In this report I explore the the differences and similarities of storyboards from different media sectors, along with what makes each of them effective in their own respectful way.
1. Chaz Zalesinski
Storyboard Report
Startinginthe early1930s, the craft of storyboardinghasgrowninpopularityovermanydecades
withinthe mediaindustry andisnowa commonlyusedpractice withinseveralprojectsthatare so
frequentlyproducedwithinmodernpop-culture. However,whenanartistcreatesa storyboard,they
musttake intoconsiderationthe manysmall detailsthattheymustincludewithintheircreationin
orderto helpfurtheroninthe productionprocess. Inthisreportwe will take acloserlookat four
differentexamplesof professionallycraftedstoryboardsrangingfromfilmtomusicvideos,analysing
theirpresentationaswell astheircontentsinordertoconclude onthe effectivenessof how theyare
presentedtoaidwithinproduction.
Storyboarding in Film
It can no doubtbe statedthat the filmindustryhasblownupinpopularityoverthe pastcouple of
years,as the numberof releasedfilmproductionseemstorise yearafteryear.However,filmshave
not onlyincreasedinquantitybutalsohave gainedahigherqualitystandard,openingopportunities
for more advancedstorytelling,whichresultsinmore complex storyboardstobe producedfurther
increasingthe importance of theirrole withinaproductionproject.
The storyboardthat we will examineforthe purposesof thisreport(see below) isfromthe film“The
Dark KnightRises.”
3. Chaz Zalesinski
As can be seenalmostimmediately,thisstoryboardappearstotake a veryminimalisticapproachto
itslayoutand the informationthat itprovides.The textdescribingthe cameramovementsandother
actionwithina shotappearsto be keptto a minimum, providingonlythe informationnecessary,
such as “wide,police descend”or“batman past”in orderto conveythe informationasefficientlyas
possible. Dialogueisalsokepttoa suitable minimum, withthe onlyexample thatIcouldfindof it
withinthisparticularpiece beinghere:
The likelyreasonforthischoice of minimalismwithregardstothe descriptive textisthe factthat
thisparticularstoryboarddepictsafast-pacedactionscene.The shortsentencescouldbe achoice
made by the storyboardartistin orderto keepthe pacingconsistentaswell astogive the viewer
that fast-pacedfeelingwhenviewingthisstoryboard,ultimatelyallowingamore faithful recreation
of itduringthe filmingprocess,thereforemakingthisstoryboardasuccessona technical viewpoint.
However,whilethisparticularstoryboardmaynotofferparagraphsof descriptivetext,itoffersa
wide varietyof visual storytellinginordertoconveythe intendedeffectwithinthe finalproduct.The
storyboardfeaturesmanydifferentkindsof angles,rangingfromover-the-shouldershotstobirds-
eye viewshotstotrackingshotsduringthe motorcycle chase. The storyboardalsofeaturesawide
varietyof camera movements,mostof whichare conveyedusingarrows,suchasarrows being
drawnon the corners of a frame drawninwardsoroutwardsto conveythe camera zoominginor
out,or an arrowdram connectingtwo frames(asseenwithinthe firsttwoframes) inorderto
conveythe currentshot continuingandallowingforamore elaborate visualisationof whatcomes
nextas one frame can be drawn indifferentstagesaslongasthese are noticeablyconnected.
The art withinthe storyboardalsocontainsclearsignsof movement,againrepresentedbyarrows
drawnwithinthe frame.Inthiscase theycan be seensignifyingthe directionof the movingvehicles
(includingthe single instance of batmanzoomingpastavehicle atthe beginningof the storyboard)
or eveninsmallercasessuchas an arrow beinginsertednearbatman’sheadtosignifyhismotionof
lookingup,betterconveyingittothe viewer. Regardingthe artitself,while itmaynotnecessarilybe
consideredamasterpiece bythe storyboardartist,itisdetailedenoughtoprovide the detail
necessaryduringproduction,againhighlightingthisstoryboard’ssimplisticyethigh-qualityapproach
to itsdesignandconveyingideas.
Lookingconclusivelyatthisstoryboard,itcan be saidthat itssimplisticdesigndefinitelydoesn’tlimit
itstechnical capabilities. The storyboardstill managestoconveythe variouscameraanglesthatare
beingusedtofollowbatmanonhismotorcycle throughoutthisactionsetpiece withinthe art
present,butthe use of settingandmotioncan alsobe seenclearlyunfoldingon-paperwhenviewed.
4. Chaz Zalesinski
Withregards to the textpresentwithinthisstoryboard,itisnotable thateveninalimitedamount,it
still managestoconveythe cameratechniquesandactionthatthe creator wishestouse to create a
response withintheiraudience,andthe actionthatbuildupwithinthisparticularscene canbe seen
on-paperevenbeforethe viewerwatchesthe scene thatcame aboutas a resultof it. The combined
executionof all of the factorsdiscussedabove are more thanenoughtoshow the effectivenessof
thisstoryboard,as notonlydoesthispiece manage toconveyall of the necessaryideas,camera
movement,charactermovement,anycharacterdialogue andthe overall pace of thisactionscene,
but italsomanagesto do thisusingsuitable yetlimitingamountof textandvisual representation,
makingitan overall successwhenone alsoconsidershow the final sceneturnedoutin-filmdue to
the way thisstoryboardispresented.
Storyboarding in VideoGames
Whenit comesto videogames,duringmyresearchIconcludedthatitis nearimpossibletofindan
official exampleof avideogame storyboardthatshowcaseseverythingthatavideogame
storyboard shouldinclude,butsince Iwasable to findmultiplesmallerstoryboardsof thistype that
will allowme toexplore andexplainthe componentsrequiredforaneffectivevideogame
storyboard.
In the example above,we cansee the mainpurpose of a videogame storyboard:toplanout the
gameplaythatthe playerwill face whenplayingthe game. Inthisinstance,the viewerisshown
frame-by-frame the orderinwhicheventswilltake place andwhatthe playermustdo to progress
furtheronintothe game’smore advancedstages. Whendone correctly,thiscanspeedupthe
developmentprocessof avideogame as the developerwouldalreadyhave accesstoa mapped-out
planof the level thattheyare designing(aswell asthe restof the game) whichultimatelywouldadd
to the effectivenessof the storyboarddependingonthe amountof detail included.
As seenonthe example above,avideogame storyboardmustclearlyoutline the differentelements
withinagame.These include playable characters,settingsandother assetsthatmayor maynot be
able to be interactedwith,whichmeansthatlevelsof pre-planninganddesignonastoryboardwill
differfromgame togame.In thiscase,the game appearsto be a type of space platformer,meaning
that the storyboardscreatedforthe projectswill notrequire differentcameraanglestoconvey
emotionsoractions(whichisa notable detail formostvideogame storyboards) butthisalsomeans
5. Chaz Zalesinski
that ultimatelyitwill require anextensive amountof arrowsandlabelsforobjects andthe directions
that the playerhasto take,whichcan come withitsownchallenges.Once all of the labelsare
insertedandthe playersmainpathisoutlinedwithinthe storyboard,the storyboardartistmustalso
begintoconsideranyvariablesthatmaybe presentwithinthe videogame.Anexample of thiscan
be seenbelow:
While the exampleabove maynotbe the most neatlypresentedstoryboard(notablymany
storyboardsdonot require ahighlevel of artisticcapabilities,althoughthisvariesdependingonthe
scale and complexityof aproject) itdoesconveythe ideaof consideringvariableswithinavideo
game. In thisparticularcase,the storyboardacknowledgesthatthe playermayhave multiple
optionsasto how theychoose toprogressthroughthe level currentlybeingdesigned.While this
may be the case here however,manymodern“tripleA”gamesfeature ‘branchingnarratives’,which
presenttheirownchallengesaseverypossibleplotlinemustbe plannedout,includingboththe
scriptwritingand storyboardingprocessof aparticularpath. It isalsonoteworthythatwithinthese
branchingnarrativesare oftenfeatured‘cutscenes’whichrequirethe storyboardartisttofollow a
more traditional storyboardlayoutastheyare planningacinematicscene,allowingforavarietyof
differenttypesof storyboardstobe requiredwithinanambitiousvideogame project,andinorder
to be effective all of thesecomponentsmustworkinharmony.
In conclusion,afterlookingatthe above examplesof partial storyboardsproducedforvideogame
projects,Ican quite confidentlystate thatvideogame storyboardingseemstobe anart form of its
own,as it requirescomponentsunlike anyothermediaform.Toput itsimply,videogamesare the
onlymediumthatallowthe viewertointeractwithwhattheyare seeingon-screendirectly,making
the storyboardingprocessevenmore detailedandagainhighlightingthe attentiontodetail that
mustbe exercisedinordertoproduce an effectivestoryboardthatcoversanyandeveryvariable
withinavideogame,inorderto have all assetsbe readyto be usedonce the productionstage is
entered.
6. Chaz Zalesinski
Storyboarding in Animation
Unlike the previouslydiscussedvideogame sectorof the mediaindustry,the animationsector
allowsforstoryboardingtobe broughtback to itsformer,more straight-forwardapproach,without
havingto considermultiple variablesandothersuchinteractive components.
The example shownabove isastoryboardfeaturingashortscene fromDisney’s“PeterPan.”As
animationstoryboardsoftenfollowthe same style of presentationasfilmstoryboards,Idecidedto
focuson a more dialogue-basedsceneinthiscase tocontrast withthe previouslyanalysedaction
sequence from“The DarkKnight Rises.”
Rightfrom the beginninganotable detailcanbe noticedwithinthisstoryboard,andthatis itswell
organisedandmodulardesign.Itisa commonpractice to draw the framesof an animatedscene as
roughimageson separate piecesof paper,andtothenstickthemon a wall,allowingforany
adjustmentstobe made duringthe storyboardingprocess,whichinturnallowsthe storyteamsof a
studiotoalter the storyif needbe.Withregardsto the framesthatare drawn,it isalsonoteworthy
that thisparticularexample doesnotfeature anymovementasportrayedbyarrows onthe previous
examples,likelybecause whenstoryboardingan animation, the storyboardartistwill onlydraw the
necessaryframes thatconveythe movementof acharacter whichare referredtoas ‘keyframes.’
Thisparticularpractice can be seenontwo framesabove,onwhicha character is facingleftonthe
firstframe and facingrighton the latter,andit isthenthe animators’responsibilitytoproduce the
framesthat wouldtake place betweenthesekeymovements.
Anothernotable thingaboutthisstoryboardisthatthe notesprovidedunderneatheachframe do
not specifyanytechnical detailsregardingthisscene.Rather,these piecesof paper(alsowrittenon
individualpiecesincase theyneedtobe re-arrangedlaterinthe process) focussolelyondialogue.
Thismakessense forthisparticularscene asit seemstofocuson a conversationbetweencharacters,
howeverthisisnotonlythe case withinthisone example. Itisactuallycommonpractice when
storyboardingananimationtodivertthe majorityof one’sfocustothe dialogue of ascene,as itthen
allowsthe animatorsandeditorsbetteradapttothe speechthat a givencharactershouldbe
7. Chaz Zalesinski
producingwithinaparticularframe,againallowingforproductiontoflow more smoothlyand
increasingthe overall effectivenessof thisstoryboard.
To conclude onthe subjectof animationstoryboards,itisimportanttonote justhow simplistic yet
ultimatelyeffective thisoriginal designdatingbacktothe 1930s is.It captureseverynecessarydetail
that isrequiredforthe creationof a scene,andits modularityallowsforeasiereditingmid-process
shouldanerror occur, whichallowsforeasiertroubleshooting. Itisalsonoteworthythatwhile this
particularexample maynotfeature anytechnical notesandfocusessolelyonthe characters’
dialogue,thiswouldnotbe the case whenstoryboardingahigh-actionscene,like the one discussed
for “The Dark KnightRises.”
Storyboarding in MusicVideos
In the final partof thisreport,we will be consideringthe storyboardingrequirementswhen
storyboardingamusicvideo,andto helpusachieve thisgoal we will be referringtothe example
below,whichdoesnothave aspecificoriginbutshowcasesamusicvideononetheless.
In contrastto everyexample thatIhave consideredthroughoutthisentirereport,the musicvideo
storyboardshowcasedhere containsalmostnotechnical textspecifications, excludingthe single
annotationinside anarrowonone of the frames. Thismusicvideostoryboardisfocusedsolelyon
movement(whichislogical asanydialogue orsoundswouldbe obscuredbythe musictrack
accompanyingit) howeveritachievesitsportrayal notthrougha literate description,butthrough
visual storytelling.Everymovementisoutlinedonlywithinthe drawnframeswithinthispiece,which
8. Chaz Zalesinski
wouldlikelymeanthatmore emphasisisplaceduponartistictalentwithregardstoproducing
storyboardsformusicvideos. Anyactionthathappenswithinthisvideoisoutlinedwithinthe
drawings,whetherbythe conventional methodof usingarrowstosignifymovement,orthe unique
wayof showingchange (asseenonthe signthat changesto the word ‘welcome’asthe womanwalks
past it).
Thispiece alsousesa noticeable amountof varyingcameraangles,whichare anotherthingoften
emphasisedwithinmusicvideos,andonce again,theyare portrayedvisually,againputtingabigger
responsibilityonthe shouldersof the storyboardartist,whomustcarefullysketchthe shotinorder
to conveyall of the necessaryideastocreate a visual narrative. Itmaybe saidthat thiskindof visual
storytellingfallsintothe practice of ‘mise enscene’,althoughthisisoftennot directly referenced
eventhoughitwouldbe a worthycategorisation.
Conclusion
To sum thingsup,withinthisreport Ihave assessedstoryboardsfromdifferentkindsof media
productsrangingfrom filmstomusicvideosandidentifiedthe conventionsthatmake eachof these
successful exampleswithintheirownsector.Ihope thatthisanalytical informationhasbeenof
benefittoyou.
