Hey, Stage 32 Cinematographers!
I'm digging storyboarding as part of my creative outlet while my scripts are finding legs. While I clearly know what I would look for as a director, I'd love to hear from DPs! What do you look for in storyboards? What kind of details get you excited for the project? What are red flags for you?
Feel free to share pictures of examples!
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So I have been doing film for a few years now but I am just getting into the larger industry here in Hollywood, and one of the things that I have noticed is that roles and items are much more specified out here than in the film world in Colorado (which is where I worked prior). Do you mind if I clarify and then give you my thoughts? If you don't mind, then what would you say is a completed storyboard as a baseline? What does it look like, and who traditionally develops that? I have worked for my own company and for a small documentary film company and through both of those I have often done 90% of all development and pre-production work as a whole rather than having it split up. thanks for responding and would love to give my thoughts if you have any clarification!
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Storyboards can tell a DP about the director. A new director who comes prepared with coherent or even excellent boards can help build initial trust. Without them, it's anyone's guess if this director will be on top of his visual language on set. But it's also critical to investigate ( in subtle ways ) if the director has an iron-fisted marriage to these boards. The reality is, on all but lush budgets, things change and things drawn don't quite work as planned. Proof of preparation is good, but ability to make alterations is just as big. A well planned storyboard can also reveal a director ill-prepared for a lightning fast indie shoot. Personally, on all but commercial shoots, I am not a fan of even a shot list, let alone a storyboard... not as director, not as DP. I riff very well off actors performance and blocking, and select my shots on the day, on set at blocking. All those frames will fit with in a pre-designed approach to things I will keep consistent for story, character, or act; things like the focal lengths I will use, working stop, camera movement style or lack thereof, lighting styles, and so on are pre-determined, and my on the fly choices fit those parameters. For me, I have found this organic yet structured approach far more useful whne one has 15 days, 12 days , or fewer days to shoot a feature. I hear the kids shoot them in fewer than 10 now; I don't suspect there's much storyboard in use on that set.
Hey, Justin Little! I actually went to Colorado Film School, so I know what you mean. It's both an indie world out there - so it's hit or miss whether or not they'll have a detailed storyboard - but it's also more sport and commercially driven, and neither of those fields leans heavily upon using storyboards.
In regards to my question, it was really more about what details do you look for to give you confidence in the project and/or the director and less about how do you use those storyboards. Some DPs can see a lookbook, or use reference photos, or even just location stills with actors blocked to figure out their shot list, but I'm looking to unpack what a director's prep tells you, the DP, about the director.
Royce Allen Dudley That is a fantastic insight. I've said it to many, but am just now taking my own advice now that I'm moving from producer to director, which is in order to get your production crew on board, sometimes you need a quick-reference visual (not always a storyboard). Not as a hard and fast rule, but having that reference definitely gives you the ability to start a much more constructive conversation. I definitely dig the organic approach - we did something similar for our 48 Hour Projects last year (our team did 2) with a kind of mood lookbook which allowed the core team to point and go "I want it to feel like this". But if the art direction requires anything outside of bare-bones, then I definitely use storyboarding for my "hero shots" - ya know, like "hero props" LOL! Yeah, those lightning-fast indie shoots really can wreck plans, but I often over plan to give myself room to play - not in my shot list/storyboards, but definitely with my schedule so the scenes have room to breathe when necessary. Jeez... 10 days to film a feature?! Wow... I can't even imagine. One location? Two characters? LOL!
I look for some clarity about what the director sees in their head when they think about the shots and scenes and transitions that make up their movie, That is what I will try to improve upon and put on the screen. Ideally storyboards are a short-hand reminder of the long conversation about the project. That long discussion is first and foremost for me, in determining what the director sees, what they like, and how they want to tell the producer’s story. After those discussions any previous storyboard will likely be set aside and new storyboards are created to be a guideline for everyone. Doing the boards before the Director and DP are in sync is kinda pointless other than to focus the director on the visual flow of their movie