Essential techniques in storyboarding for VFX
Storyboards may never make it to the screen, but they're a crucial part of working out the best and most efficient way to bring complex sequences to life, especially where visual effects are involved.
A classic example of storyboard use is how Hollywood directors use storyboards to plan out how to shoot complex sequences, with individuals such as Steven Spielberg often boarding out entire movies before the cameras start to roll. It not only allows the director to settle on key decisions about how a scene is filmed but also allows those choices to be related to all the departments involved, so everyone works efficiently and cohesively. This is the same on a practical shoot, a VFX sequence, or when a blend of the two is required.
Concepts from BBC Studio’s ‘Solar System’
Collaboration is the key when storyboarding for VFX
For a storyboard artist in the VFX industry, whether in film or TV, working closely with a director and often the Director of Photography in the early stages of production, before principal photography, is massively important. The storyboard artist is the first bridge between the vision in the director's head and what the VFX vendor will supply. Those initial conversations should allow the artist to get a grasp of not just what the story is, but how the visual grammar works: the tone, lighting and cinematography. How the film gets into, or out of, the VFX world at a given point – is it a hard cut? Does it blend seamlessly from one world to the next or use a camera move behind the scenery to wipe the frame? Match moves, or visual metaphors? All of this can establish how best to integrate the effects into the scene and precisely what production needs to film to maximise their impact, from capturing useful plates to planning match moves and seamless transitions.
Whether the director comes to us with a fully formed idea of what they want, or an outline of a story point that is more of a conundrum that needs to be solved, developing the ideas in conjunction with the directors and coming up with new creative approaches is part of what we bring to the table. We spot potential pitfalls in the narrative, finding better options if they're there, to really optimise the storytelling and elevate the final film.
It’s important to remember at this stage that although VFX are there to show what can't be practically filmed, they shouldn’t be thought of as separate entities from the rest of the piece, but be entirely consistent with how the crew would’ve shot it, if it were possible to do so. The magic of good VFX is that it should be entirely transparent and not require a forced suspension of disbelief. So, the first step is making sure that the audience is not immediately aware that they have stepped outside of the film through something fundamental like a shift in camerawork.
Laying the groundwork
Doing your research at this stage is also essential, so anything that the production can supply is invaluable, but we often go beyond that to get a broader scope. This is especially true when it comes to something like science documentaries, where the subject matter can be more specific and far stranger than you would first imagine! Understanding the intricacies of what's happening and the context of the overall scene really informs the visual storytelling, provides inspiration and gives you a whole list of parameters of what is or isn't possible – all of which is great for driving creative choices. Sometimes the story will call for the audience to be taken to a place where it's not just impossible to film, but where the visual becomes an abstract notion, such as atomic interactions, quantum processes, or deep inside the solid core of a planet where there is no light or direct visual reference for what is going on. It's times like these that good research can throw you a lifeline of inspiration!
We delivered over 450 motion graphics for BBC Studio’s ‘Ancient Powers’. Storyboarding was pivotal to the scope – we worked with global experts and historians to fine tune the concepts of the series.
Aside from creating a strip of visually engaging images for the initial boards, there is so much else to consider at this first stage that results in a massive knock-on further down the production process. Can the result required from the script be achieved in a single shot, or would a cut sequence work better? How is it best to construct the shots in terms of augmenting filmed plates, specialist photography, or full CGI? What software will be best suited? Consulting the artists on where the potential pitfalls are in each element of the final composite is paramount. Planning out how to best create a shot can often steer what the shot looks like (for instance, avoiding big camera moves that would require more complex builds, or not going too close or too far from a subject), or it may provide you with options to choose from when using different techniques. That's not a bad thing, as having to approach a problem from a different angle can lead to really interesting results that you might not have considered otherwise. It also has the benefit of making the budgeting far more efficient, as the process has already been considered and it allows the team to work out where the big ticket items are best spent, or which shots make sense to make economies with.
Working in this position as an integrated part of the VFX team, rather than a stand-alone illustrator, you find you have to be part director, DoP, production manager, researcher, and VFX generalist!
A part of the process
A good storyboard gives the production confidence in the visuals at an early stage, so they concentrate on crafting the story. Irrespective of the subject matter, edits can be a very dynamic and fluid environment to work in, so using storyboard images allows producers and Lux Aeterna to quickly try out new ideas as sketches and cut them into the edit to see what works best. Often, a director may not have worked much with VFX and it's important to stress that they don't need to have a working knowledge of visual effects to reach the outcome they need. After all, that's what the artists are for! It's always best to approach communication between the production and Lux Aeterna in traditional cinematic terms, as a director would feed back to a camera operator or actor.
Once the boards are working in the edit, the next stages of shot development can progress. Sometimes the basic boards will communicate all that is needed for the artist to proceed with confidence, and often working up the details of each frame to something more like concept art helps everyone involved fully grasp what to aim for as a final result. This is where the earlier research becomes very useful, as the devil can be in the details. Well-thought-out boards are the groundwork that relay all the information needed for the rest of the VFX pipeline and make the process more efficient.
To find out more about how we can support you with storyboarding for VFX, contact us.