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Directing the Story


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Directing the StoryProfessional Storytelling and

Storyboarding Techniques

for Live Action and Animation

Francis Glebas

AMSTERDAM BOSTON HEIDELBERG LONDONNEW YORK OXFORD PARIS SAN DIEGO

SAN FRANCISCO SINGAPORE SYDNEY TOKYOFocal Press is an imprint of Elsevier


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Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USALinacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK

Copyright 2009, Francis Glebas. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmittedin any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Permissions may be sought directly from Elseviers Science & Technology RightsDepartment in Oxford, UK: phone: (44) 1865 843830, fax: (44) 1865 853333,E-mail: [email protected]. You may also complete your request on-linevia the Elsevier homepage (http://elsevier.com), by selecting Support & Contactthen Copyright and Permission and then Obtaining Permissions.

Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, Elsevier prints itsbooks on acid-free paper whenever possible.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataGlebas, Francis.

Directing the story : professional storytelling and storyboardingtechniques for live action and animation / by Francis Glebas. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-240-81076-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Motion picturesProductionand direction. 2. Storyboards. I. Title.

PN1995.9.P7G448 2008 791.43023--dc22

2008026270

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book i s available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-0-240-81076-8

For information on all Focal Press publicationsvisit our website at www.elsevierdirect.com

09 10 11 12 13 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in China


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47

A script is a verbal plan for a story. A storyboard is a plan for thevisualization of that story. A storyboard is the inspirational heart,mind, and soul of a movie. Hitchcock knew this and is rumored tohave said that once the storyboarding was completed, the movie

was 95 percent done and the rest was execution.1

We have all seen storyboards; everyday in the newspapers thereare lots of three- or four-panel storyboards showing short, usu-ally funny, stories. The first panel sets up the situation, the secondpanel turns it, and finally in the third panel there is the payoff, and

we laugh. Yes, the comics pages of the newspapers are all littlestoryboards. Some of the best storytelling drawings that you will find

are in the cartoons of The New Yorkermagazine. It is wellworth the effort to study these cartoons to see

how economically they arrive at theirgoal: making the audience feel good.

Hisory and Funcion ofSoryboards

The Disney method of storyboarding evolved based on theneeds of the filmmakers. There are hundreds or thousands

of drawings created in the making of a feature-lengthfilm. Tracking them makes for an organizational night-

mare, particularly when each scene can involvechanges upon changes. Disneys artists originally

would lay individual panels out on the floor

The BeginningBasics

3

and point to the drawings as the composer played the music.Eventually, they got the idea to pin them up on the wall on largesheets of cork. This provided a great way to view them and allowan easy way to incorporate changes. It also created an occupa-

tional hazard. I cant recall how many times my fingers have beenpunctured by pushpins while repining storyboards.

Donald Graham, a Disney drawing teacher, described thisflexibility:

Any drawing can be moved to a new position on the board,or eliminated, or replaced. The board of drawings is in astate of flux. Nothing is fixed; nothing is unchangeable.One drawing, because of its position on the board, maysuggest a gag or a piece of business which can be added.Whole sections can be interchanged a new film functionof the board becomes apparent: pre-film cutting. Close-

ups can be planned against medium shots, long scenesagainst short ones. Unnecessary animation is automati-cally ruled out, and tremendous economies result.2

Cartoonist and storyboard artist Alex Toth offers an alternatehistory. He suggests that the pioneering, animator, and cartoonist

Winsor McCay created the storyboard. He postulates that he musthave in order to have gotten the job done on his movies like Gertiethe Dinosaur.3

Toth describes the function of storyboards:


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D i r e c t i n g t h e S t o r y48

Producion ProcessStep one is preparation. But, before that, you need to have a story. Storyboardartists can work from scripts or very loose treatments. If a storyboard is a planfor the film, then a treatment is a plan for the script. The first thing a story-board artist needs after he or she has a story to work with is inspiring images.It is kind of like food for the brain. Images feed our minds. Where do you find

images? They could be found anywhere. Make a list of the kinds of things youneed. This could include types of characters, costumes, architectural styles,landscapes, and props. It could also cover color and lighting schemes orcomposition ideas.

Go to the library or surf the Web. Have a plan because it is very easy to get loston the Internet highway. The signs on the Internet arent well marked so makesure you bring your shopping list of what visuals you need. I am sure along the

way you will find plenty of links offering a serendipity of surprises that generatenew ideas to enhance your project.

Cut out magazine pictures or shoot your own references with a digital camera.You should build your own reference library of images that you can go to whenyou need inspiration. And of course, watch lots of movies.

After you have collected images that inspire you, the fun begins. Visual devel-opment is the creation of the look of the world of your movie.

In designing characters, physical appearances tell a lot about what peopleare like. The goal is to create a fresh version of stereotypes. Stereotypes allow theviewer to quickly understand the type of character that we are dealing with. Thatis why they are useful. Problems arise in real life when we try and judge real peo-ple as if they are stereotypes. Problems arise in movies with stereotypes becausethey are predictable and thus boring. In the film Cat Balouthe infamous hiredgunslinger breaks the stereotype by showing up as a washed-out drunk. CatBalou herself is a breaking of a stereotypeshe is a female outlaw. Blade Runnercreates a novel version of a futuristic city bathed in neon and fog.

The visual look of a film is under the domain of the art director and produc-tion designer, however, the storyboard artist can often be the first one to enterand explore the world.

The Bea BoardBefore the actual storyboarding begins, artists create a beat board. These are aseries of single drawings that each represents a scene of the movie. The drawingstell a more complex story in a single picture much like a childrens book illustration.The beat board serves as a guide for the director to pitch the story to executives,financial investors, and the crew.

Alfred Hitchcock, Delmar Daves, doted on their use to solve all or mostcontinuity problems up front, on paper, in a storyboard. If it wontwork there, it wont work on film was, I believe, Hitchcocks quote! Heboarded every film he directed, to order. Still, he was in the minority.Be it small-budgeted 10-day wonder or mega-million-dollar epic, it isexpedient, on all counts, to board the continuitysince it is where type-

written script meets picture for the first timeand, given a seasonedand savvy pro storyboard artist to interpret that script, is where thatscript is wrung-out, test-flown, til it cracks/breaks or flies beautifullyon its first, maiden flightright into productions hangar!4

Various Types of SoryboardsEach medium has evolved its own version of what is included in storyboardsbased on the artistic and financial needs. In animation every aspect of eachscene has to be designed and created. Storyboards for animation have to pro-vide a clear depiction of the acting for the film. In live action the storyboards donot need to depict the characters emotions because the actors themselves pro-vide the emotions. In live action we want to give the actors freedom to explore in

their performances. The actors are not going to follow a storyboard. It is a visualguide for the director.

Cinematography and blocking accomplishes for live action what the layoutdepartment does for animated films. Camera lenses have to be chosen and cam-era placement and movement has to be choreographed to work in time with themovements of the actors. Actors have to hit their marks on cue for a scene to

work. Storyboards for a live-action scene could be as simple as an overhead dia-gram or map of the action.

Live television shows are often edited from a choice of three possible camerasso storyboards arent necessary. They are usually shot on small sets. The samekind of visual thinking is still necessary though.

Television animation due to tight deadlines and even tighter budgets mustbe tightly composed. The characters must be on model, with the layouts estab-lished and all the continuity worked out. Continuity refers to the seamless flowfrom one shot to the next.

Story reels are essential for the construction of an animated film. They are theemotional road map for the film.

Another use for storyboards is that of special effects. Often these shots will belive action with computer-generated special effects composited together. Thestoryboard is the bridge that allows the tight synchronization involved in creat-ing live-action actors interacting with virtual monsters, supernatural forces, ormoving through complex architectural spaces.


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49T h e B e g i n n i n g B a s i c s

Soryboarding OverviewRead the script and analyze the key dramatic storytelling beats. You want to findthe shape of the material, just like our three-panel comic strips. Where do you

want to start the action? Where does the action turn to a new direction? What isthe payoff for the action? What is going to capture the interest of your audience?

You need to develop appealing characters with unique personalities. Howwould they perform the actions? Make sure they are expressive. Figure out whosepoint of view to use to present the material. Try to discover the compelling theme

within the story. This is ultimately the reason that viewers want to watch.

Storyboards are used to plan many aspects of movies. At this early stagestrict continuity is not crucial, the story is. A refinement pass can be used tomap screen geography and plan cinematography, camera angles, and blocking.Storyboards help plan complex action sequences with moving cameras. Exploreand experiment because it is cheaper to try out ideas on paper before animationor live-action shooting begins. Storyboards are always a work in progress. Dontbe afraid to throw drawings away.

A final note:Number your drawings!

Sory ReelsA story reel is a version of the completed storyboards combined with voices andtemporary music. It gives a great idea of how the movie is playing at a very early

stage. It allows for fine-tuning the progress of the movie, at a point when changes

can still be made. It is a template of the finished movie set to the actual time.Story reels need to have much more reliance on continuity, including entrancesand exits of characters into the frame. This will require extra storyboard draw-ings to be added to create a smooth flow of images. Story reels are a great way tospot and solve story problems. When the story reel plays well, the film can onlyget better.

The Refinemen ProcessThe refinement process is where ideas in the reels need to be clarified for theaudience to understand. The story reel allows us to see all of the pieces incontext. Ideas may be reordered to find the best way to present a gag or buildsuspense. Parts that slow the story down should be edited out. All writing isrewriting and this applies to storyboarding.

PichingOnce the storyboards are completed, then comes the fun of pitching them. This

was a big surprise to me. When I first started storyboarding, I thought all that I

had to do was draw pictures. Boy, was I wrong.

Pitching is the process of showing someone your storyboards whereby youperform the dialogue and briefly describe the action as you sequentially point tothe drawings. It should be performed in real time, that is, the pitch should takeas long as the sequence will take. When completed the director and producershould have a very good sense of how the sequence will appear to the audience.

When I teach how to pitch to my storyboard class, I pitch a sequence anddo everything that I can wrong. Then I ask my students what I did wrong. Thismakes them think and it demonstrates that if you make these kinds of errors you

will lose your audience. They wont be able to follow the story. Since I cant do aterrible pitch for the reader, I will demonstrate with a series of drawings.

Example beaboard.

First of all you have to rehearse beforehand. You must know the story you are

pitching inside and out. You dont want to have to think about what happens next.


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Pitch your story in real time. Dont drag it out unnecessarily.

That is what the audience will want to know and you better have the answersfor them.

Tell your story simply and clearly with passion to keep the pitch dramatic.Dont apologize for any imperfections. Storyboards are an intermediate step

where changes can be made. You need to believe in the story and project thatexcitement. Make eye contact with your audience. You need to engage them inthe story. During the pitch you are the storyteller and you set the pace.

Be passionate about your story but dont overdo it.

Dont hide the drawings with your body. The audience has to see the drawingsin order to follow the story.

Dont explain the camera work. The drawings show that implicitly. The scriptdoesnt contain details about camera moves it simply tells the story, so should you.

Now, lets return to see how Scheherazade is faring with pitching her story tothe sultan. Will he fall for her story of Dumb Love?


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Scheherazade holds up he drawing for her siser. Dunazade looks a he drawing.

The sulan approaches. SULTAN: Wha is ha? SULTAN: I can see i.

Scheherazade looks a he drawing and sees How ligh i is. Dunazade reaches ino he fire and grabs a piece of charcoal.


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The image akes shape.The charcoal makes a bold line.She gives i o her siser.

Make sure that you draw BOLD. Use a grease pencil, marker, or 2B pencil.

Dont use a hard pencil. Drawings should read from across the room. And num-ber your drawings.

The Gong ShowIn some ways Scheherazade had it easy. She didnt have to pitch her ideas at aGong Show.

Around 1990 Walt Disney Feature Animation introduced their infamous GongShow. This was an internal forum where employees could pitch their ideas fornew animated feature ideas to the executives. When I learned about this I signedon immediately. I thought that this was an amazing opportunity that didnt hap-pen everyday.

Unfortunately, I didnt have any ideas yet, so I worked at coming up withideas. I created a few concepts, designed a poster to promote each of them, and

went off to the Gong Show. It was a big conference room. I sat nervously waiting.

All of the participants waited on pins and needles. Finally, the executives entered

and I found myself sitting across from Michael Eisner, Jeffery Katzenberg, Peter

Schneider, and Roy Disney. I was nervous before, now I was terrified. To thispoint in my career I hadnt had much experience at pitching.

This drawing says it all. I did make it through my first Gong Show and livedto tell you about it. Learn to ignore the fear, terror, and anxiety, and relentlesslypursue your vision. Learn to create opportunities. Remember if you fail in yourstory, you dont risk death.

How o Tell a Sory wih PicuresTell the story in a sequence of juxtaposed images.5The most important thing toremember when storyboarding is to make sure your sequence of images is tell-ing the same story that you think you are telling. It is all too easy to assume thatthey are doing so, but you need to pitch the story to people and then see if theygot the same story and the message you intended.

Three Little Pigshas a simple repetitive structure that even children learn how

to tell easily. It begins, Once upon a time, there were three little pigs.

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Here is a oally differen approach. This saysha he pigs are mourning someone. They seem

sad raher han scared. This ime, he conex

suggess ha hey are mourning anoherpigmaybe a family member. We migh have gone

oo far afield wih his approach.

A his poin we don even know ha he rackscome from he wolf. I could be any large animal,

bu i shows he pigs are scared by wha hey see.

We know ha he Three Litle Pigssory conainsa wolf and no oher large animals. So he conex

suggess ha he prins were made by he wolf.

Conex indirecly conveys a lo of informaion.

Here is an alernae approach. You can lierally

show wha is in a characers mind. This is a comicsrip device. I is kind of a chea. Search unil you

find jus he righ image ha conveys he sory.

Here is one idea. Here he drawing shows he pigsare looking a a picure of he wolf. However, since

we can see heir faces, we don know hey are

afraid. In his drawing heir body language doesnsugges fear, maybe more curiosiy.

This image says, A wolf is chasing hree scaredpigs. Bu since his happens laer in he sory, wedon wan o show he wolf ye. How do we show

he pigs afraid of he wolf wihou showing he

wolf?

Here we have he wolf and he hree pigs. Bu wehave inroduced a new problem. There is nohing

happening. How do we show he pigs are afraid ofhe wolf?

Compared o he ree we can see ha we havehree litle pigs. Size is always a comparison

beween hings.

Our picure says, Here are hree pigs. Already wehave a small problem. These pigs could be litle orgiganic. We don have a frame of reference.

If his image was shown a he end of he sory, we

could assume i was he wolfs grave. Their smilesconexually reinforce he idea ha i is he wolfs

grave. Maybe a small saue of he wolf on op of

he ombsone would reinforce he idea ha i ishe wolfs grave.

Keep searching ill you find he righ image for yourparicular sory needs.

Drawings are ineresing when hey ask quesions

embedded wihin he image. In oher words, whenyou look a hem you wan o know more. This is

he essence of soryboardingimages ha raisequesions and leave you waning o know more. You

wan o know wha made he racks or who he

pigs are mourning.

Since she can no longer keep he pigs, heir moher

sends hem ou ino he world o make heir

forunes and warns hem abou he crafinessof he wolf. This is he heme of he sory: Ac

wisely and carefully. This image is exacly wha we

don wan o doshow a alking head. We wano demonsrae he heme by he acion of he

sory, no having someone ell i o us.

Showing he moher eaching he pigs is abou as

ineresing as going o school. If we have o show

i in a way somehing like his image, we need ofind ways o make i ineresing.

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Okay, hey are leaving home. Wai, how do we knowha? They could jus be going for a hike. We have

o show heir home. Tha is beter, bu his couldbe any house. How do we show i is he pigs house?

Les move our sory along. The hree pigs leavehome o go ou ino he world. We will follow heir

journey. Bu we beter make sure ha somehinghappens or our audience will lose ineres. Les

begin.

How do we make i ineresing? One way o do his

is o give he pigs personaliies. We could have

wo of he pigs ac like class clowns, and heymake fun of he hird pig playing he par of he

eachers pe. Waching heir anics makes he

image ineresing while he moher conveys herhemaic informaion. There are many ways o ell

your sory.

Litle deails such as body language, gesures, and

props sugges heir characer rais. Maybe heyplay differen musical insrumens. Perhaps he

eachers pe pig dances balle. I is all up o your

imaginaion. Be aware ha heir personaliieshave o fi in he conex of he sory. Maybe he

balle dancing pig is a litle oo ou here for hissory.

The way we ell a sory wih picures is o breaki down ino a series of images ha each show

one hing a a ime, jus like when we speak in

senences. One idea comes afer anoher.

Bu ha is a mouhful. When we speak we can only

say one word a a ime. Our image says four hingsa once: There are hree litle pigs, hey are leaving

home, hey are afraid, and here are scary animal

racks.

Yes, his is he pigs house. Bu, we wan o show

i wih images, no rely on words. We could showheir moher waving good-bye.

Okay, now we have our opening sho. This is a

soryelling image ha clearly shows hree litlepigs leaving home, and who are afraid of a wolf. Will

he hree litle pigs be able o survive he wolf?

Les ry again.There is a problem wih he order of he images.In his image he pigs are afraid. Bu we haven

shown wha hey are afraid ofhe wolf racks!

We add his inser sho. This works beter. The pigs are afraid because ofseeing he wolfs racks. We generally show he

cause before he effec.

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Les ry one more rearrangemen. By adding he inser sho of he moher waving

good-bye we can cu back o see he pigs arenow ou on he road. This creaes a beter flow

beween he images.

Any ime we do no see he linear flow of ime

because i is inerruped by anoher sho, we canassume more ime has passed. We don have o

show all of ha walking.

Les add one more sho. A reacion sho. The

moher pig is sad ha he pigs are leaving home.This sho shows how she feels.

Les inser a bi of personaliy o show heir

characers, before he pigs see he wolf racks.

The wo pigs clown around making he oher pig

angry. In addiion o adding somehing fun owach we have reinforced he heme of our sory

by showing he differen atiudes of our pigs.

In addiion, by having he serious pig remind

he ohers ha here may be a wolf around, wehave also subly reminded he audience of his

poenial hrea. This is how we foreshadow

evens o come.

The pig is sepping ino rouble.

We can conras he hrea wih a joke. Theserious pig is so busy shushing he oher wo ha

he rips. The oher pigs laugh.

They laugh unil hey see wha he has rippedover

Our serious pig ries o persuade he oher wo of

he danger.Wolf racks!

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So i is ime o move on and follow he wo playful

pigs. We wan o compress ime. You don haveo show everyhing. We wan o only show hose

images ha move he sory along, he ones where

somehing happens.

The problem wih he sory is ha he pigs each

repea he same acions. Visually we would berepeaing ourselves wih images we have already

seen hree imes. Afer we have seen somehing

happen once i is boring o see i again, unlesssomehing happens o make i differen and hus

ineresing.

Wha is nex? The fairy ale sars wih he

firs playful pig borrowing hay o make his house,hen he nex pig borrows sicks o make a sick

house, and finally he las pig makes his house of

bricks. Themaically we wan o keep he conrasbeween he smar and clownish pigs. Le he

smar one sar on his house of bricks, bu hen

we will follow he oher wo pigs as hey coninueheir journey.

They laugh i off. We are now more concerned for

he wo playful pigs because we know he hrea

is real and hey are ignoring i. The comedy hasaken he pigs off guard. Conras beween

comedy and horror makes he sory sharper. I is

scarier because we were lulled ino a false senseof securiy.

We show the pig starting his brick house. Later when we come back to him, weshow him putting on the finishing touches on the house. The audience assumes

while we were watching the exploits of the two clownish pigs, the smart one was

at work building his house of bricks. We have let the audience do our work for us.You do not have to show everythingonly what is interesting.

The narraive quesion ha drives he Three

Litle Pigs sory is no, will he pigs be able obuild houses? The quesion he audience wans

answered is, will he pigs survive he big bad wolf?

Building houses is he means of surviving he wolf.

A comedy version of he sory could include

mishaps in building houses of hay, sicks, andbricks, bu for now we are going o play i sraigh.

The wo pigs are furher down he road clowning

around. Their play is inerruped by a wolf howl.

How are we going o show his? We could show a

shadow fleeing hrough he background of heframe. Bu we are going o do i wih an expression

change.


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There is he wolf bu i is kind of hard o see wha

he is doing. Les move he camera o ge a beter

view of him.

The pig scrambles for he cover of his house of hay. Now here is a scary wolf. By keeping him in he

shadows he is scarier. Jus by iling he image we

have raised he ension level. We feel off balance,somehing is amiss!

The playful pig panicked. We are working wih

moving picures so les le he pig pace back and

forh no knowing wha o do. The nervous moionenhances he ension.

Wha happened? I looks like he house fell down

oo easily. The big momen of he sory was overoo fas. We need o linger on he deails ha

make up his momen. Les break down he sory

beas ha we will need o show his acion. Firs,we have o show he wolf eyeing he house of hay.

The sory ells us ha he wolf hreaens o huff

and puff and blow he house down. We are no goingo say i. We will show i.

Wha do we do nex? Well, he sory ells us ha

he wolf will huff and puff. In our firs version

we lef ou he huff. We didn anicipae heacion of he puff and so i appeared as if he wolf

did nohing. Anicipaion o an acion ells he

audience ha somehing is abou o happen. Lesdo a big anicipaion of he acion by having he

wolf ake in air for a big puff.

Exaggerae he puff. If you are going o blow down

a house, i is going o have o be a really big puff!

How can we inensify i even furher? We haveshown he acion in a long sho showing he

wolf and he house. Wha if we jus focused on

he acion of he wolf? Les jus frame wha is

imporan o he acion.

We always wan o keep our heme in hebackground of our mind, so les inser a close-

up sho of he wolf sepping on he musical

insrumen. The wolf has desroyed he icon of he

clownish atiude. Tha is wha he image shows.

Here is our answer. The wolf did blow down hehouse, and we delayed revealing wha happened.

When we cu o he resul, i is funny! If hese

acions were shown all in one sho, i wouldn have

been as funny.

Our images now e ll he sory of he wolf huffi ngand puffi ng. Bu did he blow do wn he house?

This is an added benefi of framing he acion

closeri raises anoher narraive quesion. We

wan o know h e resul of he pu ffi ng.

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Afermah.Acion.Acions ake place in sages. Firs is heanicipaion, nex he acion happens, hen

reacions happen, and finally here is he

afermah. Anicipaion.

For he afermah of he puffi ng acion, we canshow he pig being eaen.

We now have a choice to make. What happens to the first pig? According toour theme, if one is foolish, you could find yourself in the belly of a wolf.

We may no wan o show his gruesome deail. Asan alernaive, we can show he afermah of he

pig being eaen.

We have lef ou he gruesome acion and jusshow he afermah, jus as we did wih he pig

finishing his house.

Or, we can leave i open-ended and up o heimaginaion of he audience o decide.

Do hey hink he was eaen or do hey hink heescaped? These quesions keep he audience

waching. Wha happened? Wha is going o

happen?

Wipe o black. So far, he wolf has desroyed he

house of hay and is raveling o he nex house.The serious pig is sill consrucing his house

of bricks. The second pig is finishing his house of

sicks and maybe, if he survived, he playful pig isrunning seeking sheler. Wha do we wan o show

nex?

The wolf going o he second house is jus a

raveling acion and he serious pig is coninuingbuilding. There is no drama in hese wo acions.

The drama is wondering wheher he second pig

compleed his house in ime o survive he wolf. Soles cu ahead o he second pig. He has finished

his house and is on he lookou.

He sees he firs pig. Bu wai he is running away

from us.

This is beter, o move he sory along quicker, we

cu o he second pig holding he door open for hefirs pig wih he wolf righ on his heels.

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How can we show they have learned their lesson? Pleading for safety? Bitemarks? This is exactly how we develop stories. We keep asking questions relatedto the storys theme. So where are we in the story? Well, lets see what questions

still remain unanswered? Will the wolf be able to blow down the house of bricks?Will the pigs learn their lesson? What will happen to the wolf? Once these ques-tions are answered, the story is done.

We have already shown he wolf desroy one house,

so his ime we can show i quicker.

You probably didn even noice ha we never

showed he second pig building his house. Ye weassume ha is wha happened. We saw one pig

build a house, hen anoher, and wha is he hird

going o do? Repeaing somehing hree imesbuilds a patern. The wolf desroys he second

house and goes ono he hird.

We jus have o show he wolf blowing down he

house of sicks. We can sage i as we did beforeor use a variaion. We migh wan o jus vary he

payoff.

Once again we will cu ahead o he wo pigs joining

he serious pig, who is finishing his brick house.

And puffs The wolf huffs The serious pig has done his job well and can relaxreading he paper. The oher wo anxiously peer

ou he window waiing he arrival of he wolf.

We can see from heir body language how each ofhe pigs feel.

I is ime for he final arrival of he wolf. He begins

o huff and puff.

I is he litle deails ha can make sories uniqueand special or even add comic ouches. Here we

see he serious pig puting a bandage on he bie

marks on he playful pig.

They are humble pigs now. They plead for help; heyhave learned heir lesson.

So he pigs arrive and he serious pig les hemin. They haven learned ha being wise and hard

work can proec hem from he wolf. How do we

show his?

The wolf moves on.

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Bu he can blow down he house. This ime, for comedy, we could have he wolf ry

o blow up he house.

Acions lead o reacions. Causes creae effecs.

And mos of us know from experience ha hisdoesn work.

So wha does he do? Wha do you do when you are

frusraed? Of course, kick he door.

Now he narraive quesion is will he wolf succeed

in blowing up he hree pigs?

Of course, i doesn work. He ends up blowing

himself up!

Or maybe he does blow up he house. Is his heend of he hree litle pigs?

The wolf has compleed his ask. Bu somehing is no righ.He savors his success.

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There are many ways to tell any story and there are equally many ways tostoryboard. What if we changed the setting and made it three little penguins.They build igloos to escape from a polar bear. What if we told the story from adifferent point of view? What if it was the wolfs point of view? What if he was

framed? What if we changed the genre and made it a romantic comedy, Western,

The ending complees he heme and answers all

he quesions ha were raised during he sory.So, now we sop.

The house of bricks sill sands. The pigs are safe.

Their hard work is rewarded. We have shown ha ifyou build a srong house, he wolf won ge you.

The smoke clears.The wolf does a double ake.

sci-fi, or horror story? The possibilities are endless. This is the conclusion of ourthree little pigs story but it is just the beginning of the world of storyboarding.

Lets return to the palace of the sultan. Scheherazade has learned to draw

boldly and begins telling her tale of Dumb Love.


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Evening on he McClod side.

As she looks he aps her on he oher shoulder.

Scheherazade coninues o draw And holds up her drawing for he sulan o see. I is he wo mounainop owns of Dumb Love.

She urns o look, as Goo moves in. She urns back righ ino Goos kiss.

Here is GOO, a self-cenered bu loveable monser searching for

rue love, bu oally clueless.

Goo poins, gaining he atenion of he girl.


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Up above conneced by a sring Meanwhile She smiles. (Credi: This wonderful gag idea was suggesed o meby sory aris Andrei Svisloski.)

Anoher girl walks down he dark sree.

STICKSALOT, or Sicks for shor.Sis Goos loyal bes friend Sicks is vigilanly on he lookou.


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He pulls he sring sounding he alarm.Sicks sees her.

The girl is geting closer.Only Goo doesn noice.

She is mad abou somehing, we can see i in her walk. Sicks ries again.He akes!**A take is an animaion erm designaing a broad reacion usuallyo seeing somehing. The pose is usually held for a bea.


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Anoher girl approaches from he opposie direcion.

Girl 1 is closing in.

He ries hard once more and The sring breaks.

Goo sill doesn noice.Sicks ugs again.

Sicks doesn know wha o do.


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Girl 3 nears.

Sicks waches helplessl y. The wo girls converge on Goo. GIRL 1: Gasp!

She is fuming.She sees Goo kissing anoher girl.

She can believe her eyes. Girl 1 confrons Goo. GIRL 1: Who is his?


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Meanwhile Sicks slides down from his lamppos.

He grins sheepishly.

Like cobras, he girls are ready o srike.

He ries o wiggle free. GOO: I can explain!

The girl kissing Goo noices Goo looks up in surprise.


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GIRLS: Afer him! Sicks ges angled up in he alarm sring. Goo rips, angled in he sring.

Sicks his he ground. Goo makes a run for i.

They slap Goo. One, wo, hree!


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They head o he edge of own.Sicks helps Goo up and hey run for i.

They fall. In he icy river below.

Down an old sairway. The roted boards give way and


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As he looks, Dunazade sis behind he sulan.Scheherazade holds up he drawing for he sulan.

Scheherazade noices her siser. She holds up anoher drawing while waching her siser. Dunazade smiles.

Scheherazade smiles. Dunazade winks, heir plan is working. The sulan is oally

engaged in he sory.

The girls wach for any race of life. SULTAN: So wha happened

o Goo and Sicks?



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So far, Scheherazades secret storytelling plot is working. Not having a voicehas not stopped what she has to say.

Breaking Down he Scrip: Wha Are Sory Beas?Scrip PageMovies usually start with a written story called a script. The character dialogue

and all of the action is described as if it is happening right now. The script onlydescribes what we will see and hear.

Lets look at a sample script page from our story (Table 3.1). This page describeshow Goo tries to trick the girl into kissing him. Each story beat is represented byone or more storyboard drawings. The script is composed of scene headings,indicating the place and time, action descriptions, and character dialogue. Noticethere are no instructions for the camera, just a clean simple description of action

Table 3.1Script Format Information

INT.: SULTANS PALACEEVENING Setting is listed with time of day in capitals.

A hand draws a picture of a mountaintoptown. Scheherazade holds up the picture.

Description describes the action in lowercase.

SULTAN (VO): Character indented, all capitals.Its a mountaintop town. Dialogue indented in a text block.

EXT.: MOUNTAINTOP TOWNNIGHTEXT.: ALLEYWAYNIGHTGOO, a self-centered but loveable monster,sits with a GIRL on a bench. Goo pointsout a star.

The first time a character is introduced, thename is all capitals.

GOOLook, a shooting star. BeatGoo points.

The girl looks up.

GIRLWhere? BeatGirl looks.Goo uses his other arm to reach behindand tap her on the shoulder.

GIRLHuh? BeatGoo taps her.

The girl turns to look to see who is touchingher.

BeatShe turns to look.

Goo leans in with lips puckered. BeatGoo puckers his lips.The girl turns back right into Goos kiss.She is surprised.

BeatGirl turns into Goos kiss, surprised.

GIRLMmmm. BeatShe likes it.

She closes her eyes and kisses Goo back.

INT., interior; EXT., exterior; VO, voiceover.

Action of hero

meets resistance

Action taken toward goal.

Gap between whatwas expected and

the actual result.

Obstacles & counteractions

Sorybeas.

in the present tense as if it is happening right now. That is all we can take picturesofsomething that happens in front of the camera.

A sceneis a small unit of conflict in the story. It involves the main character try-ing for his or her goal, encountering the action of the opponent or other obstacles.This leads to conflicts of emotions that lead the main character to make decisionsand finally take action. The action continues leading into the next scene.

A story beatis an idea or little action; it is the smallest unit that tells the filmsstory. It is the flow of these ideas that produce the questions and answer them.When a new idea is introduced, we have a new story beat. Each separate actiontoward the goal is a new beat. The story beats also create a sense of punctuationfor sequences of actions. They allow us to follow the steps of the story by break-ing the story down into chunks of actions.

How o Soryboard a SceneWhen you first read a script you want to break it down into main story beats.You want to look for the main narrative questions and search for the underlyingtheme. Everything hangs on the theme. You want to discover how each piece illu-minates the theme of the story. How does each story event move the story for-

ward? When you work on each scene you will break it down into detailed storybeats. As a working process, I like to thumbnail very quick, little drawings righton the edge of the script pages.

In live action, the next step is to create a shot list. This is a list of shots of howyou visualize the movie in your head. It is useful to ensure that when you story-board a sequence you hit the important story beats.

Storyboarding is not just a translation of the script into a series of visual images.It is more like a new rewrite of the story now using the flow of images to showinstead of words that tell. Movies use images, words, sounds, and music to show/tell their stories. A picture is worth 1001 words. Choose which ones your imagesays. Dialogue should be like icing on the cake: It is not necessary, but it makesthe whole cake taste better.

Storyboarding is nothing less than the first pass at directing a film.

73T h e B e g i n n i n g B a s i c s


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GOO and girl A

STICKS

Girl B

Girl C

This is an example of a blocking diagram showing he screen geography for he sequence of Goosdae. Each characer is labeled wih an arrow when he or she moves. This is no necessary for every

scene, only ones ha have complex characer or camera movemen.

Saging he AcionOriginally taken from the theater, staging refers to the physical act of placingthe characters in different places on the stage to best present the story events.In film, this physical arrangement of the actors in relation to the camera is alsoknown as blocking. Over time, staging has come to mean the overall method ofpresenting a performance. Staging is also used in film to set up each shots com-position, or what the viewer will see onscreen.

Staging should be a process of exploration by trying out different arrange-ments to find the best possible presentation. Best, in this case, means the clear-est and most dramatic.

One of the first drawings you should ever do in planning a film is a diagramof the actionkind of like those drawings you see planning out a football play.This blocking diagram is used to establish the screen geography and the planfor movement showing where everybody is going to move to and when. It alsoshows where you are going to position and move the camera. These blockingdiagrams also help stage the action in zcamera axis, also known as depth.

For example, what if you kept a narrative question still unanswered while you didthis? Would that help raise the story tension?

Criique: Scheherazades Soryelling

Scheherazade has a secret storytelling plot to quickly grab the sultans interest.She does this with a trick: With great enthusiasm, she tells her sister a story. Shepretends not to even care if the sultan is paying attention. Gradually the sultangets hooked without ever knowing what hit him.

What is Scheherazades story about? It is about the character, Goo, who islooking for love in all the wrong places. Goo doesnt really care about others andthis gets him in trouble. Sound like someone we know? Yes, she has modeled hercharacter after the sultan himself. The sultan is going along for the r ide watchinga character who is very much like himself. He is also watching the transforma-tion of that character. If Scheherazade can succeed, the sultan himself will trans-form as well.

POINTS TO REMEMBER Draw BOLD!Make your images easy to see as a billboard. Number your drawings. Pitch clearly and passionately. Storyboards are always a work in process. Start out rough and dont be

afraid to throw away drawings. Keep at it until you find the image that best

tells the story. Avoid relying on talking head shots. Tell the story visually. Invent visual

devices. Watch the Wallace and Gromit shorts:A Close Shave andThe Wrong

Trousersas an example of great visual storytelling. Watch old silent movies to see how they tell stories without words.

References1. Hand, D. Memoirs. Available at http://www.dhprod.com.

2. Canemaker, J. Paper Dreams. Hyperion, 1999.

3. Toth, A.Alex Toth by Design. Gold Medal Productions, 1996.

4. Ibid.

5. Mamet D. On Directing Film. Penguin Books, 1992.

When you start storyboarding, complete your first pass quickly using thumb-nail sketches. Thumbnails are postage stampsize sketches that allow variationsthat can be done quickly.

Often you cant change the script but subtext is free reign. Subtext is the subtleideas that bring a story to life beyond what is actually written in the script. How do

you make decisions as to how scenes can be presented? Is it related to the theme?What is the purpose of the scene? What and where in the context of the movieare the narrative questions and answers? These give you the answers. While stillin the thumbnail stage, see what would happen if you moved the pieces around?


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directing the story ch 3

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