Professional industry practice by KHAW AI LIN (Student)

Introduction to storyboarding

e4234762 — 2024-10-28 22:20:34 UTC

Storyboarding is the process of creating a visual representation of a story, scene, or sequence, using drawings, sketches, or images.(Simon, 2012) It is an essential tool for filmmakers and animators, as it helps them plan, communicate, and refine their ideas before production. Storyboarding helps to identify potential problems or challenges before full production starts, minimizing the loss of time and resources. This process has been around since the 1930s , back then camera angles were mostly flat and frontal but it slowly evolve to include more depth and range. This gave birth to storyboarding, which started as sequential images of the film's plot pinned to a physical board and slowly now evolving into the digital medium, which sometimes combines 3d and 2d to better aid the storytelling process. Nowadays storyboards are used widely from mediums like game, to tv shows and even VR, showing the importance of story planning and the versatility of storyboards

My goals

e4234762 — 2024-10-28 22:22:30 UTC

I have been working as an animator for years, and hope to widen my field and transition into storyboarding. I often thumbnail the boards more from an animators perspective rather than a story artist so I decided to delve into several mediums of storyboarding where I can better utilise both skills.

My problems:

-too focus on movements rather than story

-not much insight about storyboarding other than in 2d animation.

-flat compositions and camera angles.

-too much details

Skills to acquire:

-KEEP IT SIMPLE stupid😉 (kiss, as they called it😂)

-make sure the composition conveys the story.

-silhouette!!silhoutte!! Continuity! Hookup! 😎

Research plan

e4234762 — 2024-10-28 22:25:04 UTC

Live action

e4234762 — 2024-10-28 22:25:48 UTC

-often more technical/camera/staging oriented

-not much focus on acting

-help the director visualize the scenes but not as involve with the writing process

-boards tend to more detailed and realistic

-less frames are needed as it’s more focus and camera angles than acting.

-Sometimes a script is not finished so it is our job to merge and ensure the film flows well

-More usage of establishing shots and wide angles to show off scenery and establish world building.

Links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2JcNeCw18Q&t=2047s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWt1hXCylL4&t=6s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_3gPa0Ovxk

Virtual reality

e4234762 — 2024-10-28 22:26:29 UTC

-storyboarding live in a 3d space

-more instinctive rather than plotting the cinematography for the story

-long edits and with no cuts but much more flexible when it comes to techniques used.

-important to figure out the points of interaction and how to give a more immersive experience to the user.

-there is no "1 right way" to approach the storyboards

Animation

e4234762 — 2024-10-29 00:20:11 UTC

-more collaboration with writing team

-you get to act out the characters, suggest lines and gags

-more thumbnail drawings focusing on gestures and clear silhouettes

-more frames and drawings to showcase the acting and movements.

Overlaps

e4234762 — 2024-10-29 00:39:01 UTC

However sometimes mediums do merge, a director might wish for a more live action approach to an animated show, or a live action film might wish for a more animated way to approach its story telling. See below:

https://youtu.be/i66b4zQjc00?si=pJS4iM3bln7-gVuz

https://youtu.be/Y4LIMtVsz0k?si=aLOtRbz2pGYqZ4sK

Case Study & practice

e4234762 — 2024-12-09 19:18:18 UTC

I have decided to study from feature films and tv series as a way to learn from the professionals. clips 1 to 4 are my observations from films/tv shows with my own breakdowns of the shots coupled with cinematography analysis and more.

Arcane season 2 EP1 opening shot

e4234762 — 2024-12-09 19:27:45 UTC

I boarded the shots where they cut from his realisation to the resurrection. I loved how they used blurs and rapid cuts to show the overall disorientation of everyone. The strong cuts as he is running creates tension while the close up shots lets us, the audience, view the situation through his perspective. I find the choice of these cuts ingenius as it tells you a lot of what is happening in a short time, while conveying the right tones for the story later on.

The prince of egypt

e4234762 — 2024-12-09 19:40:50 UTC

I chose this sequence because of the framing and silhouettes that help guide and tell the story. In the wide shot of the pharaoh scolding his sons, this shot is drawn not only to show the vastness of his empire compared to the smallness of the people in this shot, it also uses very clear silhouettes for each character. The dutch angle shot with the pharaoh show dynamism but also puts tension to the shot.

overview

e4234762 — 2024-12-09 19:48:21 UTC

In our team short film I was in charge of storyboarding act1 and 2,while I also boarded a small portion of act 3, it was decided that my director would take that portion instead.So i decided to add my original act 3 and unused materials in this post.

I tried to choose camera angles that showed as much continuity as possible, while telling the story with more storybook elements in it. I had to put in more breakdowns and detailed action because my team was unfamiliar with the software and certain animation principles, while this goes against storyboarding's "keep it simple" rule, it did help our animation process a lot, as we could plan ahead and key the poses faster.

Industry proffesionals

e4234762 — 2024-12-09 19:49:13 UTC

These are some of the artists i follow and chose to study from:

Act 1(short film)

e4234762 — 2024-12-09 19:50:49 UTC

We had a different beginning which I boarded but was discarded, we decided to go with a storybook approach as it relates more to our style and theme. I kept the characters in a lot of medium nd close up shots to convey their emotions while saving only the wide shots for scenic/ establishing shots.

Evaluaiton

e4234762 — 2024-12-09 19:51:30 UTC

notes and tips from professionals

e4234762 — 2024-12-09 22:18:13 UTC

While this was meant to be advice for layout I find it very useful especially for the "No breakdowns" part, as an animator I tend to add breakdowns, anticipation, sometimes secondary action into my storyboard. These are not needed as it doesn't contribute to the story and is time consuming.

I like that my animation background is useful in storyboarding as we also emphasize on clear silhouette's and reusing poses/ gestures as stated in this theory analysis.

e4234762 — 2024-12-09 22:30:41 UTC

I decided to redo some storyboards from films/shows to offer a different perspective to telling the story. I also chose to board some shots from passages of books as practice to further my understanding of converting texts to visuals.

notes and tips form professionals

e4234762 — 2024-12-09 22:45:02 UTC

I took several classes from woody woodman. And I shall put this here for whoever may need it.

Hunchback of notre dame

e4234762 — 2024-12-09 23:28:02 UTC

I wanted to do a musical sequence so I chose the iconic hunchback of notredame. The shots move well while showing a lot of wide shots to emphasize the hidden importance of a building standing the test of time and how these characters are just moving pieces in this grand cathedral. This was largely hinted in the original novel, so i am glad to see how they used the cinematography to make the building feel alive in a way.

phantom of the opera

e4234762 — 2024-12-09 23:59:42 UTC

I restaged some of the shots because i felt the original clip did not bring out the character or had good continuity, it had too many jump cuts and long panning shots through the sewer but did not connect with the story.

my breakdowns

e4234762 — 2024-12-10 11:20:57 UTC

Study and breakdown for this sequence

My breakdowns

e4234762 — 2024-12-10 11:54:32 UTC

Study and breakdown of this sequence

Unused storyboards

e4234762 — 2024-12-10 11:56:52 UTC

VR storyboard (alice in wonderland)

e4234762 — 2024-12-10 12:00:28 UTC

I decided to delve more into storyboarding for virtual reality, I think this concept is very nouveau and experimental so I was excited to try it out.

Act 2 (short film)

e4234762 — 2024-12-11 19:15:32 UTC

We had to make the characters go from excited to demotivated and I try to contrast that with the mood and pose of the bear. I kept the camera angles the same to emphasize on the contrast and show off the world which they are also interacting with. I had some challenges trying to time the acting, but I found that my animation background has helped me a lot in this part.

e4234762 — 2024-12-11 19:23:37 UTC

Skills:

-bring ideas to life, help directors and animators visualise the story better.

-be fluent in the cinematic language, perspective and composition.

-Work well under pressure, juggling multiple projects.

-communicating well with the director and writing team.

e4234762 — 2024-12-11 19:24:57 UTC

Softwares:

*Storyboard pro

*frameforge

*pro create

*photoshop

Reference list

e4234762 — 2024-12-11 19:27:28 UTC

Project development and reflection

e4234762 — 2024-12-11 19:34:30 UTC

Toby shelton

e4234762 — 2024-12-11 19:34:50 UTC

Toby is an artist that has worked on how to train your dragon (2010) ,Ducktales (1987), Kungfu panda (2008) and more. He has over 45 years of experience in Animation, which includes Producing/Directing for TV and feature films, storyboarding, animating , etc... After graduating from Calarts in the 1970s, he started as an inbetween artist for Disney and moved on to other roles from there. He has written many tips for young artists on his blog, and I always find that very useful. His style is more towards disney's old style from their renaissance era, you can see a lot of curves and strong silhouettes while keeping the characters in a stylized and easy to read design.

Website:

https://tobyshelton.blogspot.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/toby-shelton-a31994185/details/experience/

Etienne Guignard

e4234762 — 2024-12-11 19:35:01 UTC

Etienne is a french artist known for working on Steven Universe (2019),Asterix (2018), Arcane(2020) and more. He graduated from ENSAD in France and started as an animator that later transition into storyboarding and directing. He often jumps between storyboarding and animation, but mainly focuses on storyboarding. I often reference his style, as you can see he adds more movements in his animatics compared to other storyboarder yet still keep it very clear so animators can understand the movements without too much direction. During the lolirock (2017) production, he has thought me about simplicity keeping things on model and tidy, as many productions often outsource, its important that the boards are easily understood. He combines dynamic movements while keeping actions simple during quieter moments, elevating the story even more.

Website:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/etienne-guignard-96839a24/

https://www.instagram.com/cocoshonen/

e4234762 — 2024-12-11 23:00:22 UTC

Comparing mediums and how it will affect my storyboarding methods

Oh seung hyun

e4234762 — 2024-12-11 23:24:13 UTC

Oh Seung Hyun is one of the longest working artist in Asia, he has been an industry professional for 33 years and his work ranges from Korean anime such as wonderful days (2002) to western cartoons like Avatar the last airbender(2005). From storyboarding, to directing and now owning his own animation company, he has had a colourful career and I used him as my reference to see how he boards and also transitions from one role to another in the professional world. Despite winning many awards for his work, he remains a rather private artist so it was not easy to find his older works and personal information. His style is definitely more detailed and loose as anime tends to focus more own movement and timing rather than keeping things on model, but it is interesting to see his style shifts when he later works on western films and tv shows.

Attached below are some of his works:

https://sho-cubrick.blogspot.com/

https://vimeo.com/user11359513/videos

e4234762 — 2025-01-12 23:34:23 UTC

e4234762 — 2025-01-12 23:35:07 UTC

e4234762 — 2025-01-12 23:35:29 UTC

e4234762 — 2025-01-13 00:23:42 UTC

My breakdowns

e4234762 — 2025-01-14 00:14:48 UTC

Study and breakdown for this sequence

Practice & Test runs

e4234762 — 2025-01-14 00:20:04 UTC

e4234762 — 2025-01-14 00:47:23 UTC

Books:

Glebas, F. (2009). Directing the story : professional storytelling and storyboarding techniques for live action and animation. Amsterdam ; Boston: Elsevier/Focal Press.

Simon, M.A. (2012). Storyboards: Motion In Art. Taylor & Francis.

Layout and composition by Ed Ghertner

Cinematic storytelling by Thomas Robotham

Videos:

Storyboarding Differences - Feature VS Series (2022). Storyboarding Differences - Feature VS Series -. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/wjSlr11X36c [Accessed 12 Jan. 2025].

Qnard (2024). Jinx Aftermath Scene - Arcane season 2 Clip. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoycsKDVhY4 [Accessed 14 Jan. 2025].

The phantom of the opera (2011). Think of Me - Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfTgCPUJwRk [Accessed 6 Dec. 2019].

robohobosam (2023). The Prince of Egypt (1998) - Seti Scolds Moses And Rameses. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDYXliD-kc0 [Accessed 14 Jan. 2025].

Maverick, J. (2015). The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) Scene: ‘Out There’/Quasimodo’s Song. [online] www.youtube.com. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdIP2xmDqx0.

e4234762 — 2025-01-14 01:29:32 UTC

Through practicing, observation and attending online tutorials, I can say that my fundemantals have improved greatly while getting a deeper understanding about storyboarding, its history and process. My progression can be seen throughout this padlet, and I am very grateful to my ex-colleagues and lecturers who aided me along this process. My sense of perspective has greatly improved and I am more confident in thumbnailing loosely, using the golden ratio and camera angles with more care. I also delve deeper into what makes a story good and worth telling, while at the same time using the storyboarding process to elevate the story given, be it good or bad. Our short film was the beginning of my process , I encountered a lot of pacing and "show don't tell" problems, as I could not properly convey a big amount of info in a short window. However through discussions with my lecturers and seeking some professional advices directly, I am able to remove certain boards, rework the pacing and make the emphasis more focused on their journey. I also improved gradually with the breakdowns and making my own boards for practice. While my journey to steadily transition from the role of animator into a storyboarder still has a long way to go, I am happy with the progress I have made throughout this module. For future projects, . I aim to possibly venture more into VR storyboarding, due to time constraints this semester I was not able to, so i look forward to spend more time researching VR.

ORIGINAL clip

e4234762 — 2025-01-14 15:24:21 UTC