DDA 514, Storyboarding & Storytelling
(Assignments 2, 3)
Due dates:
This project is divided into two stages, with each stage constituting an assignment. See the links for the individual assignments for details of what is due for each assignment and for its due date.
Overview:
Working either individually or as a team of 2-4 students, develop and storyboard an original story. The word “story” is used generically to mean an unfolding of meaningful events over time. Your story does not necessarily have to be narrative and it does not have include characters. It could, of course, be narrative and include characters (and most students elect to work in this vein), but your story could be sur-real or even 100% abstract. Whatever genre you choose to work in, your story should be well-developed, meaningful, and engaging to an audience.
Your story should be short enough for you to produce a thoroughly developed storyboard and animatic of the entire story. Suggested running times are 1 to 1 ½ minutes per student. Thus if you elect to work alone, you will probably be able to do only an approximately 1 to 2 minute story. If you have a team of three students, you will probably be able to do a story between approximately 3 and 4 ½ minutes in running time.
Your story should not be a scene from a larger story or a segment or a trailer, but should be a complete story that stands on its own. Your story should have intellectual interest and/or emotional depth.
You may choose to use the Storyboard Pro software for any portion of your project, but you are not required to use that software.
Specifics:
(The breakdown of which portions of the following are due for each assignment is found in the link for that assignment.)
1. Develop your story concept using both visual and verbal approaches. I will give you various materials and exercises to help with this process.
2. Decide which medium and technique(s) would be used to produce your animation. You will not be producing any animation, but you need to decide how it would be produced so you can plan accordingly. For example, would it be hand-drawn 2d animation, 3d animation, cut-out animation, stop-motion clay animation, some combination of these?
3. Do concept/design sketches and/or physical models for all the principle assets of your story -- that is, for the principle characters, scenes, environments, and props of your story. For all principle assets, produce at least one high-quality full-color rendering. For each principle character do turnaround-drawings or models as well as expression drawings or models. (These do not have to be full-color.)
4. Do lots of preliminary storyboards for your scenes. These can be done as quick sketches on paper or using any medium or software you choose.
5. Develop a detailed storyboard of your story. Pay attention to the following details:
Wherever appropriate, include graphic icons (arrows, etc.) and/or verbal descriptions of the action or camera to aid understanding.
Your panel imagery should be detailed enough and your panels numerous enough to very clearly convey the action, mood, camera angles, and transitions.
Include either verbal descriptions of the soundtrack or actual audio for the entire storyboard. It is not required to produce actual audio, but if you wish to do so, you must first produce and have approved by the instructor a verbal-notation sketch of the entire soundtrack. However you do it, you must sketch out a soundtrack – music, sound effects, and dialogue – for the entire story.
Someone who does not already know your story should be able to follow solely from your storyboard, without explanation from you.
6. Create an animatic for your story. The timing of shots and the pacing of the whole story are key here. You must also include information about the soundtrack. An audio soundtrack may or may not be included. If there is no audio, your panels should include verbal notes describing the soundtrack. Create a final movie file of your final animatic.