Unit 18 Storyboarding - Learnig aim A
Learning Aim A
Scenario
I have been employed by an independent film studio which is seeking financial backing for a large scale movie project. The investors need assurance that the visual planning of the movie will be highly effective and so you have been given the task of preparing a visual report to demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of a range of storyboards across different production contexts.
What is a Storyboard?
A storyboard is a visual representation of what the film is expected to look like. It is there so that the crew working on the film can constantly refer back to it and make sure what they are doing is correct. This makes for the production to be more efficient as everyone knows what they will need to do. Storyboards are used by a vast array of people that are working on the film as the actors will look at it to see what is expected by them, the lighting team will constantly refer back to the storyboard as it is showing them what shots they want and then the lighting team will work on the suitable lighting for the scenes. The cameramen who are also working on the film will also constantly refer back to the storyboard as it shows the shot type and if there are any camera movements. Depending on the detail in the storyboard the editors may also refer to the storyboard as it may show what transitions are needed.
History of Story boarding
Storyboards were initially created by George Melies when he created A trip to the moon (1902) as storyboards were well used by the makers of silent films but most evidence of this was lost in the reduction of the archives. Although George Melies invented storyboards Disney have always credited animator Webb Smith when he created Three Little pigs with inventing them as he would always draw scenes on paper and would then pin them on a bulletin board so that it is telling the story in sequence. Before they were called storyboards they were known as comic strips and they served the same purpose as after Webb Smith coined the term Storyboards. One of the first live action films that was story boarded was Gone with the wind (1939) which is an American historical romance film which was adapted from the novel by Margaret Mitchell where it is telling the story of Scarlett O'Hara and her romantic pursuit of a man who is married to his cousin. After this was story boarded n many more live action films began to get story boarded in the 1940s/50s. When looking at the difference between a newer storyboard and Gone with the wind you can see that it has changed as in the newer storyboard Tomorrow never dies it is showing the characters movements. This is not the best example of a good storyboard as it would contain camera movements, transitions between shots, shot length and shot type.
Films
When story boarding you need to make sure that you are consistent with the small details as many of the crew members use the storyboard as a guide on what to do and the story board helps the production run smoothly. For example in Jurassic world the storyboard has slightly lacking on some details as it shows a man in one scene with his hair slicked back, the scene after the storyboard shows the man with his hair down and then the scene after that his hair is shown as being slicked back again which can make it very confusing for the production team who are working on the film. This storyboard also could have had some color added to it so it is easier to define what is happening but it is not necessary. Although it has some slight continuity errors it is showing everything that a storyboard needs as it shows the characters location, there movements and also what the scene looks like. It is also showing the angles that they want for each shot and the directions they are going to make it easier for the camera men.
Apart from the slight issue with continuity this storyboard is an almost perfect example of what a storyboard should look like. When story boarding for Psycho Alfred Hitchcock made sure to get down every detail he could including the exact outfits that he wanted the characters to be wearing.This storyboard only includes a small amount of description but to make it better there can be more detail like the shot length, the transition between the shots as it would make it easier for the crew when they work on it. Although this storyboard shows a lot of mis-en-scene and the different elements on it such as the costumes that the characters are wearing, the props that are being used by the characters, the location that the scene is happening is very clear.
Compared to the Jurassic park storyboard the Alien storyboard has a lot more detail as you can clearly see what is going on in the pictures and you can compare the pictures to the film and see the similarities but it also includes details like whether the scene is filmed inside or outside. This storyboard was made by Ridley Scott and it is said to show how all the directors envisioned the film. This storyboard is from Alien : Acid blood scene (1979) and although the description of what is happening in the shots is there, aspects are still missing for example how long the shot would be lasting and also if there are any camera movements.A big problem with this storyboard is that it is quite difficult to understand what is happening as it has been layout quite badly.
Evaluation
Storyboards are vital for creating a big film as they include important information that everyone on the crew should see as it helps to ensure that production runs as smoothly as possible when production starts. Without storyboards on film sets production of big films would take much longer as people wouldn't know what was wanted and they would have to spend more time making sure there were no mistakes or continuity errors between scenes. On the other hand a company may see storyboards as unnecessary as they would have to employ storyboard artists which some company's may see as a waste of money and it could waist time when they could already be filming. In my personal opinion i feel storyboards are an extremely useful tool to have on set of productions as people will know what they need to do and they will not have to waste time asking the directors what they have to do next. Both these are missing the transitions between each shots so that is something that can make both of these better
Animations
Storyboards for animated projects is a vital part for creating them as it is the easiest way in which you can show your vision to other people in the production team especially people who can not envision what is happening in it. Storyboards for animated productions are also a great way to see if your idea works well and if there are any inconsistencies with the story line. If there are any inconsistencies or problems that you notice when story boarding it out you can make sure that you are not going to access any issues later on in the production as you have caught all the problems early.
This example of a Tom and Jerry story board is very good as you can clearly tell what is happening in each image but to ensure that the animators know what is happening they have also wrote underneath what is happening in the shot so that the producers get what they want from the animators. In the storyboard they have included no dialogue which is expected in a storyboard as it is not a script but the issue is that there is no sound cues at all as Tom and Jerry use a wide variety of sounds that you would expect to see in a cartoon.
Another good example of a storyboard for an animation is Batman which they have put in the standard 4/3 format. This is a good example of a storyboard as it shows the shot numbers by each image which the storyboard for Tom and Jerry did not have. Another reason that the batman storyboard is better than the Tom and Jerry storyboard is that it includes arrows to show the movements of Batman. A big issue with this storyboard is that the it is in lack and white so the animators would struggle to tell if they actually wanted it in black and white or they want color so there is a lack of communication that may effect the production of it.
After watching the clip you can realise that it is meant to be in black and white although some shots have a little bit of colour which the storyboard does not show, which tells you that the storyboard was well used and referred back to.
Evaluation
Storyboards are a great thing for animators to have as it is some thing that they can constantly refer back to as it shows them how it should look and any movements that a character might make. This will ensure that the animation process goes smoothly as the animators can see clearly what is expected. Without storyboards animation would take a very long time as you would have to constantly go back to the production company to check if what you have done is alright and if the company wants anything changed which would waste the production companies time and also the animators time. I also believe that storyboards are extremely useful for animations as well as they provide vital information to the animators so that the animation can come out as best as possible.
Video Games
Story boarding for video games is an important feature as like in films you need to show the plot of what is going to happen. An example of a storyboard of a video game is Assassins creed origins (2017). This storyboard could be made better by including more detail for example transitions between shots, if there are any camera movements or if the character is making any movements and also it can include less dialogue as storyboards shouldn't include the script. The images for this storyboard are very good though but they could include colour which would make it easier when actually making the video game.
Compared to Assassins creed origins storyboard there are a lot of differences between Super Mario Odyssey (2017) as the images from the super Mario odyssey story board are more like sketches compared to the high quality images on the Assassins creed story board. The good thing about this storyboard is that they have included arrows to show the movements that the characters are going to take which is useful for the game developers to know so the process of making the game is easier. The thing that i would change with the storyboard is that they have all the characters coloured in red which can become a little confusing as it is not clear to the people viewing the storyboard when multiple characters are in close proximity.
Evaluation
Although the storyboards for video games do not need anywhere near as much detail as storyboards for films there is still a lot of detail that these storyboards are missing. They need to tell us how long the shot will last for, if there are any transitions between the shots as it would make the developing process much easier especially for productions of this size that without adequate planning developing the games would take ages but having a storyboard would help to make it smoother and quicker.
Comparisons
Throughout my research of storyboards from three different creative media is that storyboards for each type of production require different levels of detail. Storyboards for films require the highest amount of detail as they are the longest to produce so a detailed storyboard helps productions of films run as smoothly and as quickly as possible. Animations do not include as much detail in the form of writing but the images in animation storyboards are much more detailed than those for films as it shows the animators what they need to do. Storyboards for video games also do not include a large amount detail the main focus is also in the images. Something that a large majority of the storyboards share is that they have arrows showing how the characters will move but what i also noticed is that a lot of the storyboards are missing larger amount of detail like you would expect in a storyboard like the shot length, any transitions between shots and shot numbers. The storyboard for an animation is different to the storyboard of a film as a film storyboard includes: The movement of the camera whereas the animation does not as there is not any camera movement as animations are not shot with a camera. A storyboard for a film also requires a lot more like the shot type, the whole mis-en-scene of the shot as the crew need this type of details and the storyboards for these animations do not need this much detail as animations are cheaper to produce than films are as films are longer and require more depth. The storyboard to a game is different to the both of these as a storyboard is only really needed if there is a cut scene within the game which is only a small animation but it requires everything that an animation would including the length of a shot, character movements. If the storyboard for the game is of the actual game play then you need to include high levels of detail like all the different movements that a character may take if there is any dialogue that will appear on screen as long as there is not a full fledged conversation or paragraph as the development of game play can take a lot longer than the same length of time in an animation or in a film.
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