19

Talking Pictures: Assembling a Story Reel or Animatic with a Scratch Track

Congratulations! You have just pitched your boards and character concepts and had them approved—possibly with a few small tweaks.

After the turnover session a small removable sticker is placed in one corner of each storyboard drawing indicating the sequence, scene, and drawing number (Figure 19-1, top). Shorter films can have the scene and drawing numbers written directly on the boards (Figure 19-1, bottom).

[Fig. 19-1] When a sequence is approved, each storyboard panel is identified by a removable sticker listing the sequence, scene, and drawing number. Shorter films may eliminate the sequence numbers and write scene and frame numbers directly on the boards.

Dialogue changes made during the turnover session are noted and incorporated into the recording script, which is finalized only after the storyboard is approved. When

the script is ready the voice actors record the dialogue in individual or group sessions, depending on the project. The recording script is broken up into short numbered sections so that the actors do not read the entire script in one take. The editor and director then assemble the best takes from each section into the final track. Retakes of lines or portions of lines and additions to the original recording sessions are called pickups. If a character actor is not available for a session a dialogue scratch track may be recorded by another actor or the director and used as a placeholder until the pickup session is recorded. Scenes with scratch dialogue tracks will not be put into production since the synchronization will not be accurate for the animator.

At this stage the storyboards are transformed from still pictures into motion pictures in a process known as getting it (a sequence or project) up on reels. This term is used even though the story reel is now created with computers instead of animation cameras and reels of film.

The numbered storyboards are scanned into a computer editing program. Dialogue panels and screen directions are not scanned. The director(s) and editor assemble the boards into a story reel or animatic and time or slug each panel to the dialogue and a musical scratch track. Animated and live action film is edited to scratch tracks since the final scores are generally one of the last things that are completed on the production. (Song sequences are an exception to this rule.)

A story reel is constructed of scanned and timed storyboards. Camera moves may be shot but the drawings are not modified. Cross dissolves, fades, and simple camera moves, such as pans and rotations, created in the editing program replace the graphic symbols used during the storyboard pitch.

An animatic uses simple animation and special effects to add a cinematic feel to the storyboards. Techniques can vary from simply panning a character across a panel with the aid of a computer graphics program to animating character drawings, background layouts, and overlays to create a feeling of three-dimensional motions in the frame. Figure 19-2A and B show one storyboard that has been modified in a computer graphics program. Changes in layout, lighting, and character poses are used to convey the action in the scene.

[Fig. 19-2] An animatic may have action ‘animate’ in a single storyboard rather than progress on several separate panels. Simple character animation can time action more precisely than a still drawing.

Complicated camera moves may be portrayed on one storyboard. Figure 19-3 shows the camera starting on the young cat in the doorway (field A). It then trucks up to the ceiling (field B) and rotates around the chandelier (field C) before descending toward a heroic feline statue on field D. The storyboard panel is larger than usual to allow for the camera moves, and the background detail is downplayed in the pass-through areas. The mood of the scene was fully established when this camera move was shot for the animatic.

[Fig 19-3] A complex camera move can be planned on one storyboard. This atmospheric establishing shot’s background is detailed in areas where the camera lingers; less important sections are modeled with tonal values. Reproduced by permission of Sarah Kropiewnicki.

A scratch music track is often assembled from a variety of sources including classical and jazz music and soundtracks from other films. The scratch track sets a tempo for the editing and the action that will be retained in the final music track. Musical cues may cut abruptly during a change of pace in the action. The scratch track is only a timing device so the musical excerpts do not need to blend perfectly with one another.

Choose instrumental music with a tempo that matches the visual rhythm you wish to use for the film. Song lyrics sometimes help the action but can also compete with it. Music should reinforce the emotional mood of a scene. LOVE AT FIRST ROACH by William Robinson was originally timed to a 1930s jazz soundtrack. Its final track consisted of Parisian accordion tunes that helped turn a dirty kitchen into a romantic bistro. The two tracks shared a common tempo but created different emotional moods for the same visuals.

[Fig. 19-4] Parisian accordion music set the atmosphere better for this romantic date than the original jazz scratch track. Reproduced by permission of William Robinson.

A song sequence will usually have its final soundtrack recorded before storyboards begin. Dialogue is changeable. Songs are locked down when they are recorded. Even a scratch version of a song will have the same tempo as the final version. This is the reason why musical numbers are frequently the first feature film sequences to go into production.

Sound effects are usually recorded wild after the music and dialogue tracks are completed. These are laid down, or slugged, in a simple mix with the main soundtrack. Visual effects such as explosions and puffs of smoke are added to the reel with computer graphics programs if they are necessary for the story. If not, they are left for later and the storyboards carry the visuals alone.

Previsualization, also known as previz, adds a new string to the story artist’s bow. Originally developed for live action, it has become an important part of CGI preproduction. Previz can be described as a CGI animatic created in the third and fourth dimensions with roughly modeled characters and backgrounds and in-depth camera moves. It closely resembles the pop-throughs shot by stop-motion animators using the finished puppets and sets. Previsualization artist Jean Pilotte describes the technique:

“3D implies volume and perspective in shades. The fourth dimension that previz brings is movement in time. A leica doesn’t move like a real camera in space. So, the true previz is the one that moves the characters and the camera…. Once [it is] edited together [it] brings continuity of motion and camera planning to the [computer-animated film]”

Previz is an elaboration on the storyboard and not a substitute for it since it occurs at the end of preproduction after all story elements have been finalized. When the visual and audio materials are edited to the director’s satisfaction the project is finally up on reels! And then the REAL work begins.

This Is Only A Test: Refining Story Reels

Screen your story reel or animatic for family and friends. Screen it for total strangers. You’ll need a second and third and fourth opinion just as you did when you practiced pitching the storyboards, but now the film does the talking instead of you and it must stand or fall on its own merits. Stuff either works or it doesn’t. (Don’t tell the audience what they should be seeing. If they can’t follow the story, it’s your problem, not theirs.) Ask your viewers for their impressions after the screening. See if their interpretations coincide with yours. If not, ask for suggestions on how the material could be improved. Take notes. Revise the boards and story reel accordingly and screen it again for the same audience if possible. See if the problems are solved. Once everyone reads everything consistently, you’re done—for now.

A feature film will ‘screen and screen again’ as the story is developed. Sequences may be added or dropped after different test audiences view the same material. Sometimes a secondary character may reveal its “star potential” and have its part expanded as a direct result of an audience’s response during a test screening.

There is no blueprint, no one way to create an appealing story. I like to use the words of story man and layout artist Ken O’Connor as a guideline for story creation:

“We never achieved a formula. It was an interesting thing; I did [boards and layouts for] between 75 and 100 shorts, and you’d think that after a while you’d get the thing down to a routine, you know?… [B]ut [we] never succeeded at all. Every picture brings a whole new set of problems, and you simply can’t make it like the last one, in my experience.… It’s aggravating, but it’s also very stimulating to me.”

—Interview with Nancy Beiman, 1979