THE BOX - Storyboards - It's interesting to me how the different phases of making a movie rely on completely different criteria. For example, scripts are the skeleton of a film, the spine, the foundation. Even though they are the basis of the end product, it's important to remember that they are reading experiences first. If your script isn't a "good read", then you should rewrite it until it is. This can be difficult when writing something that you know you will end up producing. When you start writing you initially want to write everything down as you see it in your head... in other words, to write the script as a director, not as a writer. But, I've found that, since I plan on directing the script, that I don't need to be that descriptive in certain situations. Since I know that I will get all the shots as I imagine them, fleshed out in the storyboarding phase of pre-production, I can write as a writer and focusing on making the script as much of a quick read as possible. Here's an example... below is a small section from Page Eight of the script for The Box. Simple enough... the action as written covers all of the important details without boring the reader... straight and to the point. However, when storyboarding, when you put on your director's cap, you have to expand on the idea to make it as impactful as possible visually. Where scripts are a reading experience, filmmaking is a visual experience... moving images... moving pictures. Now, I'm no great artist, but storyboarding allows me to visualize the film, make the most effective shot selections available, and flesh out the written page into a scene with great emotion impact... I hope. So, let's go through the three sections of this small scene and look at how that translates into storyboards. Next Page © Pete Bauer 2000-2005