Anything Goes : Let's cut to the chase here, let's get to the real meat of the issue... How Dreadfully Drawn Are Your Storyboards? by Matt Mitchell

Watch out for an upcoming blog on my site which may be titled Why I'm A Storyboard Artist or Directors Can't Draw where I will have comparison illustrations of my finished work next to the near-indecipherable scrawls handed to me by those I work with. It's not intended to criticise those people but to show that what storyboard artists do is a necessary stage in production. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't funny too.

Phew! Glad it's not just me haha!

I find drawing storyboards prior to production helps an awful lot for establishing a good artistic angle and feel, while allowing the DoP to use his own instincts to get the angle without a lot of lost time on set. Also, my shorts that have used a storyboard are much prettier than the ones without. That being said, my storyboards are kind of ugly most of the time, sub professional art certainly, but I'm not trying to sell my storyboards, I'm trying to communicate an idea on set. Now, if I was trying to pitch or sell a film, hiring someone like Jaeson sounds like the right route to go though.

So many parts to a movie. Did any of you use a storyboard as part of your package? Your Pitch? www.bryankent.com

Given the genres I'm usually required to work in, action/sci-fi/fantasy/horror, my 'boards have to cover a lot of production areas. For example; I've literally just e-mailed an updated scene to Paul Hyett's Howl team which features CGI set extension for the attention of the VFX department & a mutilated body which is relevant to Special Make-Up FX. The will now confer around print-outs of this down on the set to agree how to proceed with the shoot tomorrow (I think). So, stunt co-ordinators can address safety issues, actors can complain about their screentime, the DoP can consider what lenses to pick, line producers can belly-ache over costs & the director can claim it was all his idea long before anyone even arrives at the set or location. And yes, storyboards are good for pitches as the very people you need to read your script would far rather look at pretty pictures. This is by no means set in stone; quite often shots will change radically but even if what I've drawn is not what is eventually shot, I've at least shown what ISN'T needed (does that make sense?). Film productions that absolutely do not need storyboarding are a rarity, even rough stickmen can suffice for the simplest of scenes but I do consider it an essential element of the process.

Well said Mr. Finn. You've give a great overvue of a storyboard's potential. www.bryankent.com