Hidden strokes take films from script to screen

A lot goes in before a director’s idea is finally presented on the screen, and one of the first and most important things is conveying his vision to the crew.

To explain this vision, a director relies on storyboard artists who visualise the script, hence playing a critical role in clarifying the complexities of a movie screenplay and ensuring everyone is on the same page before the project takes off.

“There can be marked differences between reading a script and seeing it in the form of storyboards because everyone’s visual interpretation is different. Storyboarding a movie is an exercise in imagination rather than an endeavour in artistic excellence. Artists design the narrative flow of the movie by breaking down the drama and action beats into shots, which are used as a visual basis while shooting the movie,” says Gigi George, a Mumbai-based storyboard artist who has worked on films including Jodhaa Akbar, Talaash, Oh My God and Rock On 2.

Agrees storyboard artist Bhagwati Prasad who says that such artists are the link between the scriptwriter and the cameraman. “His role is to create a set of images that makes it easier for the cameraman to shoot the film. He provides a shot-by-shot breakdown of the script,” he tells Metrolife.

Storyboards are also used to pitch movies to studios. “These initial artworks, also called concept art boards, are highly detailed and rendered stylistically to attract and encourage a studio in green-lighting a project. These boards are also used by producers as clues for the scale and budget of a movie,” says George.

The first step of storyboarding begins with script-reading sessions with the writer and the director. This script, says Prasad, highlights “what is important, what is in the foreground, what is in the background.”

The next step is procuring the reference materials from the direction department, such as location photo references, cast look and costumes, art department sketches of set designs, visual effect references and the music fee, which helps the artist to design boards in keeping with the director’s vision.

“Finally, the actual storyboarding work begins with the directors providing a list of planned shots, which are turned into storyboards. The first draft involves making quick rough sketches of the key frames based on the script’s initial breakdown.“The director then approves the draft – adding, deleting frames and making changes to be able to tell his story best. These changes are incorporated and boards are finalised with the inclusion of in-betweeners like insert shots and reaction shots, so a sequential edit pattern is established creating the second draft,” explains George.

He adds that finally, these boards are scanned, and Photoshop is used to add shot descriptions and action arrows depicting camera movement and angles before being printed in the desired template, usually three frames per page.

“The final boards are then shared with different movie departments like art, camera, VFX and action,” he says.

Sharing that each director has his own way of working, storyboard artist Atul Prakash Chouthmal says he has worked on projects where he got a good narration of the scripts, helping him visualise and put his thoughts on paper. But he also had to do a recce of the shooting locations before making the boards.

“There were also times when we were given the complete geography of the scene, so there are many ways of working on boards. And I have learned something new with each director,” says Chouthmal, who has worked on movies like Rockstar and Ra.One.

George describes storyboarding as an “unseen art form” that illustrates the director’s psyche and the inner mechanisms of the film-making process, and are forgotten once the movie is canned. Artistic directors like Satyajit Ray and Bapu (Sattiraju Lakshmi Narayana) often storyboarded their own movies, he says.

He adds all that is needed to be good at the technique includes imagination, as translating text to images is impossible without a good visual vocabulary. “Being a good storyteller helps you create flow and structure in your boards. Also, being a cinephile or film theory appreciation is as important as having a degree from a film design or animation school,” George says.

So, are storyboards similar to (or different) from comic books in any way? “Storyboards and comics are similar as they are both primarily sequential art forms,” says George. He, however, points out that graphic novels are closer to storyboards as they are more cinematic visually and are not restricted to panel layout formats, page counts and length.

“When it comes to movies, it’s the director’s or the writer’s vision that is being brought to life through storyboards. But it requires artists to collaborate with most other departments in the huge movie-making machinery. However, comics or graphic novels can be done by a single creator or a small team of a penciller, inker, colourist and copy-font person. Frank Miller as an auteur creator with his 300, Sin City and Dark Knight series is the best example. The biggest difference is the end result – a comic book is available in print, while storyboards are the blueprint for all the action and drama you see on 70mm screens in a darkened movie hall,” he says.