Pre-production
The planning and selling of your idea


Storyboarding - planning the action shot
A storyboard is a way of planning your film prior to filming. It is similar to a comic strip where each frame represents a shot. A storyboard helps the director and camera crew to visualize the ‘flow’ of the film, ensuring that there are enough sequences to create the whole story. By creating a storyboard, shots can be filmed out of sequence and then edited together in their correct order during the post production process. A storyboard can only be completed once you have the outline of your story finished.

What is included in a storyboard?

  1. A hand-drawn sketch of the action for each time the camera is turned on and off
  2. A brief description of the action
  3. An indication of the type of camera angles and shot sizes needed to film

Other things to consider:
When planning and drawing a storyboard, keep in mind how many seconds each shot should run. For example, in the beginning of the movie Dead Poet’s Society the director creates an effect by fixing the viewer’s attention onto a burning candle for about 15 seconds. This is unusual because in movie terms 10 seconds of film is a long time.

Another thing to keep in mind when storyboarding is where to place the camera in order to get the desired shot.

Click here to see an example of a story board