The following is my excerpt from my multimedia script on the history and importance of motion picture storyboard artists. There work is critical to the creation of complex films and they are intimately involved in the creation of the composition of shots and conceptual designs for movies.
Their work often goes unoticed by the general public but their contributions are significant.
My script is a rough draft proposal to show the
behind the scenes planning of films with these artists who I often refer to as the "blueprint makers" of the movies.
Storyboards:
The Invisible art (Part 1)
Image : Fade IN:
Drawings from misc. productions fade in and out
Narrator
The art of cinema has been going strong for over 100 years.
It’s one of the few art forms that utilizes visual and audio sensations to create
emotional experience that envelops
the viewer into another realm.
Image:
Famous stills of various motion pictures from past and present DISSOLVE into
another.
Narrator
Many disciplines go into creating these images. Many are invisible.
Behind the scenes. The storyboard artist creates images that never are wind up
on screen. But the images they create help the filmmakers realize their vision.
In a sense, they are
They blueprint creators of the film
Image:
pencil drawings and concept art of various films slow zoom into Camera.
Narrator
From the rough sketches of title designer Saul Bass….
Image:
Saul Bass’ Storyboards from ‘Psycho’ appear. The famous “Shower sequence”.
Narrator
To the richly detailed concept art of Ralph McQuarrie for
the Star Wars films.
Image: McQuarrie’s color artwork from Star Wars dissolve in
Narrator
Storyboard artists have become the invisible navigators of
the film medium.
Image: A Storyboard
artist at work.(TBD)
Narrator
Many great directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg,
George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick…
Images:
Kubrick, Spielberg, Hitchcock. Stills on them directing DISSOLVE from one to
another.
Narrator
Have relied on the skilled artistry of these talented men
and women.
Images: CLOSE ON:
Pencil sketch concept drawings/dissolve into their photo counterparts.
Narrator
These images assist the production design teams; camera
crews and visual men plan their work
Narrator
Producers and production managers rely heavily on
storyboards to budget and plan expensive scenes that require a great deal
logistical work.
Image:
Production designer working in Office
Narrator
Before the actors arrive on set, the director often has visualized
the film on paper
Image: A
movie set. Cameras and Lights are everywhere…
Narrator
The art of the storyboard specialist has been around since
the advent of film
Image:
Silent film imagery from Melies, Chaplin, Griffith…
Narrator
It has since evolved into a more complex form using
computers. A technique known as Previsualization
Image: A
computer generated Previsualization sequence (Film TBD).
