If you’ve been following my Twitter, you know that I’ve recently admitted a dirty little secret – I have no formal storyboarding training. When it was time for me to take the class at SCAD, they weren’t offering the course that quarter, so I had to substitute it with another class. Not that learning about comic strips with visiting artist Robb Armstrong wasn’t cool… but its not helping me now.
I did storyboard this thing out… the next step is to take the storyboards and the audio from the actors and create a little movie called an animatic. You do this to get an idea of how your movie is gonna look. Well, I did that, and it’s not working for me… not the whole thing anyway. My friend Brian said he didn’t like the timing, so that’s what I thought the problem was. So, I went back and reworked the timing over and over… and it still didn’t work for me. So I went back to my storyboards… and slowly remembered that I really don’t know enough of what I’m doing to fix what I’m feeling is wrong. So, I did a Google search to see what I could learn online about storyboarding... and I found Karen Lloyd.
I did storyboard this thing out… the next step is to take the storyboards and the audio from the actors and create a little movie called an animatic. You do this to get an idea of how your movie is gonna look. Well, I did that, and it’s not working for me… not the whole thing anyway. My friend Brian said he didn’t like the timing, so that’s what I thought the problem was. So, I went back and reworked the timing over and over… and it still didn’t work for me. So I went back to my storyboards… and slowly remembered that I really don’t know enough of what I’m doing to fix what I’m feeling is wrong. So, I did a Google search to see what I could learn online about storyboarding... and I found Karen Lloyd.
On her blog, she has a short series of posts where she critiques the storyboards of Aidan Casserly. I learned SO MUCH from that. My storyboards were similar to his in that they were more like comics than storyboards (thanks Robb). She really showed me what I was doing wrong by proxy. She also has a handy little series of posts about shots and WHY to use them. AAAH, just what I needed! So, I reached out to her on Twitter. Hopefully, she’ll have the time to help me when she’s not as busy on Kid vs. Kat… and that’s fine! I’m having a BLAST digging back into my boards and they’re WORKING! Between the knowledge from Tuck and Karen... I think I'm gonna be alright. -sigh of relief-
Here’s some of the thumbnails from going back to the storyboards and revising. It will require some light re-recording from my actors, but I can probably do that in post-production, no problem.
Why am I thumbnailing on legal pads? Well, there's something soothing about doodling on lined paper. Reminds me of my childhood and doodling in class... plus, they're just thumbnails.
If you are a storyboarder or indie animator, please check out Karen’s blog here. It is SO worth it.
So, I will update you all on the story as it goes. I’m working on it, Joe, I’m working on it…
Other updates: My first social media contest went GREAT! I threw a contest for whoever used my pre-animated dragon and got the most views with it. The winner was Juan Ramirez of Madrid, Spain. You can see his winning entry and the other entrants here. http://bit.ly/dragonchaos
Also, I forgot to mention in previous posts… I was named a “Filmmaker to Watch in 2010” by Hollywood Shorts! Yay! Check out their article in LAist magazine about their African-American Filmmakers Celebration. They said they were saving a spot for me next year! OMG!
http://laist.com/2010/02/26/african_american_filmmakers_celebra.php
http://laist.com/2010/02/26/african_american_filmmakers_celebra.php
Looking forward to the OSCARS tonight! C’mon Secret of Kells and Logorama! I’m rooting for ya!
Wow congrats for being “Filmmaker to Watch in 2010” and also interesting blog entry.
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