Storyboards

Although I’m not a storyboard artist in the professional sense, I’m sometimes asked to draw one up for the director to work out a particular sequence. Usually this is when there are stunts, SFX, VFX and multiple sets involved so we need to understand the shots required and how to achieve them.

It’s really useful for aspiring designers and art directors to have knowledge of camera lenses and the qualities assocoiated with them – focal length, angle of view and depth of field can all make a difference to the set design. Also being familiar with the vocabulary of camera moves will help to understand how a scene will be filmed: jib, pan, track and dolly are key terms.

Here some examples of my storyboards from various projects:

‘Married, Single, Other’ – six part drama for Left Bank Films (2009)

In this episode, Clint is determined to pledge his love for Abi by climbing up to her fifth floor balcony.  First, he has to climb over a wall but ends up in a wheelie bin and rolls into the canal.  The sequence involved stunts and SFX so it was vital to have a clear storyboard for the crew to understand all the shots required and how to choreograph them.  I spent a day with the director going through his notes and then drew up the storyboard.

 

Poirot ‘Five Little Pigs’ – adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel for ITV (2003)

This story featured a number of flashbacks, the director wanted to differentiate them by using a Super8 4:3 format with characters looking directly at the camera.  This needed to be communicated to the producers so I was asked to storyboard all the sequences.  Here are some of them.

 

‘The Syndicate’ S2 – six part drama for Rollem productions

In this series, one of the characters grows marijuana in his attic.  After a particularly harrowing day, he retires to the loft to smoke a spliff and drink vodka.  He falls asleep and sets fire to a pile of papers.  His friends are alerted and managed to save him.  The sequence was added late into production and we had already established this character’s house as a location.  The attic was a set build but not prepared for any SFX.  The director knew the shots she needed but we had to work out which were on the location, on the existing set build and which required a further set build for the fire SFX.  I developed the storyboard to identify the different elements and was able to confirm we needed a second set for the first floor landing to achieve the sequence.