You don’t have to have video equipment to participate in Big Pitch. Storyboards are a great way to share your creativity and vision.

WHAT IS A STORYBOARD?

Once a concept or script is written for a film or animation, the next step is to make a storyboard. A storyboard provides a visual representation of a storyline, panel-by-panel, similar to a comic book.

As you develop your storyboard, consider the following: • Which characters are in each frame, and what is their action? • What are the characters saying to each other in each frame, if anything? • How much time has passed between the last frame of the storyboard and the current one? • Where is the “camera” in the scene? Close or far away? Is the camera moving?

WHAT DOES A STORYBOARD DO?

Creating a storyboard will help you plan your animation shot by shot. There are three components to the storyboard (1) action, (2) dialogue/super, and (3) FX. You can make changes to your storyboard before you start animating, instead of changing your mind later. You will also be able to talk about your animation and show your storyboard to other people to receive feedback on your ideas.

Usually, storyboards are drawn in pen or pencil, but you can drop in photos (e.g. photos from smartphones) or use a com-puter to create animation. Keep in mind that your drawings do not have to be fancy. In fact, you can use basic shapes, stick figures, and simple backgrounds.

STORYBOARD TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

ACTION: Describes what is taking place in each frame, or what the characters are doing during the shot/scene.

CLOSE-UP SHOT: A short range of distance between the camera and the subject.

DIALOGUE: What the characters are saying to one another or what the narrator is saying to the audience during a shot or scene.

DISSOLVE: A transition between two shots, where one shot fades away and simultaneously another shot fades in.

FADE: A transition from a shot to black where the image gradually becomes darker is a Fade Out; or from black where the image gradually becomes brighter is a Fade In.

FOREGROUND: the part of a view that is nearest to the observer, especially in a picture or photograph.

FX: Sound or visual effects used during a specific shot or scene.

HIGH CAMERA ANGLE: A camera angle which looks down on its subject making it look small, weak or unimportant.

JUMP CUT: A rapid, jerky transition from one frame to the next, either disrupting the flow of time or movement within a scene or making an abrupt transition from one scene to another.

LEVEL CAMERA ANGLE: A camera angle which is even with the subject; it may be used as a neutral shot.

LONG SHOT: A long range of distance between the camera and the subject, often providing a broader range of the setting.

LOW CAMERA ANGLE: A camera angle which looks up at its subject; it makes the subject seem important and powerful.

PAN: A steady, sweeping movement from one point in a scene to another.

PANEL: The area of the storyboard in which a sketch or picture is arranged depicting consecutively the important changes of scene and action in a series of shots.

POV (point of view shot): A shot taken from the point of view of a character within the scene.

REACTION SHOT: 1. A shot of someone looking off screen. 2. A reaction shot can also be a shot of someone in a conversation where they are not given a line of dialogue but are just listening to the other person speak.

SCENE: A sequence of continuous action in a play, movie, commercial, opera, book, etc.

SHOT: Those images that are recorded continuously from the time the camera starts to the time it stops. That is, an unedited, uncut strip of film.

SUPER: Text that is displayed over the image of a particular shot or scene.

TILT: Using a camera on a tripod, the camera moves up or down to follow the action.

ZOOM: Use of the camera lens to move closely towards the subject.

STORYBOARD EXAMPLE

TITLE:

PAGE: DATE:

S C E N E : PANEL: PANEL: PANEL:S C E N E : S C E N E :

SHOT: SHOT: SHOT:

ACTION: ACTION: ACTION:

DIALOGUE/SUPER: DIALOGUE/SUPER: DIALOGUE/SUPER:

FX: FX: FX:

1

1 J A N U A R Y 1 , 2 0 1 5

T H E R E E L R O L E M O D E L M O V E M E N T

1

A male teen faces his peers and addresses them, explaining how Big Tobacco is trying to manipulate youth and encouraging them to join him in standing up to the tobacco industry.

Guys, look around you. The tobacco industry is everywhere. They target us through the internet, television, and magazines. Big Tobacco tries to manipulate us by promoting cheap, �avored tobacco products and fruit-�avored cartridges in e-cigarettes. We are not powerless! This is our future and our health. Let’s stand up to Big Tobacco and be the generation that chooses to live tobacco- and nicotine-free!

Students start to talk among themselves and begin to agree with the male teen. The sound of clapping and voices saying, “Yeah, let’s stand up to Big Tobacco,” etc.

2 2

Some students are staggering in the street coughing. Smoky haze is in the background. Students are cheering and holding signs in the foreground, they are standing up to Big Tobacco.

O�-screen narrator speaks: Big Tobacco’s in�uence continued to cover the city and the students’ future in a dark, gloomy haze. Some students fell prey to the tobacco industry’s marketing tactics, but others could envision a di�erent future and the path to a healthier way of life became clear. They would stand up to Big Tobacco together and with their creativity and activism, they would generate change.

The sound of hacking and coughing in the streets from students that are hunched over in street. The sound of di�erent slogans being shouted from picketing students:“Be Tobacco-free,” No More Nicotine,” etc.

LO N G S H OTL E V E L C A M E R A A N G L ELO W C A M E R A A N G L E

33

The Big Tobacco building starts to crumble and collapse in the background. Students are cheering in the foreground. The sun is shinning while the haze disappears.

The super is displayed across the screen which appears after the initial frame is displayed, with the action of the building crumbling and students cheering. Change can start with one person. That change can start with you. Use your voice to inspire others. Stand up to Big Tobacco!

Sound from building crumbling and glass shattering. Snapping noise for cigarette “smokestack” breaking in half. Students are cheering.