Who uses storyboard?

vaksart

vaksart

Hello there,
So this is the question, who uses storyboards? It kind of a poll i'm taking, i am a storyboard artist myself and i came to this site thinking i was just going to use it to find some work , but i love this community!!

So i want to hear from everybody that has any experience with using storyboards before shoots and if u can, tell me how u hooked up with the artist that did them or if u just did em yourself that would be bonus!!

Thx all,
Chris :D

http://vaksart.deviantart.com/gallery/#Storyboards
 
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I did a bit of web searching to look at shot lists and i can see why some directors work straight from that, but i think its just asking for problems. Even if its just chicken scratch, maybe its just that im a visual peson?
 
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vaksart said:
I did a bit of web searching to look at shot lists and i can see why some directors work straight from that, but i think its just asking for problems. Even if its just chicken scratch, maybe its just that im a visual peson?
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OK, but you're communicating with directors, and we're telling you that we like shot lists. It's not just my dealings in this forum, but with low-budget indie filmmakers I actually know -- none of us storyboard. You can think that we're asking for problems, but then again, you're not directing this thing are you? Direct a few movies, then try to tell us we need storyboards.

Directors are visual people, too.
 
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Oops i didnt mean to offend anyone! Im just digging for answers. I think its cool that some directors shoot straight from a shot list.

... It's not just my dealings in this forum, but with low-budget indie filmmakers I actually know -- none of us storyboard.

Is that really true? But u would prefer them even if u werent willing to spend a penny on it? (just askin..) I guess i can see why Indies wouldnt do it and production houses do, because their budgets are so big they cant waste time.

Awesome post SonnyBoo
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I don't storyboard. Ive tried it once, but my mind goes way too fast for a moving pencil. By the time im done with a short scene, i was exhausted, and felt like it was a waste of time.. When i write a short script, I already "see" how i want to shoot it, and adding little notes in the script, for exhample "Dolly from L to R, slowly focus on character". For some reason all of the ideas stick in my mind and i remember exactly what to shoot, and how..
But thats the advantage of being writer, DoP, director and editor ;)
 
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vaksart said:
Oops i didnt mean to offend anyone! Im just digging for answers. I think its cool that some directors shoot straight from a shot list.
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You didn't offend. My bad if I made it sound like I was offended. I wasn't.

No, I'm just explaining that in my experience (which is limited, albeit), I don't personally know any directors who make storyboarding a necessary part of their process, and it has nothing to do with whether or not we can afford it.

Let's say I'm filming a scene in which two people are talking to each other. Do we really need to storyboard that? I mean, can't I just imagine what all the shots will look like, by writing down a quick list?

1. Master
2. Girl (M/C OTS)
3. Boy (M/C OTS)
4. Girl C/U
5. Boy C/U
6. Cutaways -- cat in window, C/U flowers in boy's hand

That's your average scene. People talking to each other. Even if they're moving around their space, it's still not very complicated to think of the shots that you need for good coverage, but leaving yourself flexible enough to decide EXACTLY how that shot will look until you're on the set.

Perhaps part of this equation has to do with the fact that rehearsal and blocking tend to be done right before shooting. Again, I can't speak for everyone, but of the directors I personally know, we don't even know blocking until right before we roll cameras. That is something we work out during rehearsal, with the actors (and rehearsal is something we typically do on the set). And in filmmaking, blocking isn't just what the actors do, but what the camera does. So we could storyboard, but in all likelihood, it's gonna change once we start working with our actors.
 
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Its all becoming so clear now! I'm so glad i started this thread, i've always thought of things from a storyboard artists point of view, which was if a director wants to be prepared he should have storyboards. But all these posts are telling me how little u guys need boards because u all prepare in ur own way.

I see, i see...
 
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Hey C Funk, wouldn't storyboard/comic book style panels be a good for your 'chapter cards'?

Just a thought, since the word 'Antihero' makes me think of comic books. Or maybe I've just been watching too much Heroes :P

Could be a cool DVD cover, too...
 
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vaksart said:
I did a bit of web searching to look at shot lists and i can see why some directors work straight from that, but i think its just asking for problems. Even if its just chicken scratch, maybe its just that im a visual peson?
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Maybe for some directors working only from a shot list would
create problems, but certainly not all. In some ways I find the
storyboard limiting. People see them and then there is the
feeling that that's exactly the way the set up should be. To me
that's limiting. To others it's prepared. I like to get on the set
with the actors and play and block the scene. Then I get the
feel of where the camera should be to capture what I want to
get across.

For elaborate scenes with efx and stunts that need to be set in
stone before production begins storyboards are essential. But for
what most of us who post here do, they may not be essential to
the process.

While Cracker doesn't know any directors who use storyboards, I
know a LOT who do. It really is a personal and financial decision
that can't be discussed in generalities. I must admit I don't even
know how to communicate with a storyboard artist. I had a
roommate who was one; he would take the script and do the boards
without even working with the director. It seemed to me it was the
board artist who was making the movie.
 
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If you're interested in more perspectives, for the feature I'm currently finishing I storyboarded every shot, even if it was just a close-up or conversation between 2 people. I did this for 3 reasons:

1. It served as my shot list. I cut apart the drawings and sorted them into the shots I needed to obtain at each location, then attached them to a large sheet of cardboard, which I hung from a C-stand on the set so everyone could see it. As we shot each one, I crossed it out.

2. It helped immensely to keep track of screen direction. Often a shot from one angle was juxtaposed with another shot in a completely different location, sometimes months apart. My storyboards kept track of which direction a character was moving or looking.

3. It gave the actors a sense of the coverage we needed to get, and how tight the camera would be for each shot. It also allowed me to schedule their time more efficiently, since I knew exactly how many shots they appeared in.

Having said all of that, I don't think it's necessary to storyboard every movie. This particular project was very complex, with many different locations, complex sequences, special effects, and a very long shooting schedule. For my previous 2 features I only storyboarded the more complicated sequences, which was fine for those productions. Also, I am a reformed cartoonist, so I draw them all myself. They are not, however, detailed drawings - just one notch above stick figures.
 
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I have done storyboards straight from script without any direction from the director, i always received positive feedback from them even if they didnt use most of my shots, but i definetely believe the best way is for a storyboard artist to sit down with the director and sketch out his vision for shots and then take it home a finish them.

If i was directing i think i would do very basic boards just to keep track of shots and then cross them out as i shoot. But like some of u have said, i wouldnt want to miss out on shots because i was swearing by the storyboards.
 
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Dreadylocks said:
Hey C Funk, wouldn't storyboard/comic book style panels be a good for your 'chapter cards'?

Just a thought, since the word 'Antihero' makes me think of comic books. Or maybe I've just been watching too much Heroes :P

Could be a cool DVD cover, too...
Click to expand...

Oohhhh, that is a REALLY good idea. I've already contacted a local artist, one whom I've worked with before, for the opening credits. I think I'll have to talk to her about chapter titles, as well, and I really like the idea of giving it a comic-book aesthetic.

vaksart, since I've worked with this person before (and she's fantastic), I definitely want to work with her again, but hypothetically, if things don't work out between she and I, I'll contact you to see if we might want to work together.

Thanks for the great idea, Dready!
 
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vaksart said:
Awesome post SonnyBoo
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Obviously, I use storyboards when I think they are necessary. If you can draw, then storyboards are one of the most effective ways to communicate with everyone from camera to art to actors.

If you have a smaller crew, or you work well with the production designer and camera departments, then the boards can be substituted by a shot list, as long as everyone know what you mean, what will be in the shot, and what they all need to do.

Since my next shoot will have a smaller crew, I don't know if I'll use storyboards, but if I can find someone who will do them for cheap, then I absolutely will.

I'll still need a shot list to start with.
 
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Dreadylocks said:
Hey C Funk, wouldn't storyboard/comic book style panels be a good for your 'chapter cards'?

Just a thought, since the word 'Antihero' makes me think of comic books. Or maybe I've just been watching too much Heroes :P

Could be a cool DVD cover, too...
Click to expand...

The movie Sasquatch Gang features comic book style panels at the start of each movie "chapter".
Thought it was a pretty nice touch!
 
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vaksart said:
( only to those that have already posted, lol! )
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woohoo!

ibtl_2.gif


If I do every end up needing storyboards, I know who to call :)
 
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My personal approach to storyboards, is that they can be useful, but are definitely not necessary

For example, at the minute, I'm scripting my first full-length feature, and I certainly don't plan to use boards, mainly because of the financial aspect, but also because I find if I have storyboards on set, I try too hard to stick to them and it limits me creatively.
I'm saying this, as I am my own writer, director and camera-man

But, if I have some shots I know for sure that I need, I tend to draw a small stick figure drawing of some sort on my copy of my script, so when I get to shooting it, it will remind me.

I don't claim any sort of individuality for this though, I saw Scorsese doing it in a documentary about Goodfellas, and thought it would be useful for when I needed some sort of visual reminder of a shot
 
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