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Course: Storytelling > Unit 2
Lesson 5: Film grammar- Introduction to film grammar
- Major vs. minor beats
- Activity 1: Major and minor beats
- Basic shot types
- Activity 2: Basic shot types
- Extreme shots
- Activity 3: Extreme & angles
- Dynamics shots
- Activity 4: Dynamic shots
- Storyboarding
- Activity 5: Storyboarding
- Advice on film grammar
- Glossary: Film grammar
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Activity 5: Storyboarding
Part A: Finally, it’s time to apply what you’ve learned and practiced to the story idea you’re developing. For this exercise you should set aside at least an hour where you can really focus on your storyboarding.
- Choose a scene from your story and break it down into minor beats. Each beat should represent one or two shots.
Part B: As seen in the previous video work through visualizing the staging, framing, and motion used to communicate each idea in the scene using simplified drawings.
- For the first iterations, go ahead and make lots of mistakes so you get them out of the way as you continue to rework and refine your scenes.
- Go ahead and add descriptive words that would help others understand and follow your vision.
- Use lines, arrows, frames within frames, directional lines, etc. that would visually indicate direction, shot types, or anything else needed to convey your ideas.
- You can find plenty of blank storyboard templates online, or you can draw your own. You can also use index cards, which are easier to pin up and move around when you want to show it to someone else.
Good luck and have fun!
Want to join the conversation?
This is an amazing series of lessons!(70 votes)
I agree! I majored film in college and these lessons on storytelling are on par with what I learned from the professors. Keep in mind the most important thing in the end is to actually create something. I want to encourage you to create your own contents. Making short films with your students would be a fun activity.(64 votes)
OK, so... I kind of have my own approach to storyboarding. I have this big red sketchbook: just plain, simple, medium quality paper.
Then I take a normal pencil and divide the paper (which is standard size) into nine segment. Each segment I sketch our lightly, and then return to it after some time and make it a quick completed drawing.
Since my film is animated, I make the segment s have the principal movement or facial expression changes. Right now, it kinda looks like a sloppy, no-text, messed up manga.
Is it a good approach?(28 votes)
They actually have real storyboard sketchbooks that you can use to draw your scenes. I don't where my mom got mine, but it's really useful. I like to think of storyboards as a comic book. You plot out your angles and put them in this "comic book" which will become your film.(3 votes)
My story is a book not a movie so I can't make a story board for this. I really enjoy these activities though! Also if anyone is interested in my story, search for an author by the name of Kitty Tucci in the next five or so years.(13 votes)
4 years late, I'll search for it now(0 votes)
- so i was thinking about a scene in my story where my character iron-kid (yes i am aware that the name is rip-off of iron man but that is not the point right now) there is a scene where he is eventually captured by a certain villain i named professor chuckles iron-kid at one point starts demanding professor chuckles lets him go because iron-kid is not afraid of him but being the crazy madman he is he looks at iron-kid (getting close to is face uncomfortably) and looks as if he is about to start yelling at him but then calms down and says almost in an psychotic way "well if i let you go then you would be able to stop me".(6 votes)
Professor Chuckles is the best villain name I've heard in a while. Great storyboard also. (;(7 votes)
All these lessons can really give us a chance to make a great story with different screen shots, dialogue, and to really understand how serious the situation is. Thanks Khan Academy, and Pixar in a Box! -Crafts2025(6 votes)
dr banner tries not get mad at blackwidow
he loses temper
he becomes big
he punches floor
he roars at her(5 votes)
He really knows how to draw frm every angle(5 votes)- What kind of story boarding program do I use?(3 votes)
In my story, there is a boss. He is ready to fire one of his employees. So it starts with him filling up the comic panel. He is angry and powerful. The employee enters the room. He is zoomed in on before the boss yells at him. while the boss is yelling he gets zoomed in on, he is the one in power. Then the next panel shows the employee one filling a third of the comic because of the power dynamic. When done the panel has cooler colors to show more relax.(2 votes)- My story is a book, not a movie, but eventually I would want to make it into one. But, for practice, I've been sketching different camera angles on different characters, and trying storyboarding. Would there be different emotions and interactions depending on the intersection of the lines, or can any kind of emotion go into any section? Are there certain sections that would work better than others?(2 votes)
