From Shot Lists to Storyboards (page 2)
Storyboard It
When you've completed your list, you can easily rearrange the cards into a shooting order. Shooting order is completely independent of the final order of the shots in your edited movie. For example, you can shoot all the shots of people entering and leaving the restaurant at the same time, even though in the story, they all enter the restaurant at different times. This allows you to set up and light that particular location just once, thus saving you valuable time on the set. Then move your camera and crew in for the interior shots.
For some people a shot list is all they need and, if you are the director and cinematographer, you might not need to communicate your vision more clearly (to yourself). However, if you want to visualize the scene more fully before you shoot, or need to communicate as precisely as possible with your crew, then the next step in the process is to turn your list of shots into a storyboard. Take each index card, turn it over and sketch the shot you described as it will look on screen. Since the aspect ratio of an index card is not the same as that of a video frame, you may want to outline a frame box.
When drawing your image, don't worry about your artistic ability. Use stick figures if you want. The goal here is to get your ideas across, not hang it in the Louvre. For clarity, use small arrows to indicate any movement by actors within the frame and bold arrows to show camera movement. For pans and tilts it is often useful to use a second card, the first one representing the beginning of the shot and the second card the end of it. When you have finished, you'll have a clear idea of how each shot relates to the others and to the overall flow of your scene.
All this may sound like a lot of effort, but it will be time well spent. Storyboards and shot lists make it easier to envision your scene and facilitate clear communication between you and your crew. That means a smoother more efficient shoot and fewer headaches when you get to the editing room.
Tad Rose is a writer and independent producer living in Los Angeles.
[Sidebar: Useful Terms]
Mise en Scene "Staging" the arrangement of elements within the frame.
Blocking The movement of actors within a scene.
Master Shot The entire scene recorded from a single angle.
Pan Fixed camera position, horizontal movement.
Tilt Fixed camera position, vertical movement.
Tracking shot Camera moves with action in any direction.
Crane shot Camera rises or descends.
Zoom Fixed camera, optical motion toward or away from subject.
Dissolve Transition with one shot fading out as another simultaneously fades in. While this is not actually performed during the shoot, it needs to be planned for in the edit.
Rack Focus Shifting the focus from something in the foreground to something in the background, or vise versa.
[Sidebar: Shots to Shoot]
XCU: Extreme close up. For people, maybe just the eyes.
CU: Close up, the subject fills the frame. Emphasizes detail. For people, this is a usually a head shot, with perhaps only the tops of the shoulders visible.
MS: Medium Shot, the subject seen from the chest up.
FS: Full Shot, the subject seen from head to toe.
WS: Wide Shot, the subject seen within the larger environment.
