Week 10 : April. 06
Storyboard, filmic language,
composition rules
Storyboard
The
Animation Process
3D digital Animation (by Pixar)
What
is a Storyboard?
A storyboard is a graphical representation of a complete animation.
A storyboard is a kind of "cartoon" of the "scenes"
of a piece of writing.
Storyboarding is the process of producing sketches of the shots of your
script.
The end result looks like comic book of your film.
Where
storyboards are needed?
1. Film industry
2. Business and Politics
3. Architecture
Why
we need storyboards?
In short, it contributes to making the quality of your
final animation much better.
Storyboard = an excellent tool for planning
a production (Pre-Visualize
the idea)+ tool for communication with others (Clearest
Language)
Benefits in General (for various fields)
Storyboarding helps a group visualize what they are discussing
It reduces time spent in undirected discussion
It allows all participants to share ideas equally regardless of extroversion
or introversion
Participants feel empowered in the decision making process
It identifies and organizes ideas
Decisions and action items can be assigned by group consensus
Storyboard
Style
Since the only criteria storyboards must meet is
ease of execution and reproducibility, most storyboards are rendered with
a fast, easily controlled medium such as pencil, ink and charcoal dust
or dry marker for color work.
If
you think you can't draw??
Sample
Storyboards
the Star Wars 'Troops" by Kevin Rubio (http://www.theforce.net/troops/)
The Gladiator by Sylvain Despretz (www.directorsworld.com)
The Matrix
TV Storyboard Samples
Movie Storyboard Samples
Dave's Descent
3D Animation : untitled yet?
3D Animation : 'the Kiss'
3D Animation : A Journey to MarsStoryboard Tutorial (Josh Sheppard's Storyboard site)
Storyboard Related Links
Guidelines
(Storyboard Assignment Due on Friday, 4/13)
Download
Storyboard Template
1. The storyboard should be neat enough to be read clearly. I do not expect
to receive precision art work, but I should not need any assistance in
translating scribbles either.
2. The storyboard MUST represent a COMPLETE animation. Completed projects
will not be accepted before a storyboard is approved.
3. Every element to be included in the storyboard. This includes
- Graphic Images
- Verbal description (i.e. Illustrating Camera Techniques)
- Transition
- Sound
- Duration for each frame
Mise-En-Scene
: In French, "putting in the scene." Originally the term described
the physical production of a play : the sets, props and staging of a scene.
Montage:
From the French term "to assemble." In European film montage
is a description of the editorial process. In Soviet film, under the influence
of the early Soviet directors, particularly Sergei Eisenstein, montage
represented the very essence of film art. In the United States, montage
has a special meaning, referring to a concentrated narrative device, usually
lasting only a minute, in which a portion of the story is expressed without
dialogue using a series of dissolves to connect short, expressive, often
symbolic shots.
Shot (long shot, full shot, medium shot, close up, deep focus shot), scene, sequence, cut (match cut, cut away, jump cut, simple cut…), transition
Frame Per Second (24fps : movie, 15fps : exercise, 30fps : tv)
Camera
Angles
Five basic camera angles (Louis Giannetti : Understanding
Movies)
1. bird's eye view : A camera angle where the scene is observed from high above, looking down
2. high angle : A camera angle, where the scene is observed from higher than eye level, looking downward.
"high angles tend to suggest entrapment, powerlessness, or assailability (Giannetti)".3. eye-level shot
4. low angle : : A camera angle, where the scene is observed from lower than eye level, looking upward
5. oblique angle : "oblique angles suggest tension, transition, and impending movement (Giannetti)"
Basic
Elements of Composition
(Frame Aesthetics)
It's important to understand basic rules giving a harmonious arrangement
for your each featured frame.
These rules are derived from Painting and Photography.
However, be flexible. There is no rule without exceptions.
Placing
the center of interest
- The two simplest methods for placing the center of interest are the
rule of thirds or the golden section
- Both methods offset the center of interest from the picture center
- The rule of thirds divides the picture edges into thirds and places
the center of interest on one of the four intersections
- The golden section uses a mathematical means of dividing the picture
to give a naturally pleasing composition
|
rule
of thirds |
 |
golden section (1: 1.62) |
Rule
of thirds
 |
- Divide the height and width equally into
3 sections - Place the center of interest on near one of the red points - On or near the inside horizontal 1/3 lines are also a good guide for placing the horizon line |
Golden
Section
The golden section has been used by artists for centuries as a mathematical
way of dividing a line or rectangle to give a harmonious division.
An approximate way of finding the point is to divide each side into 13
and then count 8 along as shown above.
Aesthetic Scale and proportion
Throughout history, the ratio for length to width of rectangles of 1.6180339887
49894 84820 has been considered the most pleasing to the eye.
This ratio was named the golden ratio by the Greeks. In the world of mathematics,
the numeric value is called "phi", named for the Greek sculptor
Phidias. The space between the collumns form golden rectangles. There
are golden rectangles throughout this structure which is found in Athens,
Greece.
 |
 |
Don'ts
- Don't position the subject centrally in the picture
- Avoid positioning the horizon line half way up the picture
Balance
The Frame should be in balance tonally
Dominant
Object
Add
an "Echo"
One of the ways of adding balance is to include an echo of the dominant
object
References:
Film
directing shot by shot - visualizing from concept to screen - Steven D.
Katz
The Art of the Storyboard: Storyboarding for Film, TV, and Animation -
John Hart
Storyboarding 101 : A Crash Course in Professional Storyboarding - James
O. Fraioli
Understanding Movies - Louis D. Giannetti
Acting
with a Pencil : Storyboarding your Movie
The
Story of Storyboarding By Marie Wallace
Storyboarding
with Iain McCaig
Sotryboard
: what, when, how, what
Despretz
on Storyboarding 'Gladiator'
Josh Sheppard's Storyboard
site
Storyboarding
'Pit Pony'
Dreamworks &
TV animation, sample story board
-
Dave's Descent -Storyboards
3D animation
Storyboard
3D animation storyboard
for the title animation of "the Kiss".
3DAnimation
Storyboard: A Journey to Mars.