Storyboarding

[Pikapwn]

Hello Org,

So with the few AMVs I've made, one thing I've always had doubts about was "story boarding." I'm not sure if I'm planning out the ideas for my videos in the most efficient way (or even a good way at all.....) Now, I know everyone has their own styles and ways of doing things, but the point is hear is more to hear some ideas bounced around to see if I can come up with anything better than what I'm currently doing. I feel like the way I've story boarded has had a big effect on how my videos have come out, and changing things up has created some positive results so far. But I've hit a point where I'm not really sure what I can do differently, and also feel like I'm doing something not quite right. I tend to plan out the video as much as I can in my head and on note pad, scene by scene, but I can only get so detailed in planning. By the time I start getting scenes together, I have an idea of what I want at each part of the song. For example, from 2:30 to 2:35 I was an action scene of Goku. The problem this results in is that (since I like getting my clips using Virtual Dub) I have to go through each episode of a show looking for scenes that would work. For a 27 episode show like Gurren Lagann, it's not a big deal. But now I want to make a video using Hunter X Hunter, and to go through all the episodes will take some time. If that's what it takes, though, then I'll do it. I just wanted to make sure it's a reasonable thing to do, because it seems like there would be a better way.

For story-focused videos, I don't think there's a much of a problem, but I guess my real question is how to go about planning those insane action videos that don't really have a solid story to them, but just focus on sync and flow.

So how do you guys like to story board? How detailed do you get when you plan out a video? Do you know, before you start editing, what episodes you'll use? Or do you go through the whole series?

Sorry, this all seems like common sense stuff, but I fell like it's an area I need to improve in . Thanks!

[CrackTheSky]

Personally, I have never storyboarded and I have no plans to ever do so. Then again, I'm not a terribly detail-oriented person and trying to plan out something as detailed as a whole video beforehand would take me too much time and would feel too limiting.

My process usually goes like this:
(1) Get idea (either from song or anime or some general concept I want to see done)
(2) Decide on anime/song combo
(3) Scrub through episode by episode of an anime series, making clips of any scene that might potentially be useful with my idea
(4) Start by editing the parts I already have a solid vision for (usually ends up being 10-20% of the whole video, spread throughout the timeline)
(5) Fill in the rest, ad-libbing as I go
(6) Go back and search for particular scenes that might be missing, as necessary

Hasn't steered me wrong yet, and I prefer this approach (or, I should say, I prefer the idea behind this approach as this is the only one I've ever put into practice) because it's loose enough to allow me to change things as I need to. This also has a psychological benefit, because I feel like if I were to storyboard beforehand I'd be more attached to my ideas and less willing to compromise when it might be beneficial to do so. That might be a personality thing, though.

It's worth noting that this is a very tedious approach, particularly step 3. I actually just today started making clips for a video (well, two videos, actually). I've scrubbed through nine episodes of the series (which is 48 episodes long) and already have close to 250 clips. The problem is that I only have a very tenuous idea of the particular scenes I'll need, so literally anything that looks like it could be even close to being useful, I'm clipping. This stands in contrast to what you described, which sounds way more frustrating to me -- searching for specific scenes through episode after episode. And then having to go back through all the episodes again, for the next scene on your list, and so on and so on...good Lord kill me now. That just seems way too rigid to me.

From conversations I've had with others in the past, I gather that the approach I use tends to be the more common one. I don't know if I've ever spoken with someone who actually storyboards before, and least not in a really detailed way.

[Shinzui IT]

For me this is my way of doing storyboarding

~Listen to music
~Think of some random idea for it
~Think of the sources and stuff I need
~Think of how I am going to do it
Eureka! I got something amazing planned

Gets to editing
*Memorizes every scene I need to use and think of the episode*
~Plots scenes together
~Finish editing and start the actual thing

(Though when I do things like this, I hardly ever finish) If you think of the way I do it make sure you have the time to do all of it or you will be lazy like me and start and never finish til months later.

[Sephirothskr]

Story boarding... this is what I do.

1: Visualize.
2: get an idea
3: what shows are you gonna use?
4: look up an overview of an episode via synopsis so you know the context of what's going on (Saves you a lot of time instead of watching the series)
5: Make the video

[seasons]

Story boarding... this is what I do.

1: Visualize.
2: get an idea
3: what shows are you gonna use?
4: look up an overview of an episode via synopsis so you know the context of what's going on (Saves you a lot of time instead of watching the series)
5: Make the video

That's a fine process you've got but I don't know if I'd call it storyboarding.

[Ileia]

My process usually goes like this:
(1) Get idea (either from song or anime or some general concept I want to see done)
(2) Decide on anime/song combo
(3) Scrub through episode by episode of an anime series, making clips of any scene that might potentially be useful with my idea
(4) Start by editing the parts I already have a solid vision for (usually ends up being 10-20% of the whole video, spread throughout the timeline)
(5) Fill in the rest, ad-libbing as I go
(6) Go back and search for particular scenes that might be missing, as necessary

This is my general process as well (except add "Listen to song on repeat for a week and visualize where I want scenes before I actually start editing"). In cases where I make a more complicated video, I will make a plan of what I want to do and where, but this is rare. For AMV Pop Culture, I actually divided the video into segments, had a detailed game plan, and assigned myself strict time frames since I only had 5 days to edit it, but yeah, that's not typical for me.

[Enigmo]

if you're asking for help with structuring scenes to tell a story, i'd say it's a creative thing and there is no specific technique you should stick to. As long as you have some rationale to why you did what you did, it's fine. but then again, i'd say it's something that would develop with your own taste and intuition

[Sephirothskr]

Story boarding... this is what I do.

1: Visualize.
2: get an idea
3: what shows are you gonna use?
4: look up an overview of an episode via synopsis so you know the context of what's going on (Saves you a lot of time instead of watching the series)
5: Make the video

That's a fine process you've got but I don't know if I'd call it storyboarding.

Well the whole idea and visualize thing kind of grabs the story. I plot it out sequentially in my head.

[Pikapwn]

The problem is that I only have a very tenuous idea of the particular scenes I'll need, so literally anything that looks like it could be even close to being useful, I'm clipping. This stands in contrast to what you described, which sounds way more frustrating to me -- searching for specific scenes through episode after episode. And then having to go back through all the episodes again, for the next scene on your list, and so on and so on...good Lord kill me now. That just seems way too rigid to me.

From conversations I've had with others in the past, I gather that the approach I use tends to be the more common one. I don't know if I've ever spoken with someone who actually storyboards before, and least not in a really detailed way.

Oh, sorry, I guess I didn't write it clearly. I actually do the same thing. What I meant was, I make a list of all the different types of scenes I need, and then I'll go through each episode with that list in mind and take anything that looks good. Going through every episode for each scene would take years

Thanks everyone, this is all really reassuring and quite helpful, so keep the discussion coming.

[Shui]

It's all in my Head. I mostly edit just directly with the whole eps.
Scene selection happens during editing.