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Step 3Planning and Pre-Production (Storyboarding)
I have to make a horrible confession. I don't storyboard. I do, however, firmly believe that it will save you countless headaches and time but it is not strictly necessary - at least in a short film.
What is a storyboard you ask? Basically it is the comic book version of the movie. Every shot you plan will be a separate frame depicting things like camera movement and location, actors movement and location, environment movement and location, and every single bit of movement and location you want in your shot and ultimately movie. It will help you plan out what you need to do on set. What shots you will need. What props are necessary. You get the idea.
The most common way to storyboard is by hand. I like to draw on standard 3x5 index cards.
Let me stop for a moment and say that it is now important to know if you will be shooting with a standard aspect ration of 4:3 (your grandma's black and white television) or 16:9 (your new 52" plasma HDTV) or an even greater aspect ratio (Lord of the Rings). This knowledge ensures you don't plan shots that won't fit on your camera.
What's that you say? You cannot draw? No fear, me either. There are several options available for the artistically challenged such as us. Remember, you are just planning movement and location so a stick figure with an arrow is more than adequate for planning out your shots. But if you are one of those people (you know I am talking about you) then you can use software such as StoryBoard Artist or FrameForge to do it for you - or you could save hundreds of dollars and use the FREE Google Sketchup.
Sketchup? Yes. Add your characters and props - which you downloaded from Google's Bonus Packs (even includes a Film and Stage kit) or from the Sketchup 3D Warehouse. This is a solution many small studios use as they can precisely control the placement of everything and their camera.
Okay, I finished my storyboard - now what do I do with them? Why load them up into Celtx to centrally consolidate all of your files!
What is a storyboard you ask? Basically it is the comic book version of the movie. Every shot you plan will be a separate frame depicting things like camera movement and location, actors movement and location, environment movement and location, and every single bit of movement and location you want in your shot and ultimately movie. It will help you plan out what you need to do on set. What shots you will need. What props are necessary. You get the idea.
The most common way to storyboard is by hand. I like to draw on standard 3x5 index cards.
Let me stop for a moment and say that it is now important to know if you will be shooting with a standard aspect ration of 4:3 (your grandma's black and white television) or 16:9 (your new 52" plasma HDTV) or an even greater aspect ratio (Lord of the Rings). This knowledge ensures you don't plan shots that won't fit on your camera.
What's that you say? You cannot draw? No fear, me either. There are several options available for the artistically challenged such as us. Remember, you are just planning movement and location so a stick figure with an arrow is more than adequate for planning out your shots. But if you are one of those people (you know I am talking about you) then you can use software such as StoryBoard Artist or FrameForge to do it for you - or you could save hundreds of dollars and use the FREE Google Sketchup.
Sketchup? Yes. Add your characters and props - which you downloaded from Google's Bonus Packs (even includes a Film and Stage kit) or from the Sketchup 3D Warehouse. This is a solution many small studios use as they can precisely control the placement of everything and their camera.
Okay, I finished my storyboard - now what do I do with them? Why load them up into Celtx to centrally consolidate all of your files!
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