A brief description and commentary on a storyboarding process.

1. This is my process when I do boards. Everybody is informed by their own experience.This is mine, evolved
from 25 plus years of boarding. Storyboarding is planning.Think of it as a verb not a noun. Not about
pretty pictures. It’s about clear communication.
To do a good board, you need knowledge of the production technique to be used.The limitations and
advantages of 2D, asset based, 3D CG, live action, stop motion, etc. have to be in the thinking of the board.
As well, who is the audience? You can’t board for pre-school as you would for comedy or action adventure.
The feature vs. television discussion is arrogance. Good boarding is good boarding. Clear, readable
communication is all. Feature has the luxury –curse?-of time and money (multiple versions, polishing ideas,
testing, ch-ch-changes,…) while television is about speed, taking your best shot and moving on.
This advocates for SBP (Storyboard Pro) but can apply to Photoshop as well. Drawing tools are nicer in PS
and Sketchbook Pro but the text, data management, pitch options and export tools in SBP are the best.
(Some boarders use 3D applications like Sketchup Make or Maya to plan shots.That’s currently not part of
my process, but things evolve and I’m not done yet.)
“Everyone has their own
process.
Trust the process.”
Mark Andrews
CalArts lecture
1
My Storyboarding Process (& some commentary)

2. READ the script. Yes, there is always a script.
Some directors give you notes at handout –thumbnails – on the script. Some don’t. It is usually a
function of their time.
It is always good to discuss what the director wants before you start. Some want you to give your take,
to “flesh it out,”“plus” the action, add dialogue, i.e. write the script for the production. While this seems
to be a compliment, it is my experience that these scenes are rarely used because you can’t be in the
director’s or the client’s head. You are not paid-and will get no credit- to write, so don’t. If you’re paid
for it and it is part of the brief, have at it.
If there is a bible or character description document, read it. It will inform how the character will act,
and express (be posed.)
If you get a soundtrack, listen to it for the same reasons.
If you get a character design, play with its poses. Use what the character does in the script. (Don’t draw
it riding a horse if it’s not in the script even though, you love horses.) It is unusual that you will get a
full turn around. As the production evolves, the main characters will be fleshed out as the animators
play with them and assets are created.The secondary characters usually only exist as ¾ views. Most
time, you are ahead of design, so you will have to make up a placeholder. Don’t design it. See director’s
head note and payment note.
Locations may or not be provided. Sometimes the environment design/layout catches up based on your
staging. Most times, it is just a rough sketch. Again, as the production progresses, the main locations
are more finalized.The same goes for props. Story point props and locations have to come from the
production. You can’t make them up. See director’s head note and payment note.
Usually the script is a PDF. Convert it to a plain text file.This gives you the full script.Trim it into
sequences now. Save them as separate .txt files.
Sometimes I thumbnail the board now and scan those in but I do that less and less these days. Dive in.
When you get the assignment:

3. Import the .txt file through the Caption tab in SBP.
GO to the three panel layout. BREAK the script into scenes and panels by copy and pasting the text
into the Action and Dialogue sections of the board file. You need focus here. You are playing the action
and dialogue in your head. BUT, just bang it out. SBP allows you to shuffle and add scenes and panels
later, but this give general shape to the board.
Only use a bare indication of what’s on screen, if at all.The idea is you get to see the scope of the work.
Where it’s dialogue heavy, where it is action heavy, what are easy scenes, what are hard? I hate when the
script says montage or song sequence.This means you need to come up with a bunch of action that may
or may not be used. See note about director’s head.
COMPOSITION/CUTTING: Now the hardest part. FOCUS is essential.Turn off all devices-except
your computer- and get to it.This is the thinking part. In the Drawing workspace, loosely compose your
shots. Don’t thumbnail. Work at size. Don’t be too zoomed in on the Drawing space. It will add too
much “pencil mileage.” Post-It sized or whatever you are comfortable with.Too big and you’ll lose the
big shapes.
Get the abstract shapes. FEEL the rhythm of your shots. Are the compositions clear? Rough the
performance and expressions. Are you explaining the script VISUALLY? What is the CUTTING
STYLE of the production? Fast quick cuts? Long establishing? PLAN YOUR LAYOUT reuse now.
The Notes section is excellent for this, but it is also okay to write on the layer as you’ll hide it later. If
there are any specific BGs, note them there too. Roughly design your camera moves. You need to pad
(add holds to the head and tail of the shots) later in the process.
1st
Pass:
2nd
Pass:
THEN PRESENT/PITCH TO YOUR CLIENT.
YOU NEED THEIR TAKE ON IT.

4. PERFORMANCE: Listen to the dialogue track and match the performance and expressions.
Some production companies ask you to add the track to the board in SBP. I feel that is too much
work for a board artist to accept without more compensation. You decide if you can or want to do
it. Refine your composition. Boards these days require lots of poses to assit the animators. If you
think you’ve added too many poses, add a few more. Pad your camera moves.
CLEAN UP: The most fun part. I sometimes listen to books on tape while I do this. You are
just looking to do nice, clear drawings from your well thought out roughs. All the previous are
structural roughs and planning, usually on one, or two at the most, layers. Now you need to
carefully break the board down to have it move through production easily. Plan to make revisions
easy for you or others. I do a line layer, a BG layer, a matte layer (to avoid BG see through) and
sometimes a tone layer and an EFX (effects) layer. Don’t do layers for separate characters, hands
or mouths. Copy and paste, slide the image across. Make friends with these timeline features.
CHECK: Check labeling. Make sure scene numbers are clear and renumbered. No extra
sequence numbers.Turn off rough levels. (I keep them in so the client can access them if
something is unclear.) Check spelling. Check transitions. OPTIMIZE the SBP file. It reduces
the file weight/size. Zip it.
Oh, and save a copy at every pass. And daily. Maybe hourly.
DELIVER ON TIME
Again, everybody has their own process, but this is the way I worked on paper (Live action
or animation), but now SPB makes the data management, the text, the copying and pasting,
revision, the exporting, the pitching and delivery are so much easier. Until something better
comes along.
Regards,
JC
Additional reference:
1 http://www.commarts.com/
column/board-directors
3rd
Pass:
4th
Pass:
5th
Pass: