i suck at storyboarding..

dlevanchuk

dlevanchuk

Tried storyboarding - i miserably failed haha

It just too time consuming, and I don't get it why to use it at all..
It took me about 30 mins just to draw one frame, and it looks stupid :hmm:

Is it even any usable for small crews? How many of you use an actual story board?
 
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I'm crap at drawing as well. I've only done storyboards because I had to for my college assignments, and I must admit it did help me somewhat. Saved me a lot of time when shooting.

Though, this is a question for anybody to answer, does anyone think that storyboarding is vital for making a film? As in, you should storyboard each and every shot, including the dialogue scenes? I only ask because I remember having a debate with a friend of mine (he is a sequential illustrator) and he thought you couldn't do a film without storyboarding it, and when he demanded examples of directors who don't storyboard, I provided him with one, he dismissed it and said along the lines of "Well his shots would have been better if he storyboarded it"

I myself employ shot lists and storyboarding when I do filming (for reference, just in case I get flamed)
 
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harmonica44 said:
Since cameras wave screens on them now to see what you shot, is storyboarding really necessary?
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The more people involved in the shoot, the more necessary storyboards become. The inverse is true too, the fewer people you have in a crew, the less needed storyboards become.

Storyboards merely convey everything that should be in the frame for shots. If you have costume designers, make up FX, special FX, set design, continuity, and the the more obvious like the camera crew all seeing what the shot is supposed to look like, then they all have a visual reference to work towards when doing the shot(s).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUYwTZOQkUI
 
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I don't see how stick figure storyboards are specific enough. I can imagine a scene with a lot more in it, then just a stick figure, and some of the story board examples, had no background behind the characters. So how do you plan a scene if all you have are stick figures with no background?
 
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Well, obviously a more detailed Story board helps, but with stick figures you at least get basic composition and movement.

Anything important should be in the storyboard. You don't need the entire set design because that should be written/drawn somewhere else for the decorators. Important props and objects should be for sure.

Again, it's making you plan your shots and see what it looks like cut together.
 
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harmonica44 said:
I don't see how stick figure storyboards are specific enough. I can imagine a scene with a lot more in it, then just a stick figure, and some of the story board examples, had no background behind the characters. So how do you plan a scene if all you have are stick figures with no background?
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They can be more or less detailed depending on as Sonny said who is looking at them and what you're using them for. My stick figures don't have every bit of the background, but they tell me what angle the camera is at, how tight the shot is, they contain some important props. They allow me to work out "how do I get from this shot to that shot" in pre-production instead of while beating your head against the editing rig.

My storyboards are 80% accurate final edit of the film.
 
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harmonica44 said:
I don't see how stick figure storyboards are specific enough. I can imagine a scene with a lot more in it, then just a stick figure, and some of the story board examples, had no background behind the characters. So how do you plan a scene if all you have are stick figures with no background?
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Once you have the background sorted, anyone looking at the storyboard will take it for given. If there are important props that the shot needs to be relative to (say, a table), you draw that in, so the DP knows "okay, shoot from the left of the table, with a relatively high angle" and the actor knows "leaning on the table, but this is how far I should lean, giving room for the other actor in the shot", etc, etc. You don't NEED to draw the wall with books behind them, because it's there; you've already taken the time to design that and place it relative to the table.

Some people do draw everything in storyboards (and make them look like comic books), but the point of stick figure/minimalisim is to draw just what needs to be sorted for that individual shot, and how to communicate that effectively to the people you are working with. Likewise you don't need to have detailed costumes in the storyboard, even though they will be in the shot (and likely in your imagination/planning).
 
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harmonica44 said:
I don't see how stick figure storyboards are specific enough. I can imagine a scene with a lot more in it, then just a stick figure, and some of the story board examples, had no background behind the characters. So how do you plan a scene if all you have are stick figures with no background?
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Its a matter of something is better than nothing. A PERFECTLY realized storyboard for every frame would be an animated movie. :)

Even stick drawings can quickly show the actor where to stand in the shot. You can see if the camera should be high up or down low, you can show camera angels and other stuff like that. Sure you cant get ALL the information in any storyboard, but it gives you a place to start with on the set discussions.

So far my most advanced use of storyboards was just overhead schematics, which helped ME remember what I was imagining on the day of the shoot. During the shoot, I lose ALL memory and most of my creativity, so if I didn't make good notes, Ill not know what the heck I was thinking, and the shot wont get made.
 
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I always storyboard, just at a basic stick figure level. Even if I'm DoP-ing myself, it just means I can look at the boards and immediately know what the next shot is. And they're enough so that the cast, soundie, etc can get a basic idea of the framing.

I'm going to try to attach a couple of storyboard pages from two of my films, with side-by-side comparisons of the final shots.

SBComp01.jpg


SBComp02.jpg


The first frame from the first board ended up being shot from the opposite side to that boarded due to the blocking of the shot changing on location.
 
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I didn't read the entire post, but SHOT LISTS work wonders for me. And even those get thrown out the window or completely neglected during a shoot. Best to have it all in your head. :) (I'm kidding... well, partly.)

For example:

~ running up rocks, turning to camera
~ slo-mo through trees
~ surrounded by masks
~ running through riverbed
~ lost, wandering, scared

That's pretty typical of how I approach a shoot. Have the general shot in mind then tweak and adjust as necessary.

2 cents.
 
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I'm all about coverage. That doesn't mean that specific shots aren't conceived in advance. But they don't all need to be super-specific. For most scenes, I think it's overkill to storyboard the entire thing. I don't see anything wrong with working from a list. In fact, as an editor, that's what I strongly prefer.
 
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SinEater said:
I strongly urge you to not avoid it. Any set I've been on without storyboards it's been obvious other pre-planning has been avoided as well.
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I respectfully disagree.

Storyboarding is not all that necessary if you've spent pre-production time wisely.

I didn't do them for my current feature and I spent 6 months in pre-production. I'll probably never do them unless I have an artist volunteer or I buy some sweet new storyboarding software :) I know some people who have them and end up not using them. Things change at the last minute.

However, I think the biggest problem is that people storyboard before they have locations secure so things really end up changing before the shot actually gets set up.

Just my 2 cents.
 
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