How To Storyboard An Indie Film
Ever wanted a better way to communicate your shots than just a shot list? Well that's where storyboards can help you out! Here's some tips on storyboarding for beginner filmmakers.
Storyboarding is when you draw visual representations of each shot, usually in chronological order, that make up your film. These can be extremely helpful for directors to illustrate their vision on paper before shooting, as well as make sure everyone on set is on the same page and knows exactly what the shot should look like.
And you don’t have to be a skilled artist to draw storyboards. You can be as detailed as you like, or as rough as you like. What’s most important is that you’re illustrating the gist and communicating the angle of the shot in the storyboard frame.
So let's go over some basic tips on storyboarding. A storyboard is made up of three parts. First is the frame that represents your final film’s aspect ratio. This is where you’ll draw your image that will illustrate what the camera sees in the shot. Next is the shot name and camera angle, which goes directly below your storyboard image. And finally is the notes section where you can add any notes or script references that might be helpful for that specific shot.
Also, you should storyboard your shots in chronological story order to match the script. This can also help visualize how the shots will cut together and can be used in an animatic to test to see if the scene is working.
You can also use arrows to indicate motion for both the character... a set piece or prop... or the camera. Arrows in the corners of the frame indicate that the camera is pushing or zooming in or out. Arrows can also be placed on the left, right, top or bottom of the frame to indicate camera dollies, pans, or tilts. And you can also use multiple frames to illustrate shots that change angles through camera movements.
Storyboarding movies can be essential when you’re film requires CG or special effects. In these instances, storyboarding can help you plan out these types of shots ahead of time and identify which type of effect or extra shots are needed to achieve the shot.
Once you’re done with your storyboard, distribute it to all of your key crew members such as the director of photography, the assistant director, or even the makeup artist. If a crew member will benefit from having a copy, then make sure they’ve got one to help insure a smooth shoot.
There’s no real rules on how to storyboard, so just make sure you do what makes sense to you. As long as your vision is clearly communicated, that’s all that matters. So now that you know how to draw storyboard for film, you and your crew will have a clear picture of the vision for the film.
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