Plan
The planning stage is twofold. First, you will determine the story elements in the overarching narrative and select the best medium for each element. Second, you will produce a storyboard that conforms to the storytelling paradigm and reflects the overarching narrative and its elements. Then you will produce story boards for the individual elements.
Concepts
1. Determine the story elements. In the case of this class, your final story should have five elements.
2. Select the best medium for each element. Each medium has specific strengths and weaknesses. Each has specific attributes. Images, for example, are often better at portraying emotion than text. Depending on the piece of the story that you're telling, one medium will likely work better than others. 3. Produce a storyboard for the overarching narrative. This storyboard reflects the elements of the story. 4. Produce a storyboard for each of the story elements for which a storyboard is appropriate. For instance, a storyboard is helpful when doing a video element. On the other hand, it would not be useful for a text piece. When producing a storyboard for a video element, your choice of film styles will dictate how much planning you can do in advance of the shoot, and what that planning will look like. If you're making a work of fiction, you have total control over the action. You can plan every shot in detail. Here's an example from a Hitchcock film instead (The Birds). It reads down (in columns). If you're making a documentary-style production, then of course you'll have much less control over what happens in front of your camera. And as a consequence, your planning will be a lot different.
But you'll still need to plan. At minimum, you'll need to identify the key concepts you want to communicate, and the people who can help you get those ideas across. Those people can be sources of information (on or off camera) or they can be characters whose actions move the story forward visually. You'll also need to identify the locations where you'll be shooting your video. |
Actions
Develop your storyboard for your overarching narrative.
Create a storyboard for each element, as appropriate. If you're developing a fictionalized video element, make a shot-by-shot record of what you plan to record in the field (or in the studio). This will facilitate a smooth and economical production process. You'll see why when we get to the "Shoot" step. If you're making a documentary, you'll have less control over events in the field, but you still need to thoroughly plan your shoot. Make the script as detailed as possible. Try making a storyboard, too; it'll help you anticipate the shots you'll need, even though you can't predict everything that might happen while you're in production. |