Every video project starts with a creative brief, which develops into a script and a storyboard. The storyboard creates a step-by-step instruction manual for the film, guiding the story and planning out shots in advance. This ensures that the film is cohesive, that one shot flows seamlessly into the next, and that your cameraman and team know exactly what to do on-site.
If you’re producing videos in your own in-house production studio, storyboarding is something you might be tackling yourself. But it can be helpful to pick up this skill even working with a film production agency. Namely, it helps you capture your thoughts in a more actionable format for film.
Here are our tips for producing more useful storyboards that get the point across.
Can’t Draw? Don’t Be Afraid to Keep It Simple
Storyboards serve to outline the ideas behind the film project. They provide information on what shots to set up, which characters to involve, and where to place actors in the scene. It doesn’t matter if you’re not an artist – even stick figures can communicate these critical details. In fact, creating storyboards with rapid, rough, stick-figure sketches can help you iterate more quickly.
Draw up a very rough version of your storyboard, and go back in to add details later if needed. This process ensures you end up with the best possible version, having tried and discarded less effective ideas.
Be Aware of the Key Objectives of Your Film
To create a more focused and cohesive storyboard, make yourself aware of the objectives of your project early on and answer the following questions:
- What and who is the video about?
- Where and when does it take place?
- What is the intended look and feel for the video?
Use Simple Symbols with a Legend
We talked about how effective stick figures can be in a storyboard. The same goes for repeatable iconography. Simple symbols can help you introduce more information into a shot. For example, you might draw a little sun symbol and a directional arrow to indicate where the light is coming from or decide on an arrow style that indicates where an actor is coming from. Perhaps you decide on shorthand for pans, shaky cam, focus, etc. Include a legend with your storyboard that details what these symbols mean.
Think Spatially
Whilst you’re drawing your storyboard on a 2D frame, remember at all times that the final product will be shot in three-dimensional space. This means you should always consider where your actors will be moving and what they have around them. Certain shots are not achievable in specific environments, and you’ll have to remember that actors must move around one another and obstacles on the scene or in the production studio.
Take photos of the locations you’ll work with to help you achieve this. You might even draw up quick floor plans to placing characters in the scene.
Our Final Thoughts
Spending more time in pre-production allows you to iron out first mistakes and prepare for a more concise, streamlined filming process. In addition, a storyboard can give you an excellent first impression of your video and how the story will be communicated.
Storyboarding is a skill of its own, which experts can take years to master. So whilst you can create your own storyboards, why not work with a film production agency to take your next project to the next level? High Stakes Film in London partners with innovative brands to create powerful stories through video. Get in touch today to have a chat.
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