Storyboards
In the 1930s, Disney studios
professionally began to use
story sketches, or storyboards
to suggest action, relationships,
locale, and the appearance of
characters.
Walt Disney in front of the storyboard for Pinocchio (1940).
The process of storyboard begins with a simple but important questions.
● What is the story about?
● Who are the characters? And what is their motivation? (Motivation dictates blocking and framing,
where the director places the actor within a given scene to convey the action of the script).
● What do they do and say, if dialogue is indicated?
● Which characters are in the foreground, middle ground, and background?
● Are they in conflict and with whom? Where does the conflict take place?
● When are long, medium and close-up shots necessary?
The process of storyboarding covers four main areas
A. Script Breakdown
B. Aspect Ratio
C. Arrows
D. Drawing
Script Breakdown
A sequence or scenario is taken and broken down into moments in consultation with the director,
which will tell the story and also ascertain exactly what coverage is required
Aspect Ratios
Storyboards should be drawn in the chosen aspect ratios in which the film, animation will be filmed
and screened. For example, 4:3 Television Standard, 16:9 wide screen, 2:1 Cinemascope, 2.35:1
Anamorphic.
Arrows
Arrows are used for describing the movement of both the camera & of the subjects within the frame and used for
emphasizing broad motion rather than small details. For example, if the storyboard panel just shows a character
with a dialogue, it isn’t providing any information about the character if it is entering of exiting the frame.
Drawings
The time spent on proper drawing panels will almost certainly save hours of indecision, mistake,
frustration and money during production stage. Before starting detailed drawings, making
‘Thumbnails’ is the best way to go ahead.
Labeling and numbering storyboards is one of the most important aspect so one can track them easily.
Three main reasons
1. To make them easy to view in correct order
2. To keep them in correct order.
3. To help production team to breakdown the number of shots required to shoot / animate in a
particular scene.
Storyboards are also marked with all camera moves in the action areas. All pans and trucks are labeled
with START and STOP.
‘Simplicity is the basis and important requirement in the storyboard. The idea should be
communicated instantly.’
It is also called as ‘Art in Motion’ as, through the continuous panels of drawings, it needs to
convey motion of characters, camera, most importantly the motion in the scene and
eventually the motion in the story itself.
As the storyboard is mostly artists’ visual expression, the essential materials needed for a
storyboard artist are simple, few and artist friendly. The basic storyboard can be made just
through pencils, Col-Erase in black and blue, Pens and papers etc.
In today’s digital world, computer, scanner, graphics programs, graphics tablet, and printer may be the
choice of materials to the storyboard artist.
Storyboarder - Open source and free. Ideal for working with smaller budget.
Plot – Free( Basic) / Paid (Premium ) Good for making quick storyboards.
Frameforge Storyboard Studio – Paid / Good option to create full-fledged and lengthy videos.
Studiobinder – Free (Basic) / Paid (Premium). Good for teams prefer customizable tools.
Moviestorm - Paid / Effective all-in-one solution and to create 3D storyboards
Storyboard Fountain Free / Simple, user-friendly. Ideal for working with smaller budget.
PowerProduction Software – Paid / Good option to create full-fledged and lengthy videos.
Canva – Free / Simple and easy software for simpler projects.
Boords – Paid / All-in-one pre-production storyboarding software
It allows (in film and business) the user to experiment with changes in the storyline to evoke
stronger reaction or interest.
Flashbacks, for instance, are often the result of sorting storyboards out of chronological order to
help build suspense and interest.
The production can plan the movie in advance. In this step, things like the type of camera shot,
angle, and blocking of characters are decided.
It allows a group of people to brainstorm together, placing their ideas on storyboards and then
arranging the storyboard frames. This fosters more ideas and generates consensus inside the
group.
Another benefit of developing storyboard is that it visually helps to maintain ‘Line of Action’ of
camera, which is one of the most important principles of the film making.
Comparison between the storyboard panel and the final film of
‘Toy Story’.
Comparison between the storyboard panel and the final output of
the film ‘Bugs Life’
Comparison between the
storyboard panel and Actual
Chroma shooting in production
stage . ‘Lord of The Rings’. & Life
of Pai
Comparison between the storyboard panel and Actual film of
‘Don’ Image
