharts before storyboard work starts.
VISUAL STYLE has little to do with the effectiveness of a visually told story. When images are in the context of a convincing, compelling and dynamic story, the audience will be drawn in.
The violent world of Scarface (1983) is directed by Brian De Palma for maximum realism. In contrast, the Baz Luhrmann musical Moulin Rouge (2001) uses a delirious camera, jump cuts and a bizarre colour palette to create a totally different kind of atmosphere. Yet the world of Scarface is no more convincing than the fantasy of Moulin Rouge. In both, extreme style only serves the story.
Just like film and comic books, digital media are two-dimensional forms attempting to convey the illusion of three dimensions. To create this feeling of depth, the designers and artists should use changes in the DEPTH OF FIELD to highlight the differential between foreground (FGD), middle ground (MGD) and background space (BGD).
The concept of DEPTH OF FIELD (DOF) answers the question of where we want the camera lens to focus in any of the three planes, where the focal sharpness will fall - and this can be very difficult to represent in storyboards. DOF Sharpness can be increased or decreased based on the amount of light falling on the subject and the type of lens used to focus on it.
Moving through soft focus to sharp focus naturally gives the image a sense of depth. It can also be done by using changes in scale, lighting, texture, rendering density, detail and colour. If there is a dark object in the FGD, making the BGD light will create a sense of depth, and vice-versa.
Storyboards are a means to an end, not an end in itself. It doesn't matter how 'artistic' they are - storyboards need to make clear what happens in every situation the audience may encounter.
ASPECT RATIO/SCREEN PROPORTION:
(SORRY - I need to upload examples)
No one used the widescreen more dynamically than director Sergio Leone, as in the widescreen version of A Fistful of Dollars (1964, above left). Clint Eastwood's legendary "Man with No Name" has arrived in town, only to be challenged by a group of outlaws. Notice how Leone spreads his action across the entire frame to enhance the tension and visual impact. But in the full frame version the action is crowded into the frame, resulting in a much less dramatic image.
In a shot from Blade Runner (1982) Deckard (Harrison Ford) talks with Rachel (Sean Young). Note director Ridley Scott's composition and imagery in the widescreen version. In the full frame version, much of the visual impact is lost and fully half of the conversation.
The relationship between the width of a film image and its height is known as its aspect ratio, and from the early days of film (starting in the late-1890s) until the early-1950s, almost all films had a standard aspect ratio of approx; 1.33:1. In other words, the image was 1.33 times as wide as it was tall (another way to denote this is 4x3, 4 units wide for 3 of height).
This became known as Academy Standard (when it was recognized formally by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the 1930s). Almost every classic film you can think of from this period of time appeared in this ratio.
Academy Standard is shaped like your old TV set because in the early 1950s, the National Television Standards Committee selected Academy Standard as the official aspect ratio for broadcasting in the US. Once TV captured the imagination of America, the Hollywood film industry was faced with a problem: theater attendance declined dramatically. They began making changes to their movies.
After the 1950s... Experiments with 3D and widescreen in films had been occurring since the early 1920s, but it was in the '50s they really took off. 3D was a passing fad, but widescreen was here to stay. In 1953, 20th Century Fox introduced CinemaScope; it eventually gave way to Panavision, the most-used widescreen process today.
Widescreen dominates American filmmaking in a variety of aspect ratios. But there are two 'standardized' ratios that are by far the most common: Academy Flat (1.85:1) and Anamorphic Scope (2.35:1). Other less used ratios include 1.66:1 and 2.20:1 (70mm).
In the case of Academy Flat, the film is 1.85 times as wide as it is tall (often referred to as 'Flat'). Anamorphic Scope is even wider, 2.35 times as wide as it is tall (called 'Scope').
There can be no doubt that widescreen films convey much more dynamic imagery, with the wider aspect ratio working to enhance the dramatic impact of the film. Most serious film enthusiasts prefer the letterbox format, in which the ENTIRE film image is presented, and black bars fill the unused screen area at the top and bottom of the frame.
The letterbox presentation of a 1.85:1 film (left) and a 2.35:1 film (right) on a Standard 4x3 TV. While some picture resolution is sacrificed, the original widescreen composition is preserved.
Widescreen vs. Full Frame (2.35:1 Ratio Films): Some comparisons between widescreen and full frame presentation of Scope films. All of the examples shown are freeze frames.
The IMAX aspect ratio is 1.43:1 approximately. It depends who you ask.
No one used the widescreen more dynamically than director Sergio Leone, as in the widescreen version of A Fistful of Dollars (1964, above left). Clint Eastwood's legendary "Man with No Name" has arrived in town, only to be challenged by a group of outlaws. Notice how Leone spreads his action across the entire frame to enhance the tension and visual impact. But in the full frame version the action is crowded into the frame, resulting in a much less dramatic image.
In a shot from Blade Runner (1982) Deckard (Harrison Ford) talks with Rachel (Sean Young). Note director Ridley Scott's composition and imagery in the widescreen version. In the full frame version, much of the visual impact is lost and fully half of the conversation.
The relationship between the width of a film image and its height is known as its aspect ratio, and from the early days of film (starting in the late-1890s) until the early-1950s, almost all films had a standard aspect ratio of approx; 1.33:1. In other words, the image was 1.33 times as wide as it was tall (another way to denote this is 4x3, 4 units wide for 3 of height).
This became known as Academy Standard (when it was recognized formally by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the 1930s). Almost every classic film you can think of from this period of time appeared in this ratio.
Academy Standard is shaped like your old TV set because in the early 1950s, the National Television Standards Committee selected Academy Standard as the official aspect ratio for broadcasting in the US. Once TV captured the imagination of America, the Hollywood film industry was faced with a problem: theater attendance declined dramatically. They began making changes to their movies.
After the 1950s... Experiments with 3D and widescreen in films had been occurring since the early 1920s, but it was in the '50s they really took off. 3D was a passing fad, but widescreen was here to stay. In 1953, 20th Century Fox introduced CinemaScope; it eventually gave way to Panavision, the most-used widescreen process today.
Widescreen dominates American filmmaking in a variety of aspect ratios. But there are two 'standardized' ratios that are by far the most common: Academy Flat (1.85:1) and Anamorphic Scope (2.35:1). Other less used ratios include 1.66:1 and 2.20:1 (70mm).
In the case of Academy Flat, the film is 1.85 times as wide as it is tall (often referred to as 'Flat'). Anamorphic Scope is even wider, 2.35 times as wide as it is tall (called 'Scope').
There can be no doubt that widescreen films convey much more dynamic imagery, with the wider aspect ratio working to enhance the dramatic impact of the film. Most serious film enthusiasts prefer the letterbox format, in which the ENTIRE film image is presented, and black bars fill the unused screen area at the top and bottom of the frame.
The letterbox presentation of a 1.85:1 film (left) and a 2.35:1 film (right) on a Standard 4x3 TV. While some picture resolution is sacrificed, the original widescreen composition is preserved.
Widescreen vs. Full Frame (2.35:1 Ratio Films): Some comparisons between widescreen and full frame presentation of Scope films. All of the examples shown are freeze frames.
The IMAX aspect ratio is 1.43:1 approximately. It depends who you ask.
SCRIPT LINGO, ACRONYMS, MOOD & TONE:
All storyboard artists and designers will at some point have to work with a writer or a script in the development of the storyboard. The storyboard artist must record in IMAGES what is happening in the WORDS, and it is very useful to know about scriptwriting and story structure when storyboarding. If you want to know more about characters, twists, flashbacks and sub-plots, get a good book. For some SCREENWRITING texts, refer to bibliography.
How many people read comic books and imagine what “SQUELCH!” sounds like, or what “ZOOM!” looks like in slow-motion? If we study the design of comics we recognize many principles of writing for storyboards and interactivity. Comic book and magazine readers turn formatted pages to view sequential imagery and graphics that are presented in a series of individual frames or pages, reading text in boxes and balloons that carry dialogue, actions and thoughts.
In a comic script, all of this must be written in an objective, almost editorial form, to convey all of the ideas as simply as possible to the artists, inkers, letterers and colorists, so that everybody has a clear and uniform grasp of the project.
The COMIC BOOK script and visuals (sorry - I need to upload the visuals) exhibit dynamic angles/framing/lighting, a range of lenses, and a bookcase and bloody window to locate us. The stylish flaming sword arcs across the top of both pages, mirrored by two exterior window shots below, which contain a FORESHADOWING device (we are outside) that enhances the climactic explosion of glass.
Note: these details aren't written in the script, but are the input of the artist. The storyboard artist needs to recognize all of the story elements when they occur in the script - and then emphasize them in the visuals. How does the motion within one frame connect with the next frame - how does it effect the overall LINE OF ACTION?
When planning storyboards, consider the MOOD & TONE most appropriate, what atmosphere and 'look' is used to 'set the scene' that the characters will inhabit, what filters and optical effects. When changing the tone or mood, consider two points; comedy is light, and tragedy is dark. 'Light' colours like yellow denote cheerfulness, optimistism, summertime, etc.
Red reads as dangerous, dark passions. Aim for a subtle use of colour, to create soft, yet lustrous intensities. Save the blatant, strongest colour for the strongest image, a peak moment in the script.
The lighting of scenes is very important to mood and tone, and there are many tools available:
• KEY LIGHT is most often used in the close-up; it can be diffused or harsh light and is the main source of light on the actor.
• Two key lights create a CROSS-LIGHTING effect, causing two shadows (visually awkward).
• FILL LIGHT softens facial shadows; a reflector positioned below the actor's face and the camera.
• RIM LIGHT is mounted behind the actor, to highlight and separate them from the background.
• A small EYE-LIGHT directly in front of the actor's face can give a lively highlight to the eyes.
Consider the key light, fill light and rim light, experiment with reflectors, filters and coloured gels. Try partially blocking the light source with a Gobo or Koukalaris (a cookie; small holes cut in a piece of cardboard) to create atmosphere with broken patterns and textures of light.
Different LENS LENGTHS also effect the perception of an audience. Determine what lens to use as the audiences POV; wide-angle and telephoto lenses cause distortion, a normal (50 mm - the industry standard) lens does not, showing pretty much what the human eye perceives.
Identify different lenses and what kind of distortion they make - example lenses: 0 (Zero Fisheye) to 20 mm are very wide-angle, up to 50 mm about normal – over 70 mm is telephoto. Zoom means that 12 mm to 120 mm equals a 10 to 1 'Zoom-In' ratio.
Keep in mind that wider angles (28 - 35mm) make the scene emotionally colder, grander, distant, enveloping, strong and unfriendly. Telephoto effects (or Zoom, 75 - 150 mm) tend to flatten the image, adding intimacy, softness, closeness and friendliness.
If everything in shot needs to be in sharp focus, then indicate greater depth of field (DOF). Become accustomed to this movie/scriptwriting jargon; e.g. Cut, Fade Up/Down, Dissolve, Super (superimposition), Matching Action, Jump Cut, Wipe, Freeze Frame and Iris In/Out.
Storyboards should include descriptions about:
• Lens Length: The different optical effects applied to different shots within a scene.
• Shots: The basic unit of film and TV, theoretically of any length, cut to make a scene.
• Scenes: Connected shots that make up part of a sequence.
• Sequences: Shots and scenes related by time, place and situation.
• Intercut: Inserting shots/scenes from one location into a sequence located elsewhere.
• Parallel Action: Cross-cutting two separate scenes, presented as simultaneous events.
• Flashback/forward: Shots or sequences inserted into the narrative to evoke the past/future.
Describe the different kinds of shots to be used:
Establishing
Long, Medium & Close-Up
Low Angle, High Angle
One Shot (One person)
Two Shot (two people), etc.
Under-Expose or Over-Expose
Fast Motion or Slow-motion
Rack Focus Out/In - (Pulling focus,
from foreground object to background,
or background object to foreground).
If appropriate, include camera directions and formal scriptwriting acronyms in your notations or labels:
Pan Left/Pan Right
Tilt Up/Tilt Down
Dolly or Track (Forward/Reverse,
Left or Right, Crane or Boom High/Low)
LS = Long Shot
CU = Close-up
SO = Sound Over
VO = Voice Over
FX = Sound Effects
OS = Off Screen.
Make storyboard notes about Lip-Sync dialogue, special sound effects or music. MOS (Mute), Voice Over, or Wild (asynchronous tracks) add different characteristics to images. Use Split Screen (SS) realistically; showing simultaneous action, or to enhance detailed close-ups - or more abstractly, to create super imposition, conflicting picture planes and special effects.
Become familiar with these acronyms and meanings and make careful storyboard labels to record your intentions. Also, make notes under the storyboard frames indicating if the camera is looking up or down on its subject. Looking up creates a threatening perspective, suggesting power. Looking down, the subject becomes weaker, less significant.
Where is the horizon located within the frame? Look for expressive angles and eye-lines.
THE EYE AS “I”: In interactive games, the players, who are potentially viewers, navigators and authors all at once, not only see the graphics (the eye), but also participate (the “I”) in shaping the way the story unfolds.
Of course, the gaming experiences are programmed with every facet of interaction planned in advance and manipulated by software. It is not a linear medium, the player is actually in the game and no two users will ever have the same experience.
How many people read comic books and imagine what “SQUELCH!” sounds like, or what “ZOOM!” looks like in slow-motion? If we study the design of comics we recognize many principles of writing for storyboards and interactivity. Comic book and magazine readers turn formatted pages to view sequential imagery and graphics that are presented in a series of individual frames or pages, reading text in boxes and balloons that carry dialogue, actions and thoughts.
In a comic script, all of this must be written in an objective, almost editorial form, to convey all of the ideas as simply as possible to the artists, inkers, letterers and colorists, so that everybody has a clear and uniform grasp of the project.
The COMIC BOOK script and visuals (sorry - I need to upload the visuals) exhibit dynamic angles/framing/lighting, a range of lenses, and a bookcase and bloody window to locate us. The stylish flaming sword arcs across the top of both pages, mirrored by two exterior window shots below, which contain a FORESHADOWING device (we are outside) that enhances the climactic explosion of glass.
Note: these details aren't written in the script, but are the input of the artist. The storyboard artist needs to recognize all of the story elements when they occur in the script - and then emphasize them in the visuals. How does the motion within one frame connect with the next frame - how does it effect the overall LINE OF ACTION?
When planning storyboards, consider the MOOD & TONE most appropriate, what atmosphere and 'look' is used to 'set the scene' that the characters will inhabit, what filters and optical effects. When changing the tone or mood, consider two points; comedy is light, and tragedy is dark. 'Light' colours like yellow denote cheerfulness, optimistism, summertime, etc.
Red reads as dangerous, dark passions. Aim for a subtle use of colour, to create soft, yet lustrous intensities. Save the blatant, strongest colour for the strongest image, a peak moment in the script.
The lighting of scenes is very important to mood and tone, and there are many tools available:
• KEY LIGHT is most often used in the close-up; it can be diffused or harsh light and is the main source of light on the actor.
• Two key lights create a CROSS-LIGHTING effect, causing two shadows (visually awkward).
• FILL LIGHT softens facial shadows; a reflector positioned below the actor's face and the camera.
• RIM LIGHT is mounted behind the actor, to highlight and separate them from the background.
• A small EYE-LIGHT directly in front of the actor's face can give a lively highlight to the eyes.
Consider the key light, fill light and rim light, experiment with reflectors, filters and coloured gels. Try partially blocking the light source with a Gobo or Koukalaris (a cookie; small holes cut in a piece of cardboard) to create atmosphere with broken patterns and textures of light.
Different LENS LENGTHS also effect the perception of an audience. Determine what lens to use as the audiences POV; wide-angle and telephoto lenses cause distortion, a normal (50 mm - the industry standard) lens does not, showing pretty much what the human eye perceives.
Identify different lenses and what kind of distortion they make - example lenses: 0 (Zero Fisheye) to 20 mm are very wide-angle, up to 50 mm about normal – over 70 mm is telephoto. Zoom means that 12 mm to 120 mm equals a 10 to 1 'Zoom-In' ratio.
Keep in mind that wider angles (28 - 35mm) make the scene emotionally colder, grander, distant, enveloping, strong and unfriendly. Telephoto effects (or Zoom, 75 - 150 mm) tend to flatten the image, adding intimacy, softness, closeness and friendliness.
If everything in shot needs to be in sharp focus, then indicate greater depth of field (DOF). Become accustomed to this movie/scriptwriting jargon; e.g. Cut, Fade Up/Down, Dissolve, Super (superimposition), Matching Action, Jump Cut, Wipe, Freeze Frame and Iris In/Out.
Storyboards should include descriptions about:
• Lens Length: The different optical effects applied to different shots within a scene.
• Shots: The basic unit of film and TV, theoretically of any length, cut to make a scene.
• Scenes: Connected shots that make up part of a sequence.
• Sequences: Shots and scenes related by time, place and situation.
• Intercut: Inserting shots/scenes from one location into a sequence located elsewhere.
• Parallel Action: Cross-cutting two separate scenes, presented as simultaneous events.
• Flashback/forward: Shots or sequences inserted into the narrative to evoke the past/future.
Describe the different kinds of shots to be used:
Establishing
Long, Medium & Close-Up
Low Angle, High Angle
One Shot (One person)
Two Shot (two people), etc.
Under-Expose or Over-Expose
Fast Motion or Slow-motion
Rack Focus Out/In - (Pulling focus,
from foreground object to background,
or background object to foreground).
If appropriate, include camera directions and formal scriptwriting acronyms in your notations or labels:
Pan Left/Pan Right
Tilt Up/Tilt Down
Dolly or Track (Forward/Reverse,
Left or Right, Crane or Boom High/Low)
LS = Long Shot
CU = Close-up
SO = Sound Over
VO = Voice Over
FX = Sound Effects
OS = Off Screen.
Make storyboard notes about Lip-Sync dialogue, special sound effects or music. MOS (Mute), Voice Over, or Wild (asynchronous tracks) add different characteristics to images. Use Split Screen (SS) realistically; showing simultaneous action, or to enhance detailed close-ups - or more abstractly, to create super imposition, conflicting picture planes and special effects.
Become familiar with these acronyms and meanings and make careful storyboard labels to record your intentions. Also, make notes under the storyboard frames indicating if the camera is looking up or down on its subject. Looking up creates a threatening perspective, suggesting power. Looking down, the subject becomes weaker, less significant.
Where is the horizon located within the frame? Look for expressive angles and eye-lines.
THE EYE AS “I”: In interactive games, the players, who are potentially viewers, navigators and authors all at once, not only see the graphics (the eye), but also participate (the “I”) in shaping the way the story unfolds.
Of course, the gaming experiences are programmed with every facet of interaction planned in advance and manipulated by software. It is not a linear medium, the player is actually in the game and no two users will ever have the same experience.
TOTAL IMMERSION:
Audiences have always had some kind of immersive experience when listening to music, watching a film or even a play, now the term applies to interactive gaming. The most compelling game experiences are achieved when the player makes a substantial contribution to the advancement of the storyline.
What the player does in an interactive game is called STORY-FORMING, which is related to another concept, ABDICATING AUTHORSHIP.
The writer's desire to create traditional narrative and excercise authorial control over the product often inhibits the player’s ability to be more involved in the 'virtual' world of the game. In the story-forming concept, the contributions of programmers, designers and artists must mesh together seamlessly to give the player/author the feeling that they have genuine control over how the story will play out.
CONSIDER THE STORY CONCEPT: No matter the application or subject matter - there's probably a story in there somewhere. This concept and its validity is what counts in conveying the visual interpretation of a written scene when it has to be broken down into shots, chosen specifically to represent the continuity of the script. Dynamic stories come from interesting characters who include us in their first-hand experience of the plot while exploring locations, events and themes.
A character can be anything from a tube of toothpaste to Napoleon Bonaparte. Remember that it doesn’t really matter who or what the plot is about, the story (or activity) should come from the characters, but it’s better to show us the story than have a character tell us about it.
To devise a storyboard, ask yourself, your collaborators and the client:
• What is the story about?
• Who are the characters?
• What do they do or say, is dialogue indicated?
• Which characters or elements are in the FGD, MGD and BGD?
• With whom are they in conflict?
• Where does the conflict take place?
• How many light sources are needed to illuminate the locales?
• What intensity is demanded?
• What should be the main light sources, for indoor and outdoor scenes?
• Where should the key light be positioned?
• When are long, medium and close-up shots required?
• What kind of reflectors, filters, gels, gobos and cookies are needed to create the right mood?
• What colours dominate the scene?
• What types of sets, costumes and make-up are required?
Whatever multimedia becomes in the future, a good story usually has a beginning, middle and end, perceptible or not. In the same way that a single image can have a visual entry point, a line of attention and a resolution of understanding, so an interactive application engages our logical faculties in a series of cohesive actions that lead us to a satisfying outcome.
All of these elements can be combined to create stories and interactivity:
STORY ELEMENTS:
• Character (Who?)
• Location (Where?)
• Events (What?)
• Plots (How?)
• Themes (Why?)
MEDIA ASSETS:
• Text
• Graphics
• Audio
• Video
• Animation
USER ACTIONS:
• Viewing Media
• Q & A Responses
• Problem Solving
• Role Play/Gaming
• Choices/Selections
What the player does in an interactive game is called STORY-FORMING, which is related to another concept, ABDICATING AUTHORSHIP.
The writer's desire to create traditional narrative and excercise authorial control over the product often inhibits the player’s ability to be more involved in the 'virtual' world of the game. In the story-forming concept, the contributions of programmers, designers and artists must mesh together seamlessly to give the player/author the feeling that they have genuine control over how the story will play out.
CONSIDER THE STORY CONCEPT: No matter the application or subject matter - there's probably a story in there somewhere. This concept and its validity is what counts in conveying the visual interpretation of a written scene when it has to be broken down into shots, chosen specifically to represent the continuity of the script. Dynamic stories come from interesting characters who include us in their first-hand experience of the plot while exploring locations, events and themes.
A character can be anything from a tube of toothpaste to Napoleon Bonaparte. Remember that it doesn’t really matter who or what the plot is about, the story (or activity) should come from the characters, but it’s better to show us the story than have a character tell us about it.
To devise a storyboard, ask yourself, your collaborators and the client:
• What is the story about?
• Who are the characters?
• What do they do or say, is dialogue indicated?
• Which characters or elements are in the FGD, MGD and BGD?
• With whom are they in conflict?
• Where does the conflict take place?
• How many light sources are needed to illuminate the locales?
• What intensity is demanded?
• What should be the main light sources, for indoor and outdoor scenes?
• Where should the key light be positioned?
• When are long, medium and close-up shots required?
• What kind of reflectors, filters, gels, gobos and cookies are needed to create the right mood?
• What colours dominate the scene?
• What types of sets, costumes and make-up are required?
Whatever multimedia becomes in the future, a good story usually has a beginning, middle and end, perceptible or not. In the same way that a single image can have a visual entry point, a line of attention and a resolution of understanding, so an interactive application engages our logical faculties in a series of cohesive actions that lead us to a satisfying outcome.
All of these elements can be combined to create stories and interactivity:
STORY ELEMENTS:
• Character (Who?)
• Location (Where?)
• Events (What?)
• Plots (How?)
• Themes (Why?)
MEDIA ASSETS:
• Text
• Graphics
• Audio
• Video
• Animation
USER ACTIONS:
• Viewing Media
• Q & A Responses
• Problem Solving
• Role Play/Gaming
• Choices/Selections
THE COMPOSITION OF STORYBOARDS AS FILM EDITING:
Every writer, artist or designer of storyboards should research the way cuts are assembled in well-edited feature films. The scenes are composed of many different camera angles, with close-up views, medium shots and wide angles of the environment.
These shots establish the relative locations of the different elements in perspective by carrying over visual elements like the border of a carpet, the edge of a desk or the corner of a room. This gives each shot a reference point for the audience, reassuring them that they're observing events in a constant contextual space. Be aware that cutting two images together forces the audience to believe there is a connection between them (see Dynamism and Exposition).
One of the problems with standard interactive applications and web-sites is that users are constantly travelling between a range of contexts. Every time they move from one page to another, they have made a contextual 'jump'. This can become disorientating, so sometimes you need to ensure they know A before they read B. The storyboard can make it possible for the user to be present in a completely different context for each piece of information, depending on which link they came from.
These 'cinematic' cutting techniques are not usually suitable for gaming environments, where TRANSITIONS are used to reinforce player/author immersion. Choosing the right navigational devices can have a great impact on how the user perceives getting around inside the information space. The risk is that users will become bored or feel lost if there are no strong visual cues.
By carefully planning every hypertext, writers, artists and designers can invent new and more accurate navigation tools. Hypertext is very much a part of the interactive debate and the web-forum called Fibreculture (http://www.fibreculture.org) has a massive archive of discussions about HYPERTEXT.
CONSIDER MOVEMENT: This can be a physically liberating experience for any audience, implicitly mobilizing them as the 'camera' becomes a proxy observer. In interactivity, the audience not only observes the action - they participate in it, becoming intrinsic to the momentum of the story.
• Movement of the frame; like a camera tilt or pan, or a travelling shot.
• Movement within the frame; an action or event within the image.
• Movement from screen to screen, including buttons and links.
By moving the frame the audience follows the action, varying the perspective on objects and landscapes. We can move elements within in the frame to achieve similar dynamics.
If a close-up is required, we can move the camera closer to the actor, or have the actor move closer to the camera. One way or the other, all movement is ideally seeking to make a dramatic point. In contrast to movement, we must equally consider Calm and Stillness. Perception of phenomena is very much dependent upon contrast. Light is perceived in relation to darkness; movement is relative to inertia or stillness.
With a simple B&W camera, renowned French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson tried to capture 'the decisive moment' in his photographs. That single, tiny movement that captures the moment; e.g. at the funeral of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, everybody is saluting, standing stock still at attention. Then the baby boy, John-john raises his little hand and salutes his dead father and the flag. That single motion makes the scene crackle with emotion and meaning.
The uneasy drift of a feather across an open battlefield could achieve more dramatic effect than another thousand horses in a charge of the Light Brigade.
The Golden Rule of Motion Pictures is "If it doesn't move, don't film it." It's possible that at some point in any scene a character should either stand up or enter the room, but movement also includes speaking. If the characters don't move or talk, then move the camera, even if it's only three inches (the distance between your eyes) to enhance the sense of perspective.
Move the 'camera' for three reasons:
TO GIVE THE SCENE A SENSE OF DEPTH: If the 'camera' moves to the side even slightly, it will give the shot a sense of depth. The rate of movement shows the relative distance between all the objects in the scene. The slightest movement will turn a flat 2D image into a 3D image.
TO FOLLOW THE ACTION: Caution - Too Much Action Can Cause Nausea. Don’t zoom the camera lens in and out rapidly if you can help it, unless it’s for some extreme effect. Zooming in only magnifies an already flat image. A better alternative is to physically move the 'camera' in or out from the subject to follow movement; a long dolly shot or transition magnifies the scene while adding a sense of 3D depth to the image.
TO SHIFT BETWEEN ONE ACTION OR SCENE AND ANOTHER: In movies, this is usually called a JUMP CUT or an IN-CAMERA EDIT - usually when an action within the frame is timed to coincide with a 'camera' movement before the shot is cut. This is an editing technique and can be effective, but it is very unlike the 'realistic' TRANSITIONS found in 3D gaming design.
These shots establish the relative locations of the different elements in perspective by carrying over visual elements like the border of a carpet, the edge of a desk or the corner of a room. This gives each shot a reference point for the audience, reassuring them that they're observing events in a constant contextual space. Be aware that cutting two images together forces the audience to believe there is a connection between them (see Dynamism and Exposition).
One of the problems with standard interactive applications and web-sites is that users are constantly travelling between a range of contexts. Every time they move from one page to another, they have made a contextual 'jump'. This can become disorientating, so sometimes you need to ensure they know A before they read B. The storyboard can make it possible for the user to be present in a completely different context for each piece of information, depending on which link they came from.
These 'cinematic' cutting techniques are not usually suitable for gaming environments, where TRANSITIONS are used to reinforce player/author immersion. Choosing the right navigational devices can have a great impact on how the user perceives getting around inside the information space. The risk is that users will become bored or feel lost if there are no strong visual cues.
By carefully planning every hypertext, writers, artists and designers can invent new and more accurate navigation tools. Hypertext is very much a part of the interactive debate and the web-forum called Fibreculture (http://www.fibreculture.org) has a massive archive of discussions about HYPERTEXT.
CONSIDER MOVEMENT: This can be a physically liberating experience for any audience, implicitly mobilizing them as the 'camera' becomes a proxy observer. In interactivity, the audience not only observes the action - they participate in it, becoming intrinsic to the momentum of the story.
• Movement of the frame; like a camera tilt or pan, or a travelling shot.
• Movement within the frame; an action or event within the image.
• Movement from screen to screen, including buttons and links.
By moving the frame the audience follows the action, varying the perspective on objects and landscapes. We can move elements within in the frame to achieve similar dynamics.
If a close-up is required, we can move the camera closer to the actor, or have the actor move closer to the camera. One way or the other, all movement is ideally seeking to make a dramatic point. In contrast to movement, we must equally consider Calm and Stillness. Perception of phenomena is very much dependent upon contrast. Light is perceived in relation to darkness; movement is relative to inertia or stillness.
With a simple B&W camera, renowned French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson tried to capture 'the decisive moment' in his photographs. That single, tiny movement that captures the moment; e.g. at the funeral of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, everybody is saluting, standing stock still at attention. Then the baby boy, John-john raises his little hand and salutes his dead father and the flag. That single motion makes the scene crackle with emotion and meaning.
The uneasy drift of a feather across an open battlefield could achieve more dramatic effect than another thousand horses in a charge of the Light Brigade.
The Golden Rule of Motion Pictures is "If it doesn't move, don't film it." It's possible that at some point in any scene a character should either stand up or enter the room, but movement also includes speaking. If the characters don't move or talk, then move the camera, even if it's only three inches (the distance between your eyes) to enhance the sense of perspective.
Move the 'camera' for three reasons:
TO GIVE THE SCENE A SENSE OF DEPTH: If the 'camera' moves to the side even slightly, it will give the shot a sense of depth. The rate of movement shows the relative distance between all the objects in the scene. The slightest movement will turn a flat 2D image into a 3D image.
TO FOLLOW THE ACTION: Caution - Too Much Action Can Cause Nausea. Don’t zoom the camera lens in and out rapidly if you can help it, unless it’s for some extreme effect. Zooming in only magnifies an already flat image. A better alternative is to physically move the 'camera' in or out from the subject to follow movement; a long dolly shot or transition magnifies the scene while adding a sense of 3D depth to the image.
TO SHIFT BETWEEN ONE ACTION OR SCENE AND ANOTHER: In movies, this is usually called a JUMP CUT or an IN-CAMERA EDIT - usually when an action within the frame is timed to coincide with a 'camera' movement before the shot is cut. This is an editing technique and can be effective, but it is very unlike the 'realistic' TRANSITIONS found in 3D gaming design.
JUST DO IT:
There is no better way of ensuring accuracy of production than by creating thoroughly developed storyboards. Generally, they resemble comic strips in newspapers, but they are quite different in many ways - in most storyboards, the frame dimensions are always standardized to the proportion of the screen.
A traditional storyboard frame usually includes a numbered sketch of the shot, with a block of written information beneath it containing script elements (characters, action/dialogue), camera movements and the time allotted for each frame. Drawn in a series, these images produce a sequence that is usually presented in a linear, frame by frame arrangement, to be mounted on a table, wall or pin-board. If you don't draw well, get some "How to Draw…" books and practice, practice, practice.
To begin, decide on which screen ratio format is appropriate; e.g. Academy Standard 1.33:1 (NTSC TV), Academy Flat 1.85:1, Anamorphic Scope 2.35:1 (or widescreen letterbox).
The artist simply draws a page of empty frames and photocopies blank storyboard frames, then sketches the illustrations by hand. This can be very labour intensive; the artist’s method can seem like a stream of consciousness activity, producing sequences that can represent long travelling shots or quick, staccato editing.
Start drawing in pencil first. Do some simple thumbsketches to lay out the basic frames needed to described the script action. After approval, begin drawing larger, more highly finished sketches that capture the scenes in detail. Even if you can only draw stick figures and simple locales, try to indicate the light source with a shadow in each frame - this will give greater dimension to your drawings and connect the frames visually.
CLARITY: To improve your representation of solid forms, practice by sketching only the shadows cast by an object or figure. This automatically gives the image a more tangible quality than stick figures. Try to indicate changing emotions with simple facial expressions. Practice drawing simple, expressive hand shapes; e.g. pointing, waving, grabbing, punching. If you're trying to draw complex action scenes, get one of those little wooden life-drawing figures and use it and your eye as an actor and camera to experiment with dynamic poses and perspective.
When drawing any storyboard, a variety of angles or viewpoints can be used to capture the scene, so another major element in image composition is PERSPECTIVE. One or two-point perspective are commonly used by showing a horizon with one or two distant VANISHING POINTS. All forms within the image should be oriented to recede toward a vanishing point. To establish the angle of a shot, decide on the position of your EYE-LINE in relation to the horizon:
• The most common 'normal' eye-line is at 'head height', which means the viewer is seeing
what the characters are seeing - the character's eyes will be level with the horizon.
• A low eye-line gives a lower angle, showing more sky - character's eyes are above the horizon.
• A higher than normal eye-line will create a high angle - character's eyes are below the horizon.
Below : A thumbsketch and final frame - note shadows, perspective and FGD/BGD dynamics.
If an action is happening very quickly, indicate the motion with an arrow within the frame.
At least two shots in a scene should have a recognizable background, providing clarity and a frame of reference for the sequence. Clear flow of action or a THROUGH-LINE in the boards is achieved by visually reinforcing the position of objects and characters within the frame. The flow must be natural, believable and consistent. Provide a solid path for all the characters within their environment and avoid any unseen moves that may interfere with our ability to follow that path.
Because GESTURE is so important to storytelling, try to capture the direction of the character's movement in the first quick sketches. They will indicate through their gestures and body stance where they're going and what they're doing. Ask yourself, "What is my motivation?", as if you were in the story. The characters will begin to have a THROUGH-LINE or a mode of behaviour within the frame - adding to the LINE OF ACTION that carries over between the frames.
It's best to avoid drawing water sources dripping off the bottom of the frame, so if there's a body of water, frame the base of the shot with a river bank, a beach or a ship's handrail - if possible.
Storyboards often describe camera movement, so the SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE FRAME can be adjusted and expanded to represent complicated movements that include long pans, tilts, dollies and zooms (see preceding pages; note the extended tilt and pan camera movements).
If the camera moves anywhere during a shot, use at least two storyboard frames and indicate the motion with an arrow labeled 'camera', or create a completely new frame shape that represents the entire camera movement. Indicate camera START and STOP points at the beginning and end of each movement, adding arrows to show direction.
A basic compositional mistake occurs when the artist is not aware of THE GOLDEN MEAN. The ancient Greeks proposed that cutting any composition in half is boring to the eye. Put simply, any image should be divided into thirds. Horizontally, a sky consumes the upper two-thirds, leaving one-third for the ground. Vertically speaking, natural forms, architecture and objects can present 'upright' areas of patterning within the composition.
It is the job of a good storyboarding artist to design each frame so that the centre of interest in each scene is maintained, using strong compositional devices that keep the viewer's eye only on what you want it to focus on. During storyboarding, there is a lot of COMPARISON between frames - comparing the relative position and proportion of figures so they suggest movement effectively, keeping continuity with light sources, costumes and props, etc.
After all the frames in a sequence are done, you should be able to recognize a LINE OF ACTION through the storyboard. This is your instinctive 'storytelling' eye, joining the pictures together to create meaning and taking you on a journey through the storyboard.
Always make photocopy templates of each blank storyboard frame format that you draw, so you don’t have to redraw a special camera move again later. Keep track of what's used where. Commit to inking and colouring only after all the designs are finalised and if you have time. When out of time and presenting to a client, refer to the style guides, select a frame with lots of impact and colour it carefully - it's better to have some colour as opposed to none.
Unless the presentation is in the style of a comic book, dialogue and internal thoughts in a storyboard should not appear inside speech balloons, but as short paragraph notations positioned in a set of boxes or labels under each frame. Each frame and label should cover an average of five seconds, ranging from three to seven seconds, depending on the action and how much dialogue or other information is being delivered.
STORYBOARD LABELS: These can contain descriptions of character action and dialogue, the client’s name and project title, scene and frame numbers, a module title and number, all reference numbers and relevant notes on the style guides, navigation design and flowcharts, plus notes on any other nodes or links of importance. Detailed preparation and maintenance of the labeling system is very important. Most multimedia projects have whole Art Department’s working on the storyboards, so you’ll have some help.
At the very least number each frame and include a description of the images, sounds and activities involved. Add this and other info in your label areas, and keep an index that compliments the separate script/flowchart material.
Remember, be diligent with your labels, notes and numbering, and stay in control of the boards.
A traditional storyboard frame usually includes a numbered sketch of the shot, with a block of written information beneath it containing script elements (characters, action/dialogue), camera movements and the time allotted for each frame. Drawn in a series, these images produce a sequence that is usually presented in a linear, frame by frame arrangement, to be mounted on a table, wall or pin-board. If you don't draw well, get some "How to Draw…" books and practice, practice, practice.
To begin, decide on which screen ratio format is appropriate; e.g. Academy Standard 1.33:1 (NTSC TV), Academy Flat 1.85:1, Anamorphic Scope 2.35:1 (or widescreen letterbox).
The artist simply draws a page of empty frames and photocopies blank storyboard frames, then sketches the illustrations by hand. This can be very labour intensive; the artist’s method can seem like a stream of consciousness activity, producing sequences that can represent long travelling shots or quick, staccato editing.
Start drawing in pencil first. Do some simple thumbsketches to lay out the basic frames needed to described the script action. After approval, begin drawing larger, more highly finished sketches that capture the scenes in detail. Even if you can only draw stick figures and simple locales, try to indicate the light source with a shadow in each frame - this will give greater dimension to your drawings and connect the frames visually.
CLARITY: To improve your representation of solid forms, practice by sketching only the shadows cast by an object or figure. This automatically gives the image a more tangible quality than stick figures. Try to indicate changing emotions with simple facial expressions. Practice drawing simple, expressive hand shapes; e.g. pointing, waving, grabbing, punching. If you're trying to draw complex action scenes, get one of those little wooden life-drawing figures and use it and your eye as an actor and camera to experiment with dynamic poses and perspective.
When drawing any storyboard, a variety of angles or viewpoints can be used to capture the scene, so another major element in image composition is PERSPECTIVE. One or two-point perspective are commonly used by showing a horizon with one or two distant VANISHING POINTS. All forms within the image should be oriented to recede toward a vanishing point. To establish the angle of a shot, decide on the position of your EYE-LINE in relation to the horizon:
• The most common 'normal' eye-line is at 'head height', which means the viewer is seeing
what the characters are seeing - the character's eyes will be level with the horizon.
• A low eye-line gives a lower angle, showing more sky - character's eyes are above the horizon.
• A higher than normal eye-line will create a high angle - character's eyes are below the horizon.
Below : A thumbsketch and final frame - note shadows, perspective and FGD/BGD dynamics.
If an action is happening very quickly, indicate the motion with an arrow within the frame.
At least two shots in a scene should have a recognizable background, providing clarity and a frame of reference for the sequence. Clear flow of action or a THROUGH-LINE in the boards is achieved by visually reinforcing the position of objects and characters within the frame. The flow must be natural, believable and consistent. Provide a solid path for all the characters within their environment and avoid any unseen moves that may interfere with our ability to follow that path.
Because GESTURE is so important to storytelling, try to capture the direction of the character's movement in the first quick sketches. They will indicate through their gestures and body stance where they're going and what they're doing. Ask yourself, "What is my motivation?", as if you were in the story. The characters will begin to have a THROUGH-LINE or a mode of behaviour within the frame - adding to the LINE OF ACTION that carries over between the frames.
It's best to avoid drawing water sources dripping off the bottom of the frame, so if there's a body of water, frame the base of the shot with a river bank, a beach or a ship's handrail - if possible.
Storyboards often describe camera movement, so the SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE FRAME can be adjusted and expanded to represent complicated movements that include long pans, tilts, dollies and zooms (see preceding pages; note the extended tilt and pan camera movements).
If the camera moves anywhere during a shot, use at least two storyboard frames and indicate the motion with an arrow labeled 'camera', or create a completely new frame shape that represents the entire camera movement. Indicate camera START and STOP points at the beginning and end of each movement, adding arrows to show direction.
A basic compositional mistake occurs when the artist is not aware of THE GOLDEN MEAN. The ancient Greeks proposed that cutting any composition in half is boring to the eye. Put simply, any image should be divided into thirds. Horizontally, a sky consumes the upper two-thirds, leaving one-third for the ground. Vertically speaking, natural forms, architecture and objects can present 'upright' areas of patterning within the composition.
It is the job of a good storyboarding artist to design each frame so that the centre of interest in each scene is maintained, using strong compositional devices that keep the viewer's eye only on what you want it to focus on. During storyboarding, there is a lot of COMPARISON between frames - comparing the relative position and proportion of figures so they suggest movement effectively, keeping continuity with light sources, costumes and props, etc.
After all the frames in a sequence are done, you should be able to recognize a LINE OF ACTION through the storyboard. This is your instinctive 'storytelling' eye, joining the pictures together to create meaning and taking you on a journey through the storyboard.
Always make photocopy templates of each blank storyboard frame format that you draw, so you don’t have to redraw a special camera move again later. Keep track of what's used where. Commit to inking and colouring only after all the designs are finalised and if you have time. When out of time and presenting to a client, refer to the style guides, select a frame with lots of impact and colour it carefully - it's better to have some colour as opposed to none.
Unless the presentation is in the style of a comic book, dialogue and internal thoughts in a storyboard should not appear inside speech balloons, but as short paragraph notations positioned in a set of boxes or labels under each frame. Each frame and label should cover an average of five seconds, ranging from three to seven seconds, depending on the action and how much dialogue or other information is being delivered.
STORYBOARD LABELS: These can contain descriptions of character action and dialogue, the client’s name and project title, scene and frame numbers, a module title and number, all reference numbers and relevant notes on the style guides, navigation design and flowcharts, plus notes on any other nodes or links of importance. Detailed preparation and maintenance of the labeling system is very important. Most multimedia projects have whole Art Department’s working on the storyboards, so you’ll have some help.
At the very least number each frame and include a description of the images, sounds and activities involved. Add this and other info in your label areas, and keep an index that compliments the separate script/flowchart material.
Remember, be diligent with your labels, notes and numbering, and stay in control of the boards.
EXAMPLE - THE PERFECT CRIME:
(Sorry - I need to upload visual examples)
Read the following script page. Notice the simple thumbsketches in the margins of the page, and then study the two versions of the storyboard. This sequence was designed in conference with the director to follow the action that takes place between the characters Cardiff and Mary.
As noted in the script, Cardiff walks down the corridor, goes into his office, switches on the lights and goes to his desk, all the while being stalked by the revengeful Mary, who eventually confronts him, gun in hand. The entire scene is observed by two assassins, one with binoculars, the other holding a rifle, seen through the windows of an office building opposite.
The scene was broken down into the basic shots, attempting to capture the intense flow of action that would build up to Mary's threat to kill Cardiff. Initially, nine shots were needed to tell the story visually.
Going from shots one to nine, study the sequence of action in the first storyboard version:
Shot 1: Pan shot of Cardiff moving along the corridor to open his door, at a slightly low angle (Mary's POV).
Shot 2: An over the shoulder shot of Cardiff as he turns on the office light.
Shot 3: He throws his coat down, moves to the bar, the window, the desk and tape deck.
Shot 4: Cardiff in MGD, in doorway (Mary's POV) as her gun hand intrudes, frame left.
Shot 5: The gun barrel slowly advances from left into centre frame, wide-angle CU.
Cardiff looks up.
Shot 6: Cut to CU of Cardiff, it freezes.
Shot 7: Mary and Cardiff in two-shot CU 'facing off'.
Shot 8: Cut to CU of assassin in window opposite with binoculars, the other aims his rifle.
Shot 9: CU of Mary and Cardiff framed in binoculars (assassin's POV).
In the second version of the sequence (sorry I can't upload the illustrations), changes were made for clarity:
Close-ups of Cardiff turning to Mary were added in shot 6, a medium shot (MS) of Mary in shot 7, another CU of the gun in shot 8 to the two-shot of them in shot 9, before the medium CU of the gun through the binoculars in shot 10.
So in the final storyboard, frame 1 is a pan shot; the stationary camera pans to follow Cardiff down the hallway to his office door. Another pan is used in shot 4, as the camera follows Cardiff from an MS FGD shot as he goes to the bar and then his desk.
Note the variety of shots/angles as Mary and her gun enter in frames 6/7. He notices her in shot 8 and turns in her direction. In shot 9, the low angle MS of Mary is from Cardiff's POV, a lower angle looking up at her. The CU of the gun to their medium two-shot, POV of the assassins in frame 11. Frame 12 is a zoom in on one of the assassin's faces, tilting down to the rifle.
A variety of angles and movements are used to project the tension and emotionality of this conflict, with enough detailed information for anyone to get a clear idea of what's happening.
Each member of a development team must be familiar with how best to mix and match different areas of the process with their creative skills. This requires an equal effort from everybody.
Make notes and thumbnail sketches to refer to during and after the early discussion meetings.
Finish the storyboards properly and you've essentially created the project; it just needs to be made. Some marketing people use storyboards to secure development and production finance; they can become the goose that lays the golden egg.
In this case, the boards must be of a highly finished standard, but mostly the storyboard is simply a guide to follow during production.
Be inventive; if your approach to storytelling is analytical from the start, the results can be stiff and sterile. Trust the right side of your brain, be true to your personal style and express yourself in every image. The audience will see your passion and generosity, and appreciate it.
Read the following script page. Notice the simple thumbsketches in the margins of the page, and then study the two versions of the storyboard. This sequence was designed in conference with the director to follow the action that takes place between the characters Cardiff and Mary.
As noted in the script, Cardiff walks down the corridor, goes into his office, switches on the lights and goes to his desk, all the while being stalked by the revengeful Mary, who eventually confronts him, gun in hand. The entire scene is observed by two assassins, one with binoculars, the other holding a rifle, seen through the windows of an office building opposite.
The scene was broken down into the basic shots, attempting to capture the intense flow of action that would build up to Mary's threat to kill Cardiff. Initially, nine shots were needed to tell the story visually.
Going from shots one to nine, study the sequence of action in the first storyboard version:
Shot 1: Pan shot of Cardiff moving along the corridor to open his door, at a slightly low angle (Mary's POV).
Shot 2: An over the shoulder shot of Cardiff as he turns on the office light.
Shot 3: He throws his coat down, moves to the bar, the window, the desk and tape deck.
Shot 4: Cardiff in MGD, in doorway (Mary's POV) as her gun hand intrudes, frame left.
Shot 5: The gun barrel slowly advances from left into centre frame, wide-angle CU.
Cardiff looks up.
Shot 6: Cut to CU of Cardiff, it freezes.
Shot 7: Mary and Cardiff in two-shot CU 'facing off'.
Shot 8: Cut to CU of assassin in window opposite with binoculars, the other aims his rifle.
Shot 9: CU of Mary and Cardiff framed in binoculars (assassin's POV).
In the second version of the sequence (sorry I can't upload the illustrations), changes were made for clarity:
Close-ups of Cardiff turning to Mary were added in shot 6, a medium shot (MS) of Mary in shot 7, another CU of the gun in shot 8 to the two-shot of them in shot 9, before the medium CU of the gun through the binoculars in shot 10.
So in the final storyboard, frame 1 is a pan shot; the stationary camera pans to follow Cardiff down the hallway to his office door. Another pan is used in shot 4, as the camera follows Cardiff from an MS FGD shot as he goes to the bar and then his desk.
Note the variety of shots/angles as Mary and her gun enter in frames 6/7. He notices her in shot 8 and turns in her direction. In shot 9, the low angle MS of Mary is from Cardiff's POV, a lower angle looking up at her. The CU of the gun to their medium two-shot, POV of the assassins in frame 11. Frame 12 is a zoom in on one of the assassin's faces, tilting down to the rifle.
A variety of angles and movements are used to project the tension and emotionality of this conflict, with enough detailed information for anyone to get a clear idea of what's happening.
Each member of a development team must be familiar with how best to mix and match different areas of the process with their creative skills. This requires an equal effort from everybody.
Make notes and thumbnail sketches to refer to during and after the early discussion meetings.
Finish the storyboards properly and you've essentially created the project; it just needs to be made. Some marketing people use storyboards to secure development and production finance; they can become the goose that lays the golden egg.
In this case, the boards must be of a highly finished standard, but mostly the storyboard is simply a guide to follow during production.
Be inventive; if your approach to storytelling is analytical from the start, the results can be stiff and sterile. Trust the right side of your brain, be true to your personal style and express yourself in every image. The audience will see your passion and generosity, and appreciate it.
STORYBOARD PROCEDURES:
Procedures for the three authoring areas. Each has its own very special needs, and all three areas are often combined to do certain tasks; film productions, DVD and EPK's can use all three areas to fulfil complex job requirements.
1: ANIMATION STORYBOARDS - Graphics can be used to show the steps of a product's manufacture, its function, set-up instructions or a demonstration of its use. The storyboard artist is required to use their ability to see the story take place and sketch what animations should occur. These need easily followed sequential frames. In some cases, it should be noted that the storyboard comes first, and then the scriptwriter or multimedia developer might only need to refer to the artist’s work during its adaptation into an INTERACTIVE SCRIPT and FLOWCHART.
2: DIGITAL MOVIE STORYBOARDS - Recorded images can show a message from the President, interviews with band members, or non-documentary footage. This requires another type of storyboarding talent; in addition to being artistic, the MOVIE PLANNER must realise what motions make good drama. A storyboard for movies must show what the camera does.
Imagine what movements will add to the momentum of plot, character and dramatic conflict.
Animated storyboards (called ANIMATICS) for digital movies are an excellent idea. By mixing animation and movie techniques, still-frame storyboards can be scanned into non-linear editing software - the storyboard becomes animated, to clearly show the exact timing of each of shot. The director then only needs to create what is necessary, without shooting extra coverage.
3: WEB-PAGE STORYBOARDS - Interactive components and web-page development. All of the previously mentioned material can be translated for the Internet with HTML and VRML languages. Writing detailed flowcharts and storyboards before you create web-pages is crucial, especially when designing pages that have multimedia applications with VRML elements.
Web-page storyboards must include all the information necessary to keep track of the placement of multi and hypermedia. If you have it all written down, the task of placing these items on the screen becomes organized, easy to follow and maintainable. This is important because hyperlinks for web-page development are often changes in address (URL) rather than simply moving from one file to the next. Make your links solid by articulate and detailed planning.
A COMPUTER IS USUALLY INEFFICIENT FOR THE STORYBOARDING PROCESS: If you can’t draw, use stick figures to indicate actors and objects in the field of vision, the direction they are facing or moving towards. Martin Scorsese drew his own very simple storyboards for "Taxi Driver" (1976) in black and red pencil. Elaborate on selected frames at a larger scale for finished, presentation storyboards, or make full-size concept illustrations if you really need to impress somebody.
An exception to the 'NO COMPUTERS' rule: Software exists for interactive storyboarding, designed to create actual working prototypes with a stylus and clipart. As working models, these roughs can actually contain buttons and links, with all the information about the tools to be used in the application, methods of navigation, comments about memory size, delivery formats and budget information, which can be presented to clients in person, online or EPK.
Some interactive storyboard programs create QuickTime movies; still-frame storyboards offer limited effectiveness since they don't show the timing of each shot. The exactness of QuickTime can save half the cost of a production.
"An error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it."
Orlando Battista
1: ANIMATION STORYBOARDS - Graphics can be used to show the steps of a product's manufacture, its function, set-up instructions or a demonstration of its use. The storyboard artist is required to use their ability to see the story take place and sketch what animations should occur. These need easily followed sequential frames. In some cases, it should be noted that the storyboard comes first, and then the scriptwriter or multimedia developer might only need to refer to the artist’s work during its adaptation into an INTERACTIVE SCRIPT and FLOWCHART.
2: DIGITAL MOVIE STORYBOARDS - Recorded images can show a message from the President, interviews with band members, or non-documentary footage. This requires another type of storyboarding talent; in addition to being artistic, the MOVIE PLANNER must realise what motions make good drama. A storyboard for movies must show what the camera does.
Imagine what movements will add to the momentum of plot, character and dramatic conflict.
Animated storyboards (called ANIMATICS) for digital movies are an excellent idea. By mixing animation and movie techniques, still-frame storyboards can be scanned into non-linear editing software - the storyboard becomes animated, to clearly show the exact timing of each of shot. The director then only needs to create what is necessary, without shooting extra coverage.
3: WEB-PAGE STORYBOARDS - Interactive components and web-page development. All of the previously mentioned material can be translated for the Internet with HTML and VRML languages. Writing detailed flowcharts and storyboards before you create web-pages is crucial, especially when designing pages that have multimedia applications with VRML elements.
Web-page storyboards must include all the information necessary to keep track of the placement of multi and hypermedia. If you have it all written down, the task of placing these items on the screen becomes organized, easy to follow and maintainable. This is important because hyperlinks for web-page development are often changes in address (URL) rather than simply moving from one file to the next. Make your links solid by articulate and detailed planning.
A COMPUTER IS USUALLY INEFFICIENT FOR THE STORYBOARDING PROCESS: If you can’t draw, use stick figures to indicate actors and objects in the field of vision, the direction they are facing or moving towards. Martin Scorsese drew his own very simple storyboards for "Taxi Driver" (1976) in black and red pencil. Elaborate on selected frames at a larger scale for finished, presentation storyboards, or make full-size concept illustrations if you really need to impress somebody.
An exception to the 'NO COMPUTERS' rule: Software exists for interactive storyboarding, designed to create actual working prototypes with a stylus and clipart. As working models, these roughs can actually contain buttons and links, with all the information about the tools to be used in the application, methods of navigation, comments about memory size, delivery formats and budget information, which can be presented to clients in person, online or EPK.
Some interactive storyboard programs create QuickTime movies; still-frame storyboards offer limited effectiveness since they don't show the timing of each shot. The exactness of QuickTime can save half the cost of a production.
"An error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it."
Orlando Battista
THE PERFECT STORYBOARD AND HOW TO GET AWAY WITH IT:
IN THE EARLY LAYOUT STAGE, ONE FRAME SHOULD NEVER SHOW MORE THAN THE AUDIENCE CAN DIGEST IN TEN SECONDS: After establishing these primary components, detail the boards later, adding extra frames to enhance certain effects, emotions and camera movements. This is a major help in planning it all out first, but it doesn't mean you can't include a lot of information in your preliminary drawings and notes. Consider the audience’s 15-second attention span. Ideally, finished storyboards show approximately 5 seconds in each frame.
'INTENT' COMES BEFORE STORYBOARDING: All communication has a purpose and so do storyboards. Use the storyboard to tell the STORY. Remember it's an art form, but not an end in itself. Storyboards are only one step in a process that may have already been planned, thought out right to the very end, in some other creative form - like film scripts or interactive flowcharts.
KEEP THE VISUAL DESIGN COHERENT AND RELEVANT TO THE MESSAGE: Make certain that all the elements you're placing on the screen will enhance the message; e.g. to expose the pleasant side of driving, don't include images of cars and trucks stuck in smog-infested traffic jams. Visual coherence is the way an audience easily links images together in the mind.
Without this quality, storyboards quickly become disorganized and cluttered.
STORYBOARDS SHOULD USE COLOUR WHENEVER POSSIBLE: We are visual beings, deeply effected by the power of colour. Unless colour palettes are carefully planned beforehand, the entire effect can be lost on the audience. Gather information about which palettes will be used in which storyboard frames, and use them to create/establish your STYLE GUIDES.
STORYBOARDS MUST SHOW SOUND USE WHENEVER POSSIBLE: Most projects require the storyboard artist to insert notes about audio, whether it's speech, music, sound effects, etc.
INTERACTIVE LINKS MUST BE LOGICAL AND APPROPRIATE: Make certain that each location to which the audience goes is planned beforehand. The storyboard must show exactly what will happen when the user clicks on a word, an object or a graphic. This must be done in language that other, 'technical' people (programmers, accountants) can easily understand.
ALL THIS INFORMATION MUST GO ON THE LABELS: What type of sound file, format of graphic, what exact page location. Make certain that each link is carefully outlined and detailed, otherwise there will be problems when producing the final flowcharts, scripts and storyboards.
MEDIA MUST NOT GET IN THE WAY OF THE MESSAGE: Always keep the story and interactive elements manageable in the boards. Don't try to cram in too much and never let any element overpower your intention; e.g. when communicating information on a home page, try not to let the graphics dominate too much space. Instead, give the audience easily manipulated icons and headers that supply the desired information clearly.
Remember the KISS theory; Keep It Simple & Spunky. Don't over-complicate the matter, unless it's your intention to be purposefully cryptic. Brevity is best in web-pages, but sometimes the major parts of a complex entertainment job need to be planned in advance; e.g. plot twists in feature films and 3D gaming red-herrings can be recorded in the 'BACK-STORY BIBLE' material, or they can be cross-referenced in special strategy manuals.
STORYBOARDS SHOULD BE FLEXIBLE: Always keep extra copies of frame templates, labels or other media - so that all members of the team can easily change formats, switch designs or start from scratch. Without flexibility, storyboarding can become a dictatorial task. Be flexible enough to accept criticism, to change techniques or even change the entire content.
STORYBOARDS MUST BE ORGANIZED: The writer must make sure that all the frames are numbered and the administrative details are inserted where required - Client/Project Title, Module Title and Number, and any revision numbers (Re. #), for referring to previous amendments. All this information should be included so that the storyboard can be kept consistent and logical. In addition, this information is usually handwritten in pencil, because it can suddenly all change order, and quite often does. Be organized, but keep things flexible.
STORYBOARDS MUST COME ALIVE: The cardinal rule is "Don't Shoot Unless It's Moving"; this applies in film and also to most storyboards. Something should always be happening within your frame, even if it is only a small movement. Exploit the possibilities of repeating movements for effect; e.g. in Japanese Anime action scenes, simple graphic backgrounds repeat over and over to represent constant frenetic movement.
STORYBOARDS MUST FIT THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE WHOLE PROJECT TEAM: Writers, artists and designers must develop a form for the storyboard that fits the needs of all the members of the development team - or any other group that will be using the panels. This can be very challenging, but new sketches and examples are easily generated and quickly understood by all involved, so that everybody can see the project at a glance. All members of the PROJECT TEAM should agree that the boards can be read easily, so that everybody else will understand what is being communicated.
MOST STORYBOARDS (EVEN ON TECHNICAL PROJECTS) SHOULD HAVE AN ELEMENT OF ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE TEAM: Detail is very important, but so are deadlines. Don't get desperate and above all, have fun - watch some cartoons, make a paper aeroplane, kick a ball, do absolutely anything else for a few minutes. This will do a lot to enliven some otherwise tedious tasks, and can often lead to a breakthrough in the team's creativity. Try going for a wander with your inner child and VOILA..! Bright ideas burst everywhere.
As always, unlimited possibilities are at the artist’s fingertips. Visual storytelling can be a multi-dimensional experience that transcends culture, education, genre, plot and character.
By clearly describing thoughts and actions with consideration for the audience, we can help them discover whole new worlds, inviting them to spend time there, doing whatever they wish.
'INTENT' COMES BEFORE STORYBOARDING: All communication has a purpose and so do storyboards. Use the storyboard to tell the STORY. Remember it's an art form, but not an end in itself. Storyboards are only one step in a process that may have already been planned, thought out right to the very end, in some other creative form - like film scripts or interactive flowcharts.
KEEP THE VISUAL DESIGN COHERENT AND RELEVANT TO THE MESSAGE: Make certain that all the elements you're placing on the screen will enhance the message; e.g. to expose the pleasant side of driving, don't include images of cars and trucks stuck in smog-infested traffic jams. Visual coherence is the way an audience easily links images together in the mind.
Without this quality, storyboards quickly become disorganized and cluttered.
STORYBOARDS SHOULD USE COLOUR WHENEVER POSSIBLE: We are visual beings, deeply effected by the power of colour. Unless colour palettes are carefully planned beforehand, the entire effect can be lost on the audience. Gather information about which palettes will be used in which storyboard frames, and use them to create/establish your STYLE GUIDES.
STORYBOARDS MUST SHOW SOUND USE WHENEVER POSSIBLE: Most projects require the storyboard artist to insert notes about audio, whether it's speech, music, sound effects, etc.
INTERACTIVE LINKS MUST BE LOGICAL AND APPROPRIATE: Make certain that each location to which the audience goes is planned beforehand. The storyboard must show exactly what will happen when the user clicks on a word, an object or a graphic. This must be done in language that other, 'technical' people (programmers, accountants) can easily understand.
ALL THIS INFORMATION MUST GO ON THE LABELS: What type of sound file, format of graphic, what exact page location. Make certain that each link is carefully outlined and detailed, otherwise there will be problems when producing the final flowcharts, scripts and storyboards.
MEDIA MUST NOT GET IN THE WAY OF THE MESSAGE: Always keep the story and interactive elements manageable in the boards. Don't try to cram in too much and never let any element overpower your intention; e.g. when communicating information on a home page, try not to let the graphics dominate too much space. Instead, give the audience easily manipulated icons and headers that supply the desired information clearly.
Remember the KISS theory; Keep It Simple & Spunky. Don't over-complicate the matter, unless it's your intention to be purposefully cryptic. Brevity is best in web-pages, but sometimes the major parts of a complex entertainment job need to be planned in advance; e.g. plot twists in feature films and 3D gaming red-herrings can be recorded in the 'BACK-STORY BIBLE' material, or they can be cross-referenced in special strategy manuals.
STORYBOARDS SHOULD BE FLEXIBLE: Always keep extra copies of frame templates, labels or other media - so that all members of the team can easily change formats, switch designs or start from scratch. Without flexibility, storyboarding can become a dictatorial task. Be flexible enough to accept criticism, to change techniques or even change the entire content.
STORYBOARDS MUST BE ORGANIZED: The writer must make sure that all the frames are numbered and the administrative details are inserted where required - Client/Project Title, Module Title and Number, and any revision numbers (Re. #), for referring to previous amendments. All this information should be included so that the storyboard can be kept consistent and logical. In addition, this information is usually handwritten in pencil, because it can suddenly all change order, and quite often does. Be organized, but keep things flexible.
STORYBOARDS MUST COME ALIVE: The cardinal rule is "Don't Shoot Unless It's Moving"; this applies in film and also to most storyboards. Something should always be happening within your frame, even if it is only a small movement. Exploit the possibilities of repeating movements for effect; e.g. in Japanese Anime action scenes, simple graphic backgrounds repeat over and over to represent constant frenetic movement.
STORYBOARDS MUST FIT THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE WHOLE PROJECT TEAM: Writers, artists and designers must develop a form for the storyboard that fits the needs of all the members of the development team - or any other group that will be using the panels. This can be very challenging, but new sketches and examples are easily generated and quickly understood by all involved, so that everybody can see the project at a glance. All members of the PROJECT TEAM should agree that the boards can be read easily, so that everybody else will understand what is being communicated.
MOST STORYBOARDS (EVEN ON TECHNICAL PROJECTS) SHOULD HAVE AN ELEMENT OF ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE TEAM: Detail is very important, but so are deadlines. Don't get desperate and above all, have fun - watch some cartoons, make a paper aeroplane, kick a ball, do absolutely anything else for a few minutes. This will do a lot to enliven some otherwise tedious tasks, and can often lead to a breakthrough in the team's creativity. Try going for a wander with your inner child and VOILA..! Bright ideas burst everywhere.
As always, unlimited possibilities are at the artist’s fingertips. Visual storytelling can be a multi-dimensional experience that transcends culture, education, genre, plot and character.
By clearly describing thoughts and actions with consideration for the audience, we can help them discover whole new worlds, inviting them to spend time there, doing whatever they wish.
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