Storyboard(?) Kind of…

This was one of the most difficult projects to “storyboard”. I use the quotations since I didn't really make a “storyboard”. Instead, I chose to make what many animators do in order to see the movement and flow of their work. It is called an animatic. Similar to a storyboard, they are static images used to show shots, angles, and camera movement. However, unlike static storyboards, animatics are usually timed with sound and dialogue.

The opening to my short film is meant to flow. The major technique I've utilized in this opening was graphic-matching. Certain objects change and form into others. It was absolutely vital for me to plan this film out with the music. Music is the sound element I am employing the most. Since my opening is meant to be backstory, using non-diegetic sound was something I felt very comfortabl utilizing. The whole situation is meant to be almost dream-like. It is a memory being retold. The music makes the situation epic and larger than life.

Making an animatic also helped me explore camera movement. The program I use has a “camera” that allows the user to zoom in and out, pan, tilt, or do any funky movement with the camera. This helped me determine where and how my images would flow.

The photo above is a screenshot from my storyboard. The image is roughly drawn since it is only mean as a symbol of what I will do. It is much different from the final product.
Without the guide of the animatic, my animation would not flow nearly as well.