The storyboard artist is really a director at this point in the production process. It's up to the storyboard artist to
direct the eye of the audience toward whatever is most important at any given time.
Click on the full-screen button (at the bottom right
of the video), to make the video nice and BIG!
When the
emotion or the
reaction of the character is especially important , it's time to cut to a
close-up. A close-up can best be defined as a
head-and-shoulders shot There’s no real room for the character to move, so the audience can focus on the
expressions and
emotions of the characters. The way characters
act and
react is always very important to understanding the story.
A common mistake of less experienced storyboard artists is framing their shots too tightly.
Even a close-up should have a bit of breathing room, unless it is the rare occasion of an extreme close-up.
This also has to do with
pacing... it's best to save those high-impact shots were the moments in the story that have the greatest impact.
If a storyboard artist were to fill their board from start to finish with lots of crazy angles, fancy camera moves and extreme close-ups, it would leave no room for the artist to show any real impact
when it's really needed. It's all about
contrast.
In the next video, the topic is the
"three shot" -- and the
interaction between three characters.
Questions or comments? I'd love to hear from you in the comments section below!
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Other posts in this Storyboarding Commentary series:
