The majority of the day’s session was spent on storyboards and shot lists, crucial elements of a film production. Before we got into discussing those in detail, we quickly went over some other pre-production elements, some refreshing previous knowledge we had gone over and some new stuff. I particularly found interesting some extra important components to consider when producing like permits, location agreements and certificates of insurance. These were things that I hadn’t necessarily considered and so following this I’m probably going to do some more research on these at some point.
If I was directing, I would personally find storyboarding absolutely essential to be able to picture the story I want to tell but also to share my vision with the rest of the crew. As we looked at different storyboards and discussed their use, I realised that they are an incredibly useful way of creating a synergy between some of the main members of the crew. For example, this is a good way of communicating with the production designer about what the environment of a scene should look like and therefore help them inform their decisions. The same goes for opening up a clear discussion with the lighting team about what is the best way to light a certain bit of dialogue or action. When looking at examples I favoured the ones that portrayed the movement in a scene clearly as it helps to build the atmosphere and tension of a scene as well as the mise en scene.
Shot lists are equally important, especially in making sure everything runs smoothly on set. Unlike storyboards, shot lists will be used on set as a guideline for the day, they almost act as instructions as the details of each shot inform what the crew will need to set up. In order to be able to create shot lists we also refreshed our knowledge on the different types of shots and then looked at how they might be documented in a shot list.
I was recently on the set of a short film where storyboards and shot lists were neglected and so am aware of just how important they are, for this reason I wanted to gain as much knowledge of the topic as possible for when I direct a project as I know how a production can quickly start to fall apart without these key elements.
Below I have attached some interesting examples of storyboards:
PCA Isobel Wilkinson - BA Film 