Whether you’re a newbie at storyboarding, or already have an idea about Storyboarding and visual production. This blog will give you a further insight on the possibilities of storyboarding & animation.

Let’s break it down

Story- meaning a sequence of events happening one shot after another. Boarding – meaning organizing the pieces of the story into various boards. 

We’re sure, by now you must’ve come across animatics and storyboards before, even if you arent familiar with the term yet. 

This blog will help you form a solid understanding of animatics, storyboarding and the concept of pre production in visual communication.

So, first things first, 

Whenever a movie is being shot / starts to produce, there’s a prerequisite phase called “Pre-Production”. This Phase consists of some important terms that are explained below.

Script Writing

Script writing is the primitive step for any production. Pre-Production starts with script writing. A script needs to be written to build a storyline. It is a rough skeleton that needs to be fleshed out with supporting visuals. A storyline usually follows a rhythmic pattern of Acts.

The Three Act System

You can use the Three Act System to add life to your stories. This method helps organize your story into ways that are non- conventional and are aesthetically pleasing to the viewers.

Acts are the method of organizing your scenes.

A three-act system is mostly used in story writings. Here’s how it goes:

Act 1 :

• Introduction
• Building up the action
• The seeds of conflict

Act 2 :

• Reaching the Climax
• Conflict arises

Act 3 :

• Finding ways to solve the conflict
• Leads to a Resolution (usually good/bad)

Try and experiment to flesh out your own ideas for interactive storytelling.

Pre- Production is the best way to kickstart your creative genius and bring your ideas to life. Storyboarding is the concept of pre-visualizing the scenes/ entire movie at once.

Brainstorming ideas for the creative story

You can use any method for inspiration. Generally artists are inspired by observing masterpieces. Observe masterpieces and try to break them down to their primitive levels.

Example:

When you watch a movie, pick one scene that you find interesting. 

Try to pause each consecutive frame and observe the camera angle, the composition and the color scheme. Do not limit yourself to linear thinking. Dynamic thinking is like a jewel in the animation industry.

Jot it all down

Jotting it all down will help you clear your head. When you let your ideas free, surprisingly, you achieve more mental space to refine them.

This helps us differentiate good and neutral ideas.

Storyboarding

A storyboard is basically a graphic representation of how your story will unfold, shot by shot. The process of creating a storyboard is called storyboarding

. A storyboard is made up of boxes called “panels”. Each panel is drawn according to the camera view. Panels are usually topped up by remarkable notes, Shot Number, Scene and a brief description of the movements. 

Each storyboard has a specific format with a set of boxes or series of images in a sequential order. 

· It is a tool for the creator to pre-visualize and plan the animation shot by shot. 

· It serves as a  blueprint for animation.

· The Storyboard saves time on set by preventing last-minute hassles. 

Since the camera angles were determined beforehand, when shooting, the person-in-charge is clear as to what is going to be shot and the methods of shooting.

What is Animation?

You must be familiar with quite a lot of animations by now, be it blockbuster Disney movies or a cute animated video on YouTube. Animation is the technique of arranging pictures with different poses in a way to create the illusion of motion. You might wonder, why we call it 2D Animation, because height & width are the only two variable dimensions here.

Then, What is Animatics?

An Animatic is  a sequence of storyboarded pictures aligned together with some sound effects that portray the flow of a particular sequence. These aren’t finished pieces of animation. An Animatic is designed only to portray the movements. It is a sequel to a storyboard.

An Animatic allows us to imitate certain expressions and movements of our characters.

It is designed only for one purpose: that is, finding and focusing on visual storytelling.

What next?

The major difference between storytelling and animatics is the way they both go along with each other. One is a leading step and the other is follow through. Creating a storyboard helps paint the broader strokes of the canvas like shot composition and camera movement. When you are working in a large team , as in production, it’s important to be on the same page with your fellow artists. Hence, to avoid conflict, we write notes to clarify certain frames and movements.

Remember, try to be as clear as possible. 

Prevent the habit of assuming motions. It is important to work together and hence, clear communication is the enemy of misinformation.

Mentioning frames and necessary information eliminates the chances of conflict.

Is making an animatic tricky?

NO, not at all! An Animatic requires a solid storyboard that builds the foundation. An animatic uses only 2 basic camera movements:

• Zoom 
• Pan

Zooming In and Zooming out in storyboard is determined by placing arrows across the screen.Arrows pointing inwards show Zooming In.Contrastingly, Arrows pointing outwards show Zooming Out.

Panning is the camera movement from one side to another. Panning left and right are mostly used for breaking the stagnancy of the video motions.

We encourage you to try and animate your storyboards using basic motions.

Is making an animatic tricky?

We at Frameboxx believe that work should be fun and empowering. We love to organize special activities for our students to encourage their creativity in different mediums like Craft, Clay Modelling, Sculpting and more. Click here for our latest updates on social media.

Our specially tailored animation programs are not just a step on a blind staircase, leading nowhere. Instead it is a future-proof decision to safeguard your career. It’s a leap into a future brimming with endless possibilities. Your success is our success, we are committed to supporting you every step of the way, from your education to your dream job.

Let’s Roll!

Are you ready to transcend your passion for the Animation & VFX industry into an actual, achievable career? 

Join us, and let’s embark on this exciting journey together. Unleash your creative potential with Frameboxx Ahmedabad – where dreams are animated Frame by Frame!

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