BTEC Media 60 Credit

Michael Francis

What is a storyboard, with examples?

A storyboard is typically a sequence of drawings that usually has some directions and dialogue, representing the shots planned for a TV Production or a Film. The pictures usually represent what the scenes should look like when it comes to acting it out. Storyboards are useful to create a visual story with notes to double check that the story works and makes sense. Not only that but it helps to visualise what the film or TV production will look like.

After this many large budget silent films were storyboarded, Georges Mellies is known to have been one of the first film makers to use storyboards to visualise planned effects. This was very unique compared to most storyboards at this time as they would usually just tell a story where is this circumstance it is been used to make the effects.

What is the History of Storyboards?

The storyboard was originally created in 1974 by Christopher Finch when creating The Art of Walt Disney. Webb Smith credited with the idea by drawing scenes on separate sheets of paper and pinning them up on a bulletin board to tell a story in a sequence, this together created the first story board.

An example of a Digital Game using Storyboards is a game called Blush, Blush was a Showcase winner in Spring 2011, this story board had a lot more writing then most, as the captions were very detailed. This game featured a blob that painted platforms different colours in order to solve various physics puzzles.

Another example of a digital game using storyboards when doing game design, is in the game Reflexio. Reflexio is also a Showcase winner in Winter 2011, the game featured a reflection mechanic and art. The storyboard is significant and notable for its graphical annotations that are part of the captions making it rather unique.

Crisis ay Swiss Stations is another example of games that has used storyboards in pre-production of Digital games. This puzzle platformer from 2011 involved a construction/deconstruction where the player gathered material to use for bridges, counter- balances, and other activities. This game storyboarded all the levels and has images with captions going through the game step by step.