Now's where the Thriller come alive. The storyboard allows us to show out story and what its going to look like before its even been filmed!
What is a Storyboard?
A storyboard is a plan of a film that is in the stages of being created using images or illustrations. A storyboard enables a film production company to display their film and have a plan of what the film is going to look like before its created.
What are the conventions of a storyboard?
Features of a storyboard include:
1.Scene Numbers- Scene numbers are needed to prevent confusion as there may be many scenes and shots could end up in the wrong place.
2.Shot numbers- By putting in the shot numbers, again it prevents later confusion when an animatic is created from a storyboard. There will be loads of shots in just a few minutes of a film so it's important to number the shots.
3.Drawings and sketches of the scenes- This is what brings the idea in your head alive by sketching out the shots that will make up your film. A film really begins to come to life when the shot sketches are created.
4.Shot Selection- Shot selections are shown through the images and sketches, e.g. close up, long shot, mid shot etc.
5.Dialogue- The dialogue going on in each shot is written underneath the image/illustration to give an idea as to how long the shot needs to last.
6.Camera Movement-
7.SFX- Any special effects such as snow, a flash, explosion etc. need to be included inn the storyboard.
8.Location-Location type needs to be added to the storyboard. Where it is being filled and whether its int. or ext. etc.
Benefits of producing a storyboard before filming?
- By having a storyboard it you have a plan on what you are going to be filming. You don't have to follow it exactly if another shot type or camera movement is better but having a plan that you can roughly follow is helpful.
- Planning out what you are going to do allows the studio team to all be in agreement on what is happening in each shot without anyone not knowing what is going on or disagreeing the day you start to film.
- By planning you know exactly what is going on when which prevents you from getting confused or frustrated.
- Without a plan you are more than likely to lose all hope and sanity. If you plan out each shot you have a fighting chance of creating a good film without ripping someone's head off.
- Allows a studio team to get all the details on each shot like how long they need to last with the dialogue used and when the SFX's are going on.
- You don't have to be an artist to create a storyboard. So long as you can see what is going on in the scene without wondering what the scribble on the page is supposed to represent!
Example of existing media storyboards
This is the storyboard for an extract of Forrest Gump. This storyboard is what we see or hear on the screen illustrated in individual shots to allow easy creation of the film.
From this storyboard the following extract from the film was created and this is what it looks like after all the editing and shooting of the film. This extract starts from 0.12 seconds.
Reflection Studio's Thriller Storyboard
And so here is the storyboard for our Studio's opening to a thriller including all the things needed in a storyboard.
Storyboard for Thriller
With the storyboard now complete and the thriller opening starting to come together next in the process of creating this opening is the animatic.
