A storyboard artist can help set up camera shots for a film or television production.
A storyboard is a single panel or series of panels showing a mockup of the action sequence, staging, and camera shots for a video or film production. Using storyboards can help reduce production costs by figuring out ways to handle stunts, fights, special effects, comedic encounters, and other complicated and expensive production elements. Storyboards can be black and white or color and can be rough or polished. They can also be represented on paper or in a computer graphics program and in 2D or 3D. A person involved in creating storyboards is a storyboard artist, and there are a number of tasks that can be involved in this job.
The storyboard artist’s work will help film and television producers visualize story elements and potential additional production costs.
A storyboard artist can apply for individual jobs or work for a studio. Required qualifications may include a bachelor’s or bachelor’s degree in Fine Art, Media Arts, or Animation and previous experience as a storyboard artist or a combination of training and experience. Specific requirements often focus on conveying emotion and movement and may require working in a variety of styles or blending a defined production style. While storyboarding is traditionally visuals, animation skills may be needed specifically for certain jobs, such as preparing storyboards for stunts.
Storyboard artists focus on the visual presentation that a film offers to the audience.
A storyboard artist typically uses a small set of programs. This includes Adobe® After Effects®, Adobe® Photoshop®, Adobe® Flash®, and Adobe® Illustrator, as well as Autodesk® Maya® and Autodesk® 3ds Max®. In some cases, experience with a Wacom® Cintiq® pen tablet is required. Works typically go through several stages, including sketches, miniatures, and finished drawings. The resulting product of a storyboard artist’s work could be a commercial or television program, an animated or live-action film, a video game, or a computer-based training application, to name a few of the more common possibilities.
A drawing or tablet will be a useful tool for a storyboard artist.
In addition to the technical skills required, a storyboard artist must receive guidance from the director, the head of the story, and specifically the storyboard supervisor, if there is one. Excellent listening skills and the ability to transform verbal descriptions into evocative drawings are required. Reworking, altering, editing, and reworking initial designs is a standard part of the process. The storyboard artist can also contribute to character development through the way characters are conveyed in storyboards. Meeting deadlines, handling pressure well, and working with a wide variety of different people are also essential.