As the first draft of the script is finished, I am now starting to draw storyboards for the film. It’s the first time I am doing storyboards. I usually work from a shot list and then on the day change the whole thing. As time will be tight on this shoot, I have decided to plan the whole film out visually.

From reading Film Directing Shot by Shot, I was convinced that storyboards aren’t a waste of time. Drawing out storyboards starts you thinking visually about scenes in the film and how they will cut together. Of course you don’t have to stick to them. If I see a better shot on the day, I will take it. But with storyboards you will get a sense of how best to shoot a scene.

I give you an example. When I was on the set of Monologue Triptych, the DOP came up with the idea of shooting a part of a scene differently. He gave his reasons and I agreed with him. It wasn’t the DOP’s fault for suggesting it, but my mistake for agreeing. Because I hadn’t planned the shots out visually, that I didn’t know that a deviation from the shot list would ruin the film. That part of the scene had to be cut from the film, because it didn’t fit with the rest of the film.

A lesson that I now learnt. I need to know the film better, before we start shooting and storyboards is a way to do that. I won’t give up listening to suggestions from my cast and crew, but I will know if those suggestions will help or hinder the project. Every film you learn something and that was the lesson that I learnt from my last film. I would be a fool to repeat that mistake.

Also one last thing about storyboards. Even if I don’t follow them shot by shot, it is a good way to communicate to the crew. Visually describing the scene is a better way than verbally. They are there for everybody to see. I’m not the best of artists, but stickmen are better than nothing.

Btw the storyboard above is from a feature I was planning to shoot years ago, but never got round to. It was drawn by Keith Weir, who is a professional storyboard artist. You can visit his website at www.firebrandpictures.com, where there are more examples of his work for major clients.