Archive for the "Simple Storyboarding" Category

Top 3 Storyboarding Successes Among Students

posted: Jul 28th, 2010



Today, students need to work harder than ever to stand out and to achieve the grade point averages they need. In order to make presentations more appealing, many students opt for storyboards that map our their initial ideas during the pre visualization phase. By organizing their thoughts with a frame-by-frame model of their coming presentation, they can refine and improve their work…before showing it to teachers, college professors, and fellow students.

One of the main benefits of student storyboarding is the confidence it gives to students. Often, students feel nervous about speaking publicly – they will stress about all of the things that can go awry. While some nervousness is normal and healthy, too much can short-circuit a project, resulting in a lower grade. Using storyboards to plan things out is an effective way of practicing and memorizing a presentation.

Getting started with storyboards for a class presentation requires a thorough pre visualization process, which can actually be quite enjoyable and illuminating. Even group projects can benefit from this concept. For example, brainstorming with a group can be a great way to “pre-viz” a project. If a student is working alone, they can sit and write down ideas, facts, and notes regarding the tone and purpose of their work. Getting things rolling with pre visualization can lead to a storyboarding phase that is a natural bridge to an ideal end result…

In past decades, the materials used to create storyboards – Bristol board and rough drawings, even Post-It Notes – often made it difficult to visualize properly, limiting the success of the pre visualization process. Today, pre visualization software has brought storyboarding into the Internet Age. For students who grow up playing with video games, surfing the Web, and texting, digital storyboard software can be a logical way to create better presentations.

Every class presentation is like a film or ad campaign – it must be mapped out in the same fashion. When you’re creating storyboards, you must think like a director… you must imagine the audience and how they will respond to every word and image. By utilizing film pre visualization software, you can wow your teachers and classmates! You’ll have it all together!

Movie pre visualization software allows you to add an entire cast of pre-loaded characters, as well as backgrounds, special effects, music and dialogue. The software of today is intuitive, user-friendly, and designed to work with programs you already know and love. Importing images from other programs is a breeze. You can even create a Flash movie of your finished storyboard and share it on the Internet or via iPhone. Obviously, getting feedback and preparing are a million times easier when these programs make showing off ideas so simple!

Digital storyboard software pays for itself over time. You can use it for schoolwork and for creative projects you do for fun. In fact, using pre visualization software may lead to a fascinating career direction. So many great jobs require storyboarding – directors, ad executives, and animators all use digital storyboarding – it’s just part of the job. You may find you create presentations that open up a lot of new doors…

Getting the lowdown on what storyboard software is and how it can increase your grade point average is as simple as doing a Google search. You can check out all sorts of demos online. You’ll be able to see how every frame of a presentation can be mapped out and tweaked for optimum effect. Be sure to explore the concept of pre visualization and storyboarding before you plan your next school presentation!

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7 Secrets to the Simple Storyboard

posted: Apr 22nd, 2010

A storyboard is a visual tool that allows a production team or director to develop their vision more fully before filming or animation begins. Today, the storyboard can be used for a variety of purposes: from documentaries to cartoons to class presentations or indie filmmaking…there are many ways to use a finished storyboard to communicate your vision to others. Getting your storyboard organized and cohesive enough to resonate with your production team or audience is the key to making the most out of all your hard work…but how do you start? Here are some tips on making it happen…

1.) Keeping it simple is important; first, you must develop your vision for the project, frame by frame. In the past, sketches and outsourced art added expense and bother to crafting storyboards. Today’s pro directors often nip this problem in the bud by opting for designer software that helps them create storyboards independently, without outsourced drawings. Since digital storyboard software such as Storyboard Artist has pre-loaded drawings, characters, background, and special effects, it makes it possible for directors to get a good result in mere minutes – it also takes the drama of dealing with “live” artists out of the equation.

2.) However you decide to craft your storyboard, you should start simply – use pictures and text to map out your camera shots or ideas, and make sure your script flows well before getting your ideas on camera. You can use free or low-cost picture sites on the web to get started finding backgrounds and images that add impact to your storyboards – look for easy downloads you can access right away! Images are the key to adding impact and making your storyboard “pop”. By mapping out angles, “marking” actors or characters positions in each scene, and adding dialogue, music and other essentials (old-school storyboard require a lot more effort than today’s digital storyboards), you can begin to develop a timeline that helps you organize your production.

3.) If you’re crafting a storyboard for a classroom or group presentation, you can concentrate on making sure every important talking point or fact is organized and easy to understand. By creating a simple storyboard for your target audience, you can help them to process more information. Using visual cues to make a story easier to understand is a time-honored tradition – for years, ad agencies have relied on storyboards to show their ideas to clients before closing a new account. Today, many ad agencies opt for digital software – it tends to pay for itself in terms of user-friendliness and speed. As well, a digital production seems far more modern and pulled-together.

4.) Once you’ve mapped out your basic shots and dialogue, you can begin to refine your ideas before filming or showing your storyboard to others. Think about ways to make your vision fresh and unique. Consider pacing, tone, music, camera work (hand-held or tripod? etc.) and what sort of actors or actresses you’ll be looking for. There are many details to be considered, and it’s easy to sort things out with a simple storyboard as a visual guideline.

The reason people decide to use storyboards before a production or group presentation is pretty basic – it’s just easier to deal with the subject matter when it’s organized and laid out for public consumption. Rather than storing lots of information in your head and trying to explain to others (who may not see your vision as easily as you do), you are better served by showing others what you want and what you plan to create. Without a simple storyboard that combines text, images, and angles, your vision can be difficult to “translate” to an audience, investors, or a film crew. The best storyboard software, such as Power Production’s Storyboard Quick, can help you get it done in record time!

5.) When you’re putting together a storyboard, be sure to concentrate on framing, blocking and where the focus of each scene will lie. If you’re storyboarding for film or cartoons, always consider the motion of your characters. Their movements should be indicated throughout your frame-by-frame breakdown of the plotline.

6.) If you’re consider digital software to create your storyboards, finding software that gives you a slick result may seem tricky – if you want to know what program is good for making storyboards on a pc, browse the web and check out sites like Power Production. Once you’ve looked at some online demos, you’ll realize how many benefits the best storyboard software can offer. There are different ways of obtaining software – you can purchase it outright and enjoy using it for all your storyboarding needs…beware of freeware that might infect your computer with viruses or trigger phishing. It’s better to pay upfront and be certain the software is safe and does exactly what it promises…

7.) Atmosphere is the key to a compelling storyboard! You should pay attention to the overall feel of your work. By giving your images, text, and dialogue a specific tone or mood, you can sway your audience and evoke an emotional reaction. Think about whether your material should be presented in a way that is dark and melancholy, or light and conversational…there are many ways to affect others with your storyboards. Your vision for the production or presentation is key here – imagine it all and use music and backgrounds to make your storyboards a more accurate representation of your ideas.

As you can see, crafting perfect storyboards is an art form in itself…but it’s not as hard as it might seem. By following these 7 steps, you can get closer to a finished product that has it all.

By taking advantage of today’s high-tech storyboarding software, you can take shortcuts that save you time and money. Avoiding the expense of hiring a live artist is a pretty big benefit! If you’re doing traditional paper and ink storyboards, things may take longer, but you can still get a good result. Organizing your plan can be easier when you consider all of the aspects of storyboarding, from start to finish.

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