Directors storyboard primarily by first deeply understanding the story they need to visualize, which involves breaking down the script and identifying key narrative elements.
Storyboarding is a crucial step in filmmaking and production, serving as a visual blueprint for a film, TV show, or other visual narrative. Directors use storyboards to plan out shots, visualize scenes, and communicate their vision to the cast and crew before filming begins.
The fundamental step in how directors storyboard is analyzing the script or narrative. According to reference information, "When creating a storyboard, it's crucial to know what story you're telling." The recommended approach starts with breaking down the script.
The Initial Breakdown: Understanding the Core Story
The process begins by thoroughly reviewing the script or narrative material. This isn't just reading; it's an analytical process aimed at identifying the essential components that need to be visually depicted.
The best starting point, as highlighted, is to:
- Break up the script or narrative: Divide the story into manageable sections, typically scenes or sequences.
- Mark up key parts: Go through these sections and specifically identify and highlight critical elements.
What kinds of key parts are marked up? The reference specifies several important aspects:
- Actions: What physically happens in the scene? (e.g., a character runs, a car crashes, a door opens).
- Locations: Where does the action take place? (e.g., a forest, a specific room, a city street).
- Wardrobe: Are specific costumes important for a character's look or the scene's meaning?
- Staging: How are characters and objects positioned within the scene or shot? What is their physical relationship to each other?
- Narrative Arches: How does the story or a specific character arc progress visually?
- Major Plot Points: Crucial moments that drive the story forward.
By marking up these elements, the director identifies the moments and details that absolutely must be captured visually.
Visualizing the Breakdown
Once the script is broken down and the key elements are marked, the director works, often with a storyboard artist, to translate these points into a series of drawings. Each drawing, or panel, represents a specific shot or moment in the narrative.
- Each panel corresponds to a specific beat or action identified in the script breakdown.
- Panels show camera angles, character positions, and key actions.
- Notes are often added to panels describing movement, dialogue, camera direction, or sound.
This process allows the director to pre-visualize the entire project, iron out potential issues before filming, plan camera movements and shot compositions, and effectively communicate their vision to the production team. It turns the written script into a visual story sequence.
