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What is a Storyboard?

By Laurie Brooker

Simply put, a Storyboard is a sequence of still pictures deliberately arranged to represent the events of a story which will be filmed, in the order they will be finally edited and screened.

Of course a good Storyboard contains much more than this. If you can imagine a comic strip, with film language subtitles and the speech bubbles written as a Sound Effects panel, (along with any other sounds made in that shot or scene) you are approaching the amount of content required for a Storyboard. In fact, almost every person involved in a film's production needs to refer to either the script and/or the Storyboard at some stage.

The Storyboard acts as a preview and as a visual script for camera angles, lighting, montage, sound effects, actor arrangment, prop arrangement, and (most importantly) the narrative development and continuity.

If a film crew arrived for work on the first day of filming, and there was no such thing as a Storyboard, the following are just some of the problems that could be expected:

--Because the script would be in written form only there would be a danger of misunderstanding the descriptions or film terms.

--There could be language differences. Pictures are the International story language.

--The Director would have to have incredible vision to be able to see how the story flowed and if the Continuity was correct.There is a big difference between a description of Montage or Mise-en-scene and the actual images arranged in visual form to clearly show such things as object shape continuity, light or viewpoint, frame design or Mise-en-scene.
There are actually several types of Storyboard, the main one being the Production Storyboard.

The Production Storyboard.

Another type of Storyboard is the Conceptual Sheet or Painting. This is only a sequence of images, much like a photo-essay. The purpose of this is simply to communicate the visual style of the film.

TV storyboards are another type and are nearly always larger and more detailed. This is because the narrative or concept is usually more dynamic and time-compressed, requiring a lot of short shots, including overlays and voice-overs. These storyboards are designed and produced by advertising agencies for their ( sometimes visually illiterate )clients.

The Animatic is a Storyboard type which goes a little further. This is produced by transferring the images of a Production Storyboard or Concept storyboard to film and dubbing a soundtrack.

The Digital or Rush Storyboard is a Production Storyboard which has been compiled using digital images, either tableau-style posed images or actual stills from rehearsals or exploratory shooting. There is Software available for this type of storyboard. The advantage of this type is that non-linear editors can re-arrange the shots or adjust various aspects of the storyboard instantly and this gives the Director wider choice and a problem-solving facility.

What are the Main Conventions?

A lot of information is communicated through a storyboard and the industry has created its own language and conventions . This allows producers to make their own shorthand and everyone in the industry should be familiar with the technical terms and the codes used. The following is a brief look at the main conventions, only as they relate to Film Storyboards. Otherwise we could be here a long time if we had to cover the entire industry. Many of these codes and conventions are transferrable, that is they hold a similar meaning in another part of the industry.

Some Film Conventions

The story which is told is broken down into narrative elements. These are the Characters, the Setting, the Conflicts, and the Resolution of the story. Most of these elements are detailed in the script but are referred to in the storyboard.
The Characters perform the actions required to complete the narrative. In a given setting the story moves from a state of equilibrium to situations which involve conflict and must be resolved. These add drama and tension to the plot. They also allow for sub-plots and interweaving or 'twists' in the plot.

What to film and How to film it

Any one story, if filmed in real time would be tedious and time-consuming. To condense this and inject interest, the plot is broken down further into important events or situations. These are called Moments and the rule which surround this idea is called the PRINCIPLE OF MOMENTS. This is a very important storyboarding tool. Now, every event is not as important as each other. Some are critcally important whilst others are simply required for the narrative or as atmosphere to a more important event. For this reason Moments are generally categorised as Atmospheric, Narrative and Critical

Imagine a firing squad. The notation of events could be:
1. The prisoner is walked to the wall.
2. The prisoner is tied to the pole and blindfolded.
3. The Chief Executioner reads the judgement.
4. The Chief raise his arm.
5. The firing squad raise their guns
6. The Chief yells 'fire!'
7. Bullets ring out, riddle the body.
8. The body slumps.
9. The firing squad leaves.

Not all of these are critical. I would classify 5,6 and 7 as critical, whilst 3,4 and 8 are narrative. Shots 1,2 and 9 are definitely atmospheric.
OK, now that this principle is understood we now need to design our shots using appropriate techniques to give the correct emphasis to the plot. Two of these techniques are:

Camera Angles and Frame Composition
The industry varies slightly in the exact code headings however most will be familiar with the following:
Establishing or Long Shot ( LS ) -generally used to establish a scene's setting or atmosphere. Obviously then this shot could be employed for events 1, 2 and 9 in the example above.
Mid -Shot. (MS) This shot usually extends (on a person) from the foot to the head. This could be an ideal shot for event 3 (above).
Close-up (CU) traditionally extends from either the waist to the head (MCU) or the shoulder blade to the hair.(CU) A good candidate for the shot for events5 and 7 (above).
Extreme Close Up (ECU) Always a very tight close-up, usually of the face or a section of the face only. Maximum expression possible. Normally a short shot. Ideal for event 6 (above).
High Camera Angle (HCA) The camera is higher than eye level, looking down -this viewpoint can diminish a subject or give a panorama.
Low Camera Angle (LCA) The camera is lower than eye level looking up. This can make a subject monumental, or the character feel small in a tall environment.