Storyboards

A script describes the action of a production; a storyboard shows it. Along with the script, a storyboard is a valuable instrument for planning, shooting, and editing a program. It is a tool that allows clients, producers, directors, writers, designers, crew members, and talent to visualize a scene or program before shooting begins, and to have a visual reference during production and postproduction. Experience shows that time invested in storyboarding is time saved in shooting and editing.

Storyboards consist of two parts: sketches and written descriptions. Each shot in a scene or program requires a new sketch, or panel, in a storyboard. That is, every time the director plans to cut to a new angle or image, that new angle or image is drawn. Drawings may range from professionally drawn, full-color pictures to rough pencil sketches with stick figures to stock clip art images (as is the case with the samples in this appendix). Written descriptions consist of abbreviated summaries of both the video and audio for each panel.

The video description includes four possible items:

•  Shot size (e.g., LS, MS, CU)

•  Subject (e.g., man, woman, tree)

•  Action (e.g., walks, fights, limps to fire)

•  Any camera moves or special visual effects (e.g., pan, dissolve, explosion)

The audio description includes three possible items:

•  Dialogue (incues and outcues are acceptable when the dialogue is lengthy)

•  Sound effects (e.g., gunshot, door closing, tires screeching)

•  Music (e.g., slow classical, trumpet fanfare, up-tempo rock)

1.  Aspect ratio. It is important for both the creators and readers of storyboards to understand the conventions of this communication tool. First, aspect ratio is important. Standard-definition television screens were four units wide for every three units high, or 4:3 (1.33:1); however, today’s high-definition television (HDTV) and film screens are wider, ranging from 16:9 (1.78:1 HDTV) to 22:9 (2.44:1 Cinerama). In all cases, the image is wider than it is tall, and the storyboard panels are sketched accordingly. The sample drawings in this handout use the 16:9 HDTV aspect ratio.

2.  Transitions. There are different types of transitions between shots, and these make up a second convention. The most common transition is a straight cut or take, where one image instantly replaces the other. Because this is the most used transition, it is assumed on a storyboard: The words “cut to” are not written. However, if a different transition is used, such as a dissolve (momentary blending of the images) or a wipe (one image pushes the other off the screen in a geometric pattern), this transition is written in the description part of the storyboard.

3.  Shot sizes. A third convention consists of shot sizes. The three most common are “LS” for “long shot” (head to toe), “MS” for “medium shot” (waist up), and “CU” for “close-up” (shoulders up). There are some variations of these: “ELS” for “extreme long shot” (subject appears small relative to surroundings), “MLS” for “medium long shot” (knees up), “MCU” for “medium close-up” (chest up), and “ECU” for “extreme close-up” (face or eyes only).

4.  Framing. A fourth convention regards some types of framing. Two common abbreviations are “2S” for “two-shot” and “3S” for “three-shot,” when two or three people appear on the screen, respectively. When one person is on screen, it is not necessary to indicate “one-shot,” and when more than three people appear, “group shot” or a similar term may be used, but is not necessary if the panel drawing clearly shows a group. An additional abbreviation is “O/S” for “over-the-shoulder shot,” when two people are positioned fore- and background so the one in the background is seen over the shoulder of the one in the foreground, as in Figure A3.1. (Note: O/S—see the slash—should not be confused with O.S.—see the periods—which stands for “off screen.” O.S. is used for dialogue that a character speaks when that character is off screen, or not in the frame. This is different from “V.O.”—voice-over—which is used when an off-camera announcer speaks or when the thoughts inside a character’s head are spoken.)

FIGURE A3.1
Sample video and audio descriptions: O/S MCU to Todd. Todd: “Please get me out of here, Bonnie!” Bonnie: “That’s so typical, Todd, always asking for help when it’s too late.”

5.  Composition. A fifth convention is image composition, especially the “rule of thirds.” According to this guideline, if the screen is divided into imaginary thirds both vertically and horizontally, the most important information appears not in the center of the screen, but at the intersections of the thirds, or on the lines between those intersections (called the “dynamic axes” or the “golden mean”). In Figure A3.2, a medium shot reveals the eyes—the most important elements—not in the center, but “at the thirds.”

FIGURE A3.2
Rule of thirds. MS woman daydreaming at table. VO: “I can’t wait to retire.” Music: soft, dreamy.

6.  Subject movement. A sixth convention concerns the movement of a subject within the frame. This is indicated by a broken arrow inside the panel that indicates the direction of the movement. The example in Figure A3.3 shows a long shot of a man walking screen left.

FIGURE A3.3
LS man walks screen left, dressed for winter. Narrator: “Even when you bundle up for the cold, you can still go out in style.” SFX: cold wind blowing.

7.  Camera movement. A seventh and final storyboard convention deals with movement of the camera itself. A tilt is upward and downward movement of a stationary camera. A pedestal (ped) or crane is upward and downward movement of the entire camera head. Both tilts and pedestals (or cranes) are indicated by a solid, vertical arrow outside and to the right of the panel. The arrow indicates the direction. The example shown in Figure A3.4 depicts either a tilt or pedestal (crane) up. The written description clarifies.

FIGURE A3.4
Giraffe and baby. Tilt (or ped) up. SFX: jungle. Music: native African.

A pan is left and right movement of a stationary camera. A truck is left and right movement of a camera head. Both pans and trucks are indicated on storyboards by a solid, horizontal arrow outside and below the panel. The arrow indicates the direction. The example in Figure A3.5 shows either a pan or truck to the left. The written description again clarifies. An arc is a semicircle around part of a subject. It involves trucking and dollying (see next paragraph) simultaneously. An arc is indicated as a pan or truck: a solid arrow outside the panel. The written description explains that it is an arc.

A zoom is the change of a lens’ focal length to make objects appear closer or farther away. A dolly is the forward and backward movement of the whole camera, either closer to or farther away from the subject. Both zooms and dollies are indicated by a solid, diagonal arrow inside the panel. The arrow indicates the direction, either in or out. A box with dotted lines inside the panel indicates the area to be revealed in the tightest part of the shot, either at the beginning or at the end of the zoom or dolly. The example in Figure A3.6 depicts either a zoom out or dolly back. A written description once again clarifies.

FIGURE A3.5
MLS Susan and Bonnie power walk on city street. Truck left. Bonnie: “I can’t believe Todd went to jail for a copyright violation.” SFX: city and traffic sounds.

FIGURE A3.6
Todd in jail. Zoom out (or dolly back) from CU to LS. Todd sings: “Bring back my Bonnie to me.”

Sometimes a camera movement, such as a zoom or tilt, reframes an item within the image, such as in the previous example of a zoom out or dolly back. (See Figure A3.6.) At other times, a camera movement ends on a new image that was not in the first frame, such as in the example in Figure A3.7. Here, a boy is seen walking his dog, and then the camera pans to the right to a fire hydrant. When this is the case, both the beginning and ending images are storyboarded. But instead of numbering the sketches sequentially (e.g., 7 and 8—which indicate two separate shots), the sketches are given the same number followed by sequential letters (e.g., 7A and 7B—which indicate a continuous shot).

FIGURE A3.7
(7A) Boy walks dog screen right. (7B) Pan right to fire hydrant.

FIGURE A3.8
Sample blank storyboard sheet. May be photocopied and used.