 |
| "Brodiaga" by Anastasia Gurova |
Storyboarding is a growing area of the animation industry; one which has recorded significant skills shortages in recent years.
Our storyboard students have gone on to successful careers at studios such as Walt Disney, Brown Bag Films and Blue Zoo Animation.
Who this is for
The Storyboarding Evening Class is aimed at anyone who wants to learn storyboarding, whether for live action, animation, commercials, or your own film independent projects.
Storyboard Course Content
This part-time course is spread over ten evenings. Each class involves a blend of one-on-one feedback, lectures, and simple in-class exercises. Each week students will receive a homework assignment to complete and bring in for review the next week. This way, students will get meaningful feedback on their work over the full period of the course.
Course Outline
Week 1 - General Introduction to Storyboarding: Introductory Exercises. Creativity, ideas and inspiration for stories. Gesture drawing, fast sketches, and research.
Week 2 & 3- Creating images which tell a story: Single images that tell a story. Gag drawings. Situations and character-driven ideas.
Week 4 & 5 - Standard industry storyboarding process: Script, beat boards, story reel and animatic. Movie structure analysis. Camera and Layout. Reverse-storyboarding a pantomime sequence.
Week 6 - Character Design and Art Direction: Introduction to principles of design and visual development.
Week 7 - Structuring a Scene: How to break down script pages. Progression and punctuation in a sequence. Staging.
Week 8 - The Performance: Story beats, narrative structure, pacing, cinematography.
Week 9 - The Animatic: How to edit, cut and time storyboards in Premiere, to create a storyboard animatic. Music, sound effects, voice over and dialogue.
Week 10 - The Pitch: How to pitch your storyboards. Acting, performance and delivery.
Software
We have a number of new software packages recently installed at Escape Studios, much of which is now available for download from home.
Where and when
The course is taught online, using online platforms and resources.
Class starts on 23 March 2024 and takes place from 7:00pm-10:00pm
Jobs in Storyboarding
Skilled storyboard artists are in high demand, and there continues to be a serious skills shortage here in the UK.
Complex Craft
Storyboarding is a complex craft that involves the ability to tell a story visually using both traditional drawing and also (increasingly) 3D skills. Storyboard artists must also understand acting, performance, cinematography - and also have a sense of fun and entertainment about their work. Above all, they must learn to be clear. Great board artists often become directors - storyboarding can be a route to the very top of our industry.
Success Stories
Many Escapees have gone to successful careers in storyboarding:
Official page
To find out more, take a look at the Escape Studios official storyboarding course page here.
Inspiration
Finally, to take a quick peek behind the scenes at Pixar, and see a story pitch by the late (and much-missed) Joe Ranft, one of Pixar's most talented storyboard artists, watch the video below.
How to get ready
To prepare for this class, all you really need do is sharpen your pencils (soft pencils please, 2B or softer), and do some warm up sketches. You might do quick sketches of yourself, your friends, and (in general) the world around you. You should also consider learning the basics of Photoshop and also Adobe Premiere, both of which you will be using extensively in class.
Who this is for
 |
| Art by Sasha Fusini |
Storyboard Course Content
This part-time course is spread over ten evenings. Each class involves a blend of one-on-one feedback, lectures, and simple in-class exercises. Each week students will receive a homework assignment to complete and bring in for review the next week. This way, students will get meaningful feedback on their work over the full period of the course.
 |
| Lumber Room by Leroy Dias |
Course Outline
Week 1 - General Introduction to Storyboarding: Introductory Exercises. Creativity, ideas and inspiration for stories. Gesture drawing, fast sketches, and research.
Week 2 & 3- Creating images which tell a story: Single images that tell a story. Gag drawings. Situations and character-driven ideas.
Week 4 & 5 - Standard industry storyboarding process: Script, beat boards, story reel and animatic. Movie structure analysis. Camera and Layout. Reverse-storyboarding a pantomime sequence.
Week 6 - Character Design and Art Direction: Introduction to principles of design and visual development.
Week 7 - Structuring a Scene: How to break down script pages. Progression and punctuation in a sequence. Staging.
Week 8 - The Performance: Story beats, narrative structure, pacing, cinematography.
Week 9 - The Animatic: How to edit, cut and time storyboards in Premiere, to create a storyboard animatic. Music, sound effects, voice over and dialogue.
Week 10 - The Pitch: How to pitch your storyboards. Acting, performance and delivery.
Software
 |
| Panel Forge |
- Toonboom Storyboard Pro, arguably now the industry leader for storyboarding. We have a number of licenses available for home use.
- Panel Forge, a new hybrid software that blends 3d modeling resources with drawing tools. Panel Forge is essentially a stripped-down version of Maya, pioneered by Blue Zoo and Jellyfish animation, that greatly speeds up the storyboarding process.
- Storyboarder. This free software is open-source and a welcome addition to the board artist's toolkit.
 |
| Storyboards by Anastasia Gurova |
The course is taught online, using online platforms and resources.
Class starts on 23 March 2024 and takes place from 7:00pm-10:00pm
Jobs in Storyboarding
Skilled storyboard artists are in high demand, and there continues to be a serious skills shortage here in the UK.
Complex Craft
Storyboarding is a complex craft that involves the ability to tell a story visually using both traditional drawing and also (increasingly) 3D skills. Storyboard artists must also understand acting, performance, cinematography - and also have a sense of fun and entertainment about their work. Above all, they must learn to be clear. Great board artists often become directors - storyboarding can be a route to the very top of our industry.
 |
| Storyboard by Anastasia Gurova |
Many Escapees have gone to successful careers in storyboarding:
- Celine Davies - Storyboard Artist at Disney
- Ben Gardener - Story Artist at Brown Bag Films
- Sasha Fusini - Story Artist at Blue Zoo
- Fred O'Rourke
- Dominika Brodowska, storyboard artist at Blue Zoo
- Evgenia Glubeva directs TV Series at Blue Zoo
- Austin Hill Studio Assistant at Escape Studios
Official page
 |
| Storyboard by Ronnie Kim |
Inspiration
Finally, to take a quick peek behind the scenes at Pixar, and see a story pitch by the late (and much-missed) Joe Ranft, one of Pixar's most talented storyboard artists, watch the video below.
Storyboarding hasn't changed a whole lot in the years since it was pioneered at the Disney Studio in Burbank. It's still about story, story, story.
Pixar Story Pitch with Joe Ranft
Pixar Story Pitch with Joe Ranft
To prepare for this class, all you really need do is sharpen your pencils (soft pencils please, 2B or softer), and do some warm up sketches. You might do quick sketches of yourself, your friends, and (in general) the world around you. You should also consider learning the basics of Photoshop and also Adobe Premiere, both of which you will be using extensively in class.
Reading List
We recommend Prepare to Board by Nancy Beiman. You can read more about it here. We have copies in the animation library at Escape Studios.
MA in Story & Previs
We also run an MA in Storyboarding and Previsualisation for those who want to dig deeper into the story and previs skillset.
Storyboarding Links
To see more about storyboarding at Escape Studios, follow these links:
The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To find out more about our BA/MArt, now recruiting for September 2024, follow this link
We recommend Prepare to Board by Nancy Beiman. You can read more about it here. We have copies in the animation library at Escape Studios.
MA in Story & Previs
We also run an MA in Storyboarding and Previsualisation for those who want to dig deeper into the story and previs skillset.
Storyboarding Links
- Chess Adams: "Five Reasons to Study Storyboarding"
- Chess Adams: "What are Storyboards for?"
- Pixar's Storyboard secrets
- Stefan Franck on Storyboarding
No comments:
Post a Comment