Pixar's John Lasseter on the Art of Storyboards

John Lasseter is one of the co-founders of Pixar animation, and now the head of animation at the Walt Disney Studio. he's also one of the so-called "Class That Roared", the 1970s CalArts alumni who collectively transformed the animation industry, leading to the new "Golden Age" of animation. In the video above, John Lasseter goves an Introduction to the Art of Storyboards, explaining how Pixar animators tell stories in pictures - and how they pitch their work.

Evening class at Escape Studios!

 John Lasseter describes the process of story boarding as "story re-boarding". Why? Because story is the most important part of the film-making process, and it's vital to get it right. 

In pursuit of that goal, studios like Pixar and Disney board and re-board, striving for story perfection. Story artists, more than any other department, have to re-do their work, searching for that elusive quality that makes a great sequence.

Of course, that's not always the case. On a TV show, story boards have to be done fast and furious, since TV shows are up against relentless deadlines, and there isn't time to re-work the boards over and over.

We're running a class in storyboarding here at Escape Studios starting on 13 June 2016. It costs £1,000 and it's a part-time course, designed to fit around jobs and families.  You'll be expected to attend at Escape Studios in Shepherd's Bush one evening a week from 7:00pm-10:00pm. Warning: there will be homework!

We've got some great tutors lined up - people with a ton of experience in the field.

Plus there is an additional 8 weeks of online mentoring, where you get to practice your skills. It's going to be a great course, designed to train story artists to work in this growing field - where (by the way) there is a serious skills shortage here in the UK.

To find out more, take a look at the Escape Studios Storyboarding course here.

And don't forget to sign up for our next free animation webinar on Wednesday 30 March at 5pm. We'll be taking the opportunity to demonstrate our latest shiny new piece of software - Redboard, a hybrid technology that helps to bridge the gap between storyboarding and 3D layout. 

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To apply for our new BA/MA starting in September 2016, follow this link.