Story Board's PDF
Story Board's PDF
Story Board's PDF
M
aurice Zuberano, one of the most respected production illus-
trators and art directors in the trade, has called the storyboard
the "diary of the film." If so, it is a diary written about future
events. What he was getting at, though, is that the storyboard is the pri-
vate record of the visualization process, one of the reasons so few of them
survive intact. Frequently, it is the evidence that the look of a film was the
work of someone other than the director. For directors without a strong
visual sense the storyboard illustrator is the shot-flow designer, essential
to the structuring, staging and composition of shots and sequences.
Of course, there are directors who are as visually sophisticated as any
member of the production staff and, in the narrative sense, perhaps more
so. Hitchcock, who is probably associated with storyboarding more than
any other director, used elaborate boards to refine his vision and control
the filmmaking process, ensuring that his original intention was trans-
lated to the screen.
For Hitchcock, who began in films as an art director, it was also a
way of making sure that he was credited with the design of his films. He
liked to say that his movies were finished before they were ever made,
before the cinematographer or editor touched a piece of film. This is con-
Storyboards by Menlor Huebner for Her Alibi. firmed by the fact that he rarely looked through the camera viewfinder on
the set, since it was merely a photographic equivalent of a storyboard that
had been finalized earlier.
Hitchcock influenced a whole generation of filmmakers in the' 60s
who already had affection for continuity graphics in the comics, which,
like jazz and the blues, were beginning to be recognized as an American
art form at that time. The most famous filmmaker of that generation,
Steven Spielberg, generally recognized as the premier visualizer of the
entertainment directors, has published collections of production art from
his collaborations with George Lucas, bringing further attention to the use
of storyboards and production illustration. Without storyboards,
Spielberg's complex staging and kinetic effects would not have the lapi-
dary polish that has become the hallmark of his work and the goal of
many young filmmakers.
It would be easy to dismiss the current interest in storyboarding as
further proof that today's Hollywood filmmakers have little knowledge
of fiction outside comic books and that they are more comfortable with
storyboards and action than ideas. But the truth is that many films are sto-
ryboarded regardless of subject matter. It may even be that films without
a great deal of action benefit more from storyboards than kinetic subjects.
Even Jean-Luc Godard, who throughout his career discarded or sub-
verted the continuity devices shared by comic strip illustrators and classi-
cal Hollywood films, used storyboards at times to work out the connec-
tions between shots. Storyboards are merely a tool and need not reflect
Storyboard for La Bomba by Paul Power. Storyboard for La Bomba by Paul Power.
Slyle
Beginning on page 29 are five storyboards from Citizen Kane. These are
good examples of how continuity sketches can convey the visual flow and
mood of a sequence and are typical of the type of work produced at the
studios in the '30s and' 40s. Credit is given at the bottom of one of the
drawings to director Orson Welles, art director Van Nest Polglase and his
associate Perry Ferguson. This is somewhat misleading and one of the
many unattractive aspects of the studio system. In actuality, Ferguson
was the art director on Citizen Kane, and Polglase was head of the entire
RKO art department. Ferguson did the actual design work for Citizen
Kane while Polglase's responsibility was largely managerial; he was not
involved in most of the specific creative decisions. Unfortunately, under
the studio system, production illustrators were not allowed to sign their
work, making it difficult today to assign credit to individual drawings.
Ferguson worked in close collaboration with Welles on the concep-
tion of the scenes, which was then turned into sketches, set drawings and
storyboards by mustrators in the RKO art department. According to
credits listed in The Making of Citizen Kane by Robert C. Carringer, there
were five illustrators on Kane: Charles Ohmann is listed as Principal
Sketch Artist, while Al Abbott, Claude Gillingwater, Jr., Albert Pyke and
Maurice Zuberano are listed under the heading, Sketches and Graphics.
There may have been other artists who contributed sketches, and often-
times more than one artist would work on a drawing or storyboard. In
the studio system it was not unusual for illustrators in the art department
to work on projects thay were not assigned to when the work needed to
be done.
The first storyboard on page 29 is a four-panel sequence of the Thatcher
Library. These charcoal sketches are a better example of set design and
mood than of editing continuity, and the gothic lighting is very close to
the way the scene appeared in the film.
The second sequence pictured is a more conventional continuity board
and shows a scene deleted from the script. The sequence is a recollection
by Kane's guardian, financier Walter Thatcher, of a trip to Rome to see
Kane on his twenty-fifth birthday ... DeSCriptions below each panel de-
scribe the basic action of the scene, transitions and camera movement.
In the next series Kane meets Susan Alexander for the first time
outside a drugstore. The basic action of the scene is quite close to the
«%';;' '!i#}UiB
;,)'~
"LL.f(AJlCf-IO CAbAI?_lT
\",'~ __ R!'..AD .• Ei __ R:"":'J'=:)-Io"
Up SIHrr ell '~.r Cf t.J()fl.-~;~G· T~ ... vEI.~ Iii' Ani) ""t;><l4H '{'G:oJ ;""h, ..J j.., :;.<~,J :k,,'!';.r,t"T Ch:Cl<. Tc ::;h'f~''i/"T -'.110 A; iVt qrT at.'( ('LO~r: lo
~'''\'/u.'nlU.) ~ $r"1..<1- '("Ar>J· T~t.-'J -"," ~,;t'" ~A',J r..t~"\" ,,~ t: ...,.4 ':Oil..;,,) CA-" ~ ... '1.i';I..' r:-~ :tt<J R,I<JN CM(.II.H> <;l..Uf <,\ATCH
T..,.hl or .... ~t4RT,tjI"'r, .. CA. Pi! U C<l _', 'T ,,<' ~!;. .;,J r;"#;A4 U~TfO 1,T T"'~t;. !h.JJ~Il.'D ,<lOT wntl
iCo:>«ej)k'
)l{; );, "';.tIr
<..;
' :~J)n
/" CO";, '0
'0)<:. ...OJ
'"0- '=--
c },,---;
tl_~O) h
~
g
a...
~
CJ./ttt..I. 'Q,iJTWt;(S j{l Cl.o!r.-
"I' rt1' 5~~A"- THt C-IIStJlH'So
l'JIT>I T!lOI'\'~';lHI A,jl) \;l£H
Jill'!" TlIQ/,,\PLJti
IT 1'0- "~(l.1;n
H'-16.S
.AA/!)
l.:l-J,-{F.:r
()I'I.t>t'l,
HI.
H
r~ rl,,l,j ~
1I(..o.('j OJ-','1VI,.
t: Storyboard of the EI Rancho cabaret crane shot, including roof sign, from Citizen Kane.
C-;z.
filmed version, but the camera angles and staging are very different
The last two storyboards show how a scene develops through succes-
sive drafts. The sequence depicted is one of the most famous shots in
Citizen Kane: the crane move through the skylight of the El Rancho cabaret
down to Susan Alexander and Kane seated at a table. The shot is actually
a combination of a miniature rooftop set and the full-scale interior of the
nightclub joined by a dissolve as the camera moves through the rain-cov-
ered glass of the skylight
The first treatment of the crane shot on page 32 is wonderfully ren-
dered in a style of illustration evoking the lighting of the German Expres-
sionists of the '20s, though the framing of the scene is quite different from
the way the sequence eventually turned out
The second version is virtually identical to the original sequence as
the camera approaches the skylight. But as the c.amera descends to the
floor the storyboard again diverges from the filmed version. There may
have been other storyboards of the scene, but a look at just these two
should indicate how valuable they are as a method of developing ideas.
Notice that the storyboard also includes a schematic diagram of the
scene drawn on the right-hand side of the board. This is helpful for both
the designer and the cinematographer to communicate the technical re-
qUirements of the scene. This clarifies the layout of the set when unusual
or disorienting perspectives are illustrated.
Similarly moody are Harold Michelson's storyboards for Hitchcock's
The Birds. The six panels featured show how the economical use of line
can convey all the information the cinematographer needs to understand
the framing continuity of a scene. Without spending a great deal of time
on specific detail, these energetic sketches establish mood, locale, compo-
sition, staging of action and the selection of lens for each shot The six
frames on pages 35 and 36 depict the attack of the birds on the children
running from the schoolhouse in Bodega Bay after the birds have gath-
ered in force.
The production designer for The Birds, Robert Boyle, collaborated
with Hitchcock on five films beginning in 1942: Saboteur, Shadow of a
Doubt, North by Northwest, The Birds and Mamie. He reaffirms Hitchcock's
reputation as a methodical planner, but also as a director who was inter-
ested in the ideas of the talented people with whom he worked. Their
usual way of working together began with meetings early in the produc-
tion schedule to go over each scene. Hitchcock might furnish rough
thumbnail sketches to elaborate a sequence, but this process was also
intended to allow his creative team to elaborate on each other's ideas.
From these meetings a general plan was devised for each scene, some
more detailed than others, and Boyle would begin to oversee the story-
boards, set deSigns, costumes and special effects necessary to turn ideas
into cinematic fact Boyle would contribute some of his own drawings for
the sets and storyboards, but much of this work was handed over to
storyboard illustrators who would receive instructions based on Boyle
and Hitchcock's meetings.
Following Michelson's drawings on page 38 is an extremely rare page Storyboards for The Birds by Harald Michelson. Production design by Robert Boyle.
Materials
Since the only criteria they must meet is ease of execution and reproduci-
bility, most storyboards today are rendered with a fast, easily controlled
medium such as pencil, ink and charcoal dust or dry markers for color
work.
Pencil
The pencil, either graphite or charcoal, is one of the illustrator's basic
tools, and even when a drawing is completed with ink, the undersketch is
usually laid down in pencil. Photocopied, the contrast becomes sharper,
though a tentative line tends to become scratchy. More than anything else
the pencil's virtue is its erasability. It is the word processor for the artist. I
used pencil for the storyboard demonstration of a crane shot in this
chapter, and as you will see, the blacks are never quite as stunning as
those pOSSible in ink or charcoal.
Markers
Madison Avenue has made the dry marker the medium of choice in the
advertising art department. Dry markers are inexpensive, dry instantly
and do not require the preparation or cleanup necessary with other color
media. In the hands of a good comp artist they can produce remarkably
realistic effects, though for finished conceptual draWings they are fre-
quently combined with colored pencils, pastels and inks. They are virtu-
Storyboards for The Birds by Harold Michelson. Production design by Robert Boyle. ally the standard comp material for studio artists, illustrators, product de-
Notes and storyboard panels for Lifeboat, by Alfred Hitchcock. Figure 3.1
~
the shot as the camera will see the action. In this case left-hand frame (A) of illustration it is hard
is panned in with the car. The arrow below the frame indicates that the to tell if the framing of ~~
the shot is a wide, / /' ~~
C medium or close-up ~-=s ,
L
shot. However, the _~~ ~ s::::
alternative type of ~~,·V~
representation, which
uses several individual '
V
,,~ ',
frames of the diver's ) , ____"""...;.~
LL
t) ~ ~
action, would nol
eo~v~y the main charae-
tensile of the shot-
I
f
~ ~
/
smooth motion and the /~, ,
Figure 3.2: A storyboard pan shot, angle of view. ~ _~"~
camera zooms down to the size of the smaller right hand frame as the car
moves right to left. There is no standardization in any of this iconogra- ~-.-~.
phy; you can pretty much design things the way you want as long as you
I~ ~
get the idea across.
The third panoramic storyboard in Figure 3.3 is a vertical pan and
shows how a multiperspective can indicate panning over a large expanse.
The diver is seen first in an up shot and followed until the camera is tilted
I~!
down to the pool.
The frame within a frame can also be used to show erratic camera
motion as in Figure 3.6.
Figure 3.8: The first of three panels illustrating a continuous crane shot. Figure 3.8: Second of three panels.
reordered in much the same wayan editor makes changes in the actual scription of the spatial quality of a sequence (staging. camera angle. lens
film. and the movement of any elements in the shot). While a storyboard
illustrator is expected to convey mood. lighting and other aspects of the
environmental design. a director can convey his ideas for the basic setup
Simplified Storyboard Illustration of the camera with Simpler drawing methods.
Storyboards basically convey two kinds of information: a description of Shown next are several types of graphic representation that are fast
the physical environment of the sequence (set design/location) and a de- and easily mastered. They can be combined in any way necessary to pre-
gistical problems are revealed. Usually this has to do with finding the best
way to move equipment and people. An aerial schematic might show
that if dolly track is laid for the last shot before lunch break, it blocks the
path for cars that must be moved at that time. While schematics describe
PA1"HfR SHOl1fS -- camera placement exactly, they give little indication of shot size or the
"KHT 1"Hf l?A:SKo:i {OMINe;, 1 LAN'1" emotional or kinetic quality of a shot.
S£{: rr!" One alternative is to use stick figures that convey figure placement
and the direction of action. Two versions of these are shown in Figure
SMOKf B~OW.5 IN HI, fyts AN D 3.11. What stick-figure illustrations do not show is the height of the
He: tAN I?Af(f~Y 5&e. camera, since perspective is not indicated. Still, for all their crudeness,
these four panels are really quite informative. These panels can be drawn
in less than a minute, and yet they tell us a great deal about how each pair
of frames would cut together. A director could greatly refine the shot size
FAr-HeRS e;XPRfs$ION f,/4WH ClfAN4t:S
-ro Rf;/.-16r AS BMKI"-r 5WINCtS IN1"o ext z
r. 4·
HI" fAKt:S HOel? OF' 8MKft:
I I
aJ
Figure 3.8: End of sequence. WOMAN fNffRS L.Wr WHfH·$ AtWUNl?, sfARfUI?
\3Y HMt7l.-14H1'S.
sent the director's concept for a shot or scene. Our scene shows a woman
running into the street and into the path of a car. In Figure 3.9 we begin
with the most basic method of communication using written description /
and arrows to indicate screen direction of the subject of the shot or the
movement of the camera. While this might seem so rudimentary as to be
little help in designing a sequence, a director with editorial experience
will be able to read the board and get a sense of the pacing. o
Two types of schematic drawings are shown in Figure 3.10. First is an
aerial plan that clearly shows the camera placement and the direction of
action. The second pair of frames in Figure 3.10 are elevated schematics
that show the height of the camera. Schematics are helpful in planning
the order in which shots are photographed on the location, since many 10- Figure 3.10: Schematic drawings.
~~
lapped panels can be
'-
I used to indicate a
'-----">
moving shot (A). The
0~Ov-
entire frame can be
drown as on arrow to 001
I indicate the path of a
moving subject (8).
};i
Illustrator uses the
frame border for
arrows to indicate a
camero move to the Figure 3.160
subject (C).
learning to control the angle of a simple box like the ones used here is
simple to master. Again, a single page of cubes in varying angles can be Figure 3.16b: Perspective boxes drown over stick-figures help indicate
used for reference and can be provided by the production designer. camero angle.
By adding form and volume to simple figures we get a better sense of
spatial relationships. For instance, Figure 3.17 shows us how a director suits your needs better. One of the pleasures in acquiring the storyboards
might try several versions until he was satisfied with the staging of the car for this book was discovering the many individual approaches to story-
and the woman in the frame. boarding that each illustrator developed.
The most important point to be made in this chapter is that story-
boards are helpful to the director whether he follows them during shoot- Draftsmanship
ing or not. For instance, after large portions of the script are boarded the
director is able to see the dramatic flow of the story in a way that the If you can draw, there is no reason not to carry your storyboards to a
screenplay fails to reveal. Moreover, the process of visualizing on paper higher degree of execution. While it is clearly beyond the scope of this
is a technique for generating ideas, not just establishing the plan for the book to teach drawing it is pOSSible to convey one thought that is particu-
production team to follow on the set. This process is even more beneficial larly valuable to storyboard artists: It's what you leave out that counts.
when the director works on his own drawings. There is really no way to Actually, I first heard this truism while playing music, and it seems to
overestimate the importance of rolling up your shirt-sleeves and working crop up whenever you're around seasoned artists of any kind. For a
directly with images if you are directing a film. No matter how crude the storyboard artist simplicity is more than a matter of taste. It is also a
drawings, the thought process and state of mind required to compose matter of necessity. Only in rare cases is the time available to make
shots on paper is invaluable. detailed drawings for every storyboard panel in a film.
Director Brian DePalma draws his own stick-figure illustrations on a Illustrator Noel Sickles' line work is a model of simplicity and is an
·••• Macintosh computer using the software program Storyboarder®, but simple
as the drawings are, it is likely that they serve as mnemonic devices, each
object lesson in economical drawing. Though never a storyboard illustra-
tor, his highly innovative work in the comics and later as a nationally rec-
·• frame an icon that brings to mind a familiar and detailed shot with all the
perspective elements left out. Of course, what works for DePalma may
ognized commercial illustrator is still an influence today. Appearing on
page 53 are frame enlargements of his early work on the Scorchy Smith
not work for you. You may find a different type of representation that strip to show how only a few lines are needed to convey all types of
Mood
Another series of storyboard panels by Sherman Labby appears on pages
55 to 63 and shows his fine sense of pictorial narrative in an opening scene
from Blade Runner, one of two scenes that was never filmed. This is a
beautiful example of the use of mood to establish the tone of a film, in this
case, the ironic use of a calm, pastoral setting. The opening shows the
Harrison Ford character, Decker, landing his Spinner vehicle on a farm.
These first few elegantly composed frames contain only a few simple
shapes evoking a sense of wonder typical of '40s science fiction.
Character
...
The next storyboard panels by Fred Lucky show how expressive charac- ---"\\');. ~l~~'" '"
- -\~.-
_ _ _ _ :-: _Go '"
ters help to make the comedic intention for each setup clear. Fred refined
,:L .. _",_
: ~
'/",
''',
This version of the opening of Blade Runner was never shot. The beautifully conceived
Sherman Lobby's thumbnail sketches for a scene in Beverly Hills Cop II. continuity is by Sherman Lobby.
Sherman Lobby's storyboard for Blade Runner. Sherman Lobby's storyboard for Blade Runner.
58 Shot By Shot
Storyboords 59
r<---
I
i
Sherman Lobby's storyboard for Blade Runner. Sherman Lobby's storyboard for Blade Runner.
,,.
Sherman lobby's storyboard for Blade Runner. Sherman lobby's storyboard for Blade Runner.
·••
.
A storyboard by Fred Lucky. First of three panels. Second of three panels by Fred Lucky.
Adaptation
In a sense, all storyboards are adaptations, since they are transposed from
a screenplay. Unlike a play or a novel, however, a screenplay is conceived
as an intermediary form, a blueprint for the actual medium in which the
narrative will appear. A screenwriter strives to be visual, to write drama
that can be seen and heard, in fact, that needs to be seen and heard to be
fully understood. In theory, the storyboard artist merely pictorializes the
ideas in the screenplay, but in practice the storyboard may corne very
close to being another draft of the screenplay if only to polish some of the
ideas. In the same way that screenwriters describe visual elements, some
·,,•
,
•
Third of three panels by Fred Lucky. Harald Michelson's storyboards lor The Graduate. Production design by Richard Sylbert.
,,
,
,.
,
Harald Michelson's storyboard for The Graduate. Harold Michelson's storyboard for The Graduate.
The Screenplay
($)
Here is Torn Stoppard's adaptation of the same scene from the novel. The
scene opens in Jim's hotel room. This time Jim is asleep. He is awakened
at dawn by the sound of a close flying plane. He gets out of bed and goes
to the window.
The prolonged action of the Japanese marines boarding ships that
appears in the novel is condensed in the screenplay to Jim's watching the
Japanese gunboat moving in the river. He backs away from the window
,,, and turns on the bedside light. An exterior shot of the hotel lets us see the
,, light in the window of the generally dark hotel.
We cut to a short time later and Jim is dressed in school clothes. He
picks up a Latin Primer, which is near a small toy plane on a table along-
side the bed, but is soon attracted to the action outside the window. The David Janas' storyboard for Empire of the Sun.
~.:'-,:
,.....,,t
'1l-5"
David Jonas' storyboard for Empire of the Sun, David Jonas' storyboard for Empire of the Sun,
©
I
cuT To
David Janas' storyboard for Empire of the Sun. David Jonas' storyboard for Empire of the Sun.
Video
The development of home video technology in the past decade has pro-
vided excellent opportunities for filmmakers to preview their ideas in
very nearly the same format in which they will ultimately be filmed.
Relatively inexpensive camcorders and home editing systems that permit
clean edits are now available so that rough-cut sequences can be easily
assembled, and, of course, the results in many ways are more refined than
would be pOSSible with a storyboard. Like photoboards, however, scenes
must be staged for the video camera and shooting the Videotaped version
is certainly more difficult for the filmmaker than turning the storyboard
work over to an artist.
Visualizing with Videotape is particularly applicable to nonunion,
independent filmmaking because actors are available to rehearse without
significant expense. While your actors are rehearsing you can· test visual
ideas at the same time. If you don't already own a camcorder you might
consider buying one. Camcorders are useful to the filmmaker in so many
ways that you will not regret the investment. However, if you can't
afford the hefty $750-$1,200 price for a new one you can probably justify
the expenditure as part of the design budget for your film.
To take the previewing process one step farther, you can edit the test
shots on your tapes into sequences. "Cuts only" (that means no dissolves)
editing systems can be rented by the day, week or month. VHS, Super
VHS and 8mm formats are available. Rental prices range from $800 to
$1,200 per week. If this is beyond your means, the public access channel at
your local cable system probably has an editing system that is available