Friday, June 20, 2008

Trouble On A Plane - Storyboards and Shot lists

I love doing storyboards. Ever since the age of 12, when I was making my very first short films, I would draw everything out because I wanted to see what the film would look like. In fact, it was only years later, while browsing through the French Premiere Magazine, that I realized this was actually done in the real filmmaking world and that those things were called storyboards!
I love drawing. So much so that my storyboards can get pretty detailed. Since last year, I realized that these storyboards are super useful on the set. When I can't describe the shot to my DP, I just show him!
The storyboard for 'Trouble On A Plane' ended up being 60 pages. Each shot has a different number which I then copied on to an excel document to create my shot list. From there, I created a floor plan to figure out where my camera would have to be. With these boards, shot lists and floor plans, I'm now able to create a shooting schedule. Which shots should be grouped together to make the shooting more efficient? And which shots should be done first, taking in consideration the availability of some of the actors? It's almost like math. Or one big puzzle, trying to figure out what works best. But at the end it's very rewarding to know you were able to figure it all out and that it will make the whole shooting process so much easier!
Okay, now I'm ready for hair, make-up and costumes!

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