Production Glossary
Storyboard
A storyboard is a set of images or sketches that display a succession of scenes to visualize animation, motion pictures, media sequences, and website interactivity prior to shooting or designing the piece of work. Storyboards are cost effective because they give the advertiser, cinematographer, animator, writer, or director the advantage of seeing their entire work played out before spending the money to shoot or animate it.
The storyboard, developed at the Walt Disney Studio in the early 1930s, has evolved from simple sketches for short animation subjects, to the more elaborate illustrations of individual scenes used today. Webb Smith, acknowledged for coming up with the idea, even took to fastening the scenes in order on a bulletin board to have the full idea in front of the animators.
All movie and animation studios were using storyboarding by 1938. Gone With the Wind was one of the first major motion pictures to be entirely storyboarded. The popularity of storyboarding grew in movies and television due to the ability to visualize scenes as they would be viewed through the lens of the camera. The small squares of activity demonstrate movement with the use of arrows, and at times short written direction. Aside from the obvious milieu, storyboards are also used in the theater. Even in this medium, storyboarding is of great advantage to the actors and director's understanding of a scene.
Digital animation added new elements of storyboarding that are specific to the profession. Animatics, computerized still pictures that are cut together and shown in succession, takes storyboarding a step further by allowing the creator to discern what the scene will look like with timing and motion. Oftentimes a bit of dialogue or track of sound can be laid over the scene to see if they work well together. Because animation is such an expensive undertaking, animatics provide a cheap way to evaluate whether or not a scene should stay or go.
One area of industry that has benefited greatly from the use of storyboards is advertising. With the main objective being the client paying for their services, an ad agency will craft a storyboard that can represent both television and print media. Design comics are often used to include other roles, such as the customer,into the narrative of the story being told. Typically, design comics are utilized in the designing of websites and the explanation of product usage summaries.
Check out the video below for a quick and easy tutorial on storyboarding on a budget:
