STO·RY·BOARD noun A large board on which a series of sketches of shots or scenes are arranged in sequence for outlining the action of a film, video, etc. transitive verb to make a storyboard of shot or scene for a film, video, etc.
A film storyboard is essentially a large comic of the film or some section of the film produced beforehand to help film directors, cinematographers and television commercial advertising clients visualize the scenes and find potential problems before they occur. Often storyboards include arrows or instructions that indicate movement.
The storyboarding process, in the form it is known today, was developed at the Walt Disney Studio during the early 1930s, after several years of similar processes being in use at Walt Disney and other animation studios.
Alfred Hitchcock’s films were strongly believed to have been extensively storyboarded to the finest detail by the majority of commentators over the years, although recent research indicates that this was exaggerated for publicity purposes. Other directors storyboard only certain scenes, or none at all. Animation directors are usually required to storyboard extensively, sometimes in place of writing a script.
Jeff Errico is my GO-TO storyboard artist. Most recently we collaborated with my idol, director Tarsem Singh, on a Mountain Dew World of Warcraft commercial. These are highlights of Jeff’s actual boards from the commercial spot…and the final cut below. You can get more details on Storyboard Guru Jeff Erico on his website: www.storyboardguru.com
