Storyboards vs. Shot list

finn_mccool

finn_mccool

Active member
I hope this is the right place to ask this: for you vets out there, do you storyboard, use a shot list, or both? For those who do just one or the other, why do you like your method better? It would seem a storyboard would help you visualize much better, but I know some directors that just use a shot list, which certainly cuts down on pre-production time. And does the cinematographer storyboard, or the director or other crew member, who then just hands the storyboard/shot list to the DP?

Thanks all!

Keith
 
I board only specific sequences that I either have a vision of (I just have to get this shot) or am inspired by or know that will be diffiicult if I do not come prepared.

Lately I have been doing more shot / lighting diagram (Think overhead 2D diagram) where I want to get shots from like a DP would

Mine look surprisingly 'neater' and more organized but are like these excerpts from The New Cinematographers

I'd suggest getting this wonderful resource

sbno5dv.jpg
 
Depends. When I am working with a separate DP, I storyboard. I even take a digital camera to locations, into rehearsals and use stills to story board. I do as much as I can to communicate what's in my head.

But when I am DPing my own stuff, I just do a shot list. In that case, all I need is a reference to remind myself of what I've already visualized.

As for who does it, well, my productions are so small, I pretty much always do it. Along with getting coffee for the crew, and my other duties...
 
I use shot lists which also reference the blocking and staging diagrams derived from the script. The lighting diagrams also reference the blocking and staging diagram list.

I use storyboards mostly in pre-production.

For blocking and staging diagram examples http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/downloads.html

In fact, I would highly recommend you get the hollywood camerawork dvd series on blocking and staging.
 
Storyboards!!!!!!!!!!!! mostly cause im not organized enough to make shotlists... and drawing is way faster.







These take about 5 or 6 min per page. i story boraded about 12 minutes of screen time in 2 hours or so.

I am for hire....... :) if you hate drawing.

PS its was for my Aunts Movie... she wrote ascript and i very reluctantly shot it. It was complete crap. but at least it was practice.

This is how it kinda looked... Its almost embarrasing... it was so awful. This was a -160$ Budget. i wound up losing money at every turn.... I hated the whole experience. No lights, no real actors, no fun at all.

 
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The big problem with storyboards as a shot list and laid out sequentially as shown by TimurCivan, is you wind up shooting the story the way it shows up on the screen.

That's very inefficient, and doesn't much allow for analysis and simplification of the blocking.

Having been through art school I used to think of using storyboards for more than where they really work best. Draw, draw, draw and show em' I thought.

Then my eyes were opened by a Professional DP who explained why storyboards suck as a blocking tool.

This view is also supported by Per Holmes who gives a very detailed scene breakdown using storyboards and then using proper blocking. Then shows the same scene shot with both methods. Whoa, what a great example of why storyboards are lame as a blocking tool.

However, everyone if free to shoot whatever way they want. I for one will not likely ever go back to using storyboards for blocking or developing shot lists.
 
If your scene is of a dude walking into an office and looking in a desk for the gun.....

Blocking is the act of figuring out where he will be moving to, when and where and when and where the camera goes.

It's rehearsing and planning for the actual shot.
 
I tend to storyboard first... creating my visuals as if I'm writing a comic book. After that I make shot lists based on the story boards in order to group the visuals into as few setups as possible. It's tough to just read fifty story board panels and know for sure whether you need 5 or 25 different setups. (at least for me)

I then keep the boards AND shot list on set, marking of the shot list as I go and keeping the storyboards handy to remind myself of what I hope to capture. In the insanity of shooting it's nice to have the drawings there so you don't forget the ideas that were born during the more relaxed development process.
 
In addition to helping you figure out the story, these two items have very specific strengths...

A shot list is a tool to help you plan and keep on schedule, also helping to make shure you don't forget anything critical. A.D.s like shot lists.

A story board is a communication tool. It helps DPs communicate w/ directors, directors communicate with actors, directors communicate with production designers...
 
I find that a shot list is more of a planning tool and is mostly logistical in nature. It helps to determine location, cast and crew considerations. This usually evolves out of the callsheet (and vice versa). On the other hand, storyboards are usually a way for the director to communicate their internal vision of a shot to the DP and other department heads.

I have seen storyboards that range from simple stick figure drawings to extremely elaborate pre visualized timelines, either is fine as long as it communicates what is that the director has envisioned.
 
i tend to lean towards storyboards, i find it easier to spaz out and miss a shot if you are just working off a list, and it's real nice to draw out a scene if you have something specific in mind, but it's not always great for situations where you shoot a shot/reverse shot and choose what you want in post.
 
Owen said:
I tend to storyboard first... creating my visuals as if I'm writing a comic book. After that I make shot lists based on the story boards in order to group the visuals into as few setups as possible. It's tough to just read fifty story board panels and know for sure whether you need 5 or 25 different setups. (at least for me)

I then keep the boards AND shot list on set, marking of the shot list as I go and keeping the storyboards handy to remind myself of what I hope to capture. In the insanity of shooting it's nice to have the drawings there so you don't forget the ideas that were born during the more relaxed development process.
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Yes. Exactly! This is "the where storyboards fit"! They are not the shot list or accompanying blocking diagrams.
 
I used both and always will. They lower the level of confusion durring shoot time. And when I say that, dude, do I mean it.
They help organize the shoot. They help get your mental message across to your people. They help you with the mental pre-edit. They free your mind durring the shoot so you only have to focus on the shot at hand.

I could go on...
 
storyboards are esential if you are going for more then just traditional TV coverage. They help you figure out what should and shouldn't be in the frame.
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
storyboards are esential if you are going for more then just traditional TV coverage. They help you figure out what should and shouldn't be in the frame.
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Excatly.
 
I look at a shot list as a list of things that need to be covered and how loose or tight - not necessarily the list of shots that will be done. Then on set I generally combine, split and cover those shots quite differently - but the scripty can check off which items on the shot list are covered and then (assuming our shot list was well thought out) we know when we have at least minimally completed an editable version of the scene.
 
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