39 Storyboarding

What is Storyboarding?

A storyboard is a visual representation of a film sequence and breaks down the action into individual panels. It sketches out how a video sequence will unfold. A storyboard is similar to a trial-run for your finished film, video, or commercial, laid out in a comic book-like form.

Why is Storyboarding Important?

  1. It helps you to visualize your script and identify scenes and camera angles
  2. It helps save time by being able to plan out everything you intend on doing
  3. Identifies the key components of your video and initiates the creative process

Step 1:  Write a Script

Draft it, review it, mark it up however you feel will be most beneficial, such as adding directives and actions

Step 2: Make a shot list

A shot list can easily be made by going back to the script and identifying the areas within the script that you envision new clips, frames, or scenes
Scene 1 ________________
Scene 2 ________________
Scene 3 ________________

Step 3: Sketch it out

Based on your script, you should now have a good idea of how many frames you will need. Start creating. Add shapes, arrows, pictures, graphics, gifs, and text to illustrate your intention for each scene. The purpose is to convey your idea, however you can best communicate the intension.

Google slides can easily be used to create storyboards.

You don’t have to be an amazing artist to storyboard – stick figures work just fine.

Storyboard Sketch
Storyboard sketches do not need to be elaborate. They can be simple stick figure sketches or various clip art components that assist in conveying the appropriate idea of the scene

Your storyboard is for your interpretation, use images that make sense to you. If your storyboard is to be used to share your vision, make a legend for your symbols you use or add descriptions to your symbols

Storyboard with directions
This storyboard adds animation and movement directions to the storyboard to help communicate the flow of the scene.

Step 4: Add Your Context

Remember to add your script to each slide, in the notes

Add a line for actions, directives, purpose

Example:
Script: “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore”
Directives: hold frame for 3 sec., zoom into top left, fade out to next scene
Purpose (optional): This scene is to convey…

Conclusion

Concluding these steps, you will now have an initial draft of the video content you will be producing. This storyboard will assist in communicating with others and collaborating. It will be easier to understand the material the flow, layout, and intension of the video. Providing this prior to initiating media editing and creation can save a lot of time. It will greatly assist in ensuring the content of the video you are creating meets the expectations of all stakeholders.

License

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Open Source for Digital Communication & Learning Objects Copyright © 2022 by David Kwasny & Matthew Humphries is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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