developingastoryboardcamp

=Developing a Storyboard=

Another facet of the planning process is the storyboard, the map that provides instructions to the actors, cameraperson, editor, and support team for the video production. The usual storyboard resembles a set of comic book drawings. Like comic books, storyboards communicate as much information as possible with a combination of artwork and text. Most movies are still created this way so storyboarding is a great skill to have. In this lesson, students first create storyboards from existing scripts for plays or movies. They then develop storyboards from original ideas for a commercial that they film in Lesson 3. Preparation Gather some scripts for students to use to create storyboards. You could use collections of one-act plays, plays that students may have already read in English class, such as those by Shakespeare, or scripts from movies that have been made. Students will need just one or two scenes to storyboard.

Creating a Storyboard from an Existing Script

1. To introduce the lesson, show the class a Pixar film on DVD. Pixar does a great job at showing how they transition from one step of the moviemaking process to the next. Make sure to show students the additional footage on the Pixar DVD in which the artists discuss the storyboarding process. Students can see the movie being born here. The storyboard artist goes through the scenes animating every shot to the team. It’s magical.

2. The storyboard is the most important piece of information for the movie editor as well as the rest of the production crew. Storyboards are produced in different ways. The traditional storyboard is a document with boxes with action drawings that look like those in comic books. In a narrative movie, the drawings communicate the camera and action instructions to the crew. This helps the director instruct the actors on what they need to do. The drawings also show the cameraperson and lighting team how to light and frame a shot. A simple list of what should be shot and what questions need to be asked may be sufficient. Show the class some examples of storyboards, scripts, and shot lists.

Blank Storyboards:

Sample Storyboard:


Lesson from Wikiversity

3. Have students work in groups of two to four to create a storyboard based on an existing script. The storyboard should include where the camera needs to be and instructions for the actors. Students should draw the storyboards by hand, but point out that storyboarding software is available.

//**Resources for Storyboards**// Storyboard Pro from Atomic Learning Comic Life