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Storyboards
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What is storyboarding?
The definition of storyboarding is “a panel or p anels o
n which a sequence of sketches depict the
significant c hanges o
f action and s cene in a planned film, a
s for a movie, television show or
advertisement.” They are used in a range of ways to pitch and plan ideas for animations,
TV/Film, music videos, game design and more. They are drawings in panels that may or may
not have a short description of what is happening within the shot, therefore they give the people
involved in the creation of these stories a clearer visual idea of what it will look like and what
steps they need to follow to create it.
Disney Storyboard for Bambi (1942) William Cameron Menzies’ Storyboard for Gone With the Wind (1939)
Storyboarding in Animation
As most animated films are cartoons, storyboarding is especially useful for this genre. This is
because storyboards can be drawn to the exact frame size and shot type and show the exact
features of the character or shot due to the actual film being drawn/animated too, they can be
followed by filmmakers much more easily and precisely than live action film. It makes it easy to
work out the staging, settings the characters are in, actions the characters are doing and
pace/timing. This makes the use of storyboarding very effective in animation as filmmakers can
see almost exactly what the shots look like together, what effect they create and if they work. It
also allows for different shots to be placed differently in a sequence and to see what effect this
has on the sequence, all done by just moving a piece of paper. The storyboard layout is the
scene number above the panel, then information about dialogue/sound effects and a description
written below the panel. This is a clear and simple way to layout a storyboard, but it is effective
as animation does not change from the storyboard layout due to how exact it is.
The purpose of storyboarding in animation is to communicate to the filmmakers what the basis
for the film is and to see if it is effective. The storyboard panels are often drawn out on separate
sheets of paper and stuck up on a board, allowing for easy changes to scene layout and shots
to create a different effect. The storyboard for animation is the outline for the actual film as it can
be created to the precise look of the storyboard. An example of the use of storyboarding in
animation is Disney, where the idea for storyboarding was first developed. At Disney storyboard
artists receive a script or a ‘beat outline’ which is a description of the characters emotional
changes that need to be shown through actions in the scene. A lot of the directing for animation
movies/shows is done at the storyboarding stage of the process due to the accuracy of
storyboards when to comes to characters movements, emotions and shot types.