We’re in the midst of working on a pretty complicated project. We love this client, and we’re excited to create a high quality video for them. But the project is complex – lots of shots we want to incorporate, a few different scenarios we need to set up, plus a script with some talking heads. We want to make sure we capture everything we mention in the script, along with specific shots that the client has said they want. Keeping track of all these different shots can be difficult, which is where storyboarding comes in.
Most people associate storyboards with big movie sets; artistic renderings of cinematic shots that will eventually grace movie posters, and quickly sketched line drawings of the main cast. But storyboards can be useful (and crucial) even for a small video production. They serve as a little visual cheat sheet for the camera operators and the director.
Storyboards are also helpful when putting together a budget for the production. When both clients and producers have a solid idea of what the project entails, they can work together to make the project more efficient, saving time and money.
In the case of our current client, we started with a basic idea of how the video should look: lots of product shots, and lots of scenarios of the product in use. As we developed the script, more ideas were developed, and more images suggested. Once we got a rough draft of the script, Shane and I sat down with all our notes and drew out the storyboards for all the shots. This helped us visualize what was needed production-wise, and let our client get a first look at our vision for the project and suggest changes and inclusions.
Finally, storyboards are incredibly helpful during the editing process. Even for a short video, it’s possible to capture an hour or two (or more!) of footage. As the editor put the footage together, the storyboard serves as a guide for them. They can piece together the video according to the vision you’ve already laid out. This saves both time and money – the process goes more quickly, and since they already know the vision of the project, results in fewer revisions afterward.
Our goal is to make the creative process fun, engaging, and simple. Storyboarding may seem complicated, but in the end it simplifies that process.
thay are imazing