vid storyboards: Glorious #1, Come On, Superstar

[heresluck]

A couple of months ago, in the comments on one of the vid commentary tracks I did, redredshoes suggested that I put up vid storyboards as well.

So I've linked to a few behind the cut tags, and provided a tiny bit of commentary as well.

Comments

[laurashapiro]

It's great to see that I'm not the only one who still scribbles on a notepad, analog-style. I feel very retro, doing that, but the process seems to work for me.

For you, too, apparently.

[heresluck]

Is it retro? Do other people do it all on the computer? I can't imagine that. I change my mind too often. Plus I like having the visual distinction between the lyrics, which are not negotiable, and my own thoughts, which frequently need changing.

[laurashapiro]

Well, a lot of people seem to type up their clip notes/storyboards/spreadsheets on a laptop while they watch episodes, rather than doing it on paper. I don't mean to suggest that they can't change their minds in the process.

Sometimes I use a spreadsheet, sometimes not. But my clip notes are always taken on a big note pad, with many crossings-out. And the spreadsheet (with lyrics in the left column, as you have them) gets revised only once or twice in digital form. Then it's printed out and covered with inky scribbles.

[heresluck]

Ah -- I think of clip notes as being separate from storyboards. I've been working on clip databases, which I'm growing to like a lot, and that's on the computer, of course; but storyboarding is a very different process, and one that pretty much requires scribbling.

I didn't need the clip database until recently, because I was working with limited source that I knew really well. It's a little overwhelming to suddenly have All The Clips That Ever Were at my disposal for a given vid.

[sockkpuppett]

I think I must be an example of "chaos theory" in vidding. The flicker of a single butterfly's wings and all that. I've *tried* to storyboard this way and other ways, like spreadsheets and charts, but I end up feeling strangled by my own legalistic view of my own notes. [bangs head]

I have the lyrics text of a song, but I usually don't print them out. The most I will do now, for storyboarding, is write a post-it note, e.g., "head explodes at 2;15."

OTOH, I can see where this can be very helpful. To have a plan, a map. That's not to say that I don't have a mental map; I do! I just... can't seem to relate what I'm actually doing creatively in a vid to what I may or may not have written down. I just get frustrated, like I should have followed my plan To. The. Letter. I don't know if this is laziness or just the way my brain processes (creative) information. Either way, I found these storyboards to be quite enlightening. :)

[heresluck]

I think this is just one more example of the fact that you and I think about vidding, and do vidding, in almost completely different ways. It's one reason why I love hearing about your process; I always know I'm going to have new things to think about and try.

The latest vid has been much less storyboard-heavy and more about throwing crap at the timeline to see what sticks. I've hated it, and I will never do it again. But it was a really, really valuable thing for me to do, because I think it *has* helped to break me of my slavish Devotion To The Plan, which is a comfortable m.o. for me but has gotten me in bad trouble on more than one occasion. Going to the other extreme is already helping me to be more flexible as I work on new storyboards.

[_swallow]

I love your handwriting.

[heresluck]

Ah, and these aren't either of my nice handwritings, even.

Which reminds me, I still owe you that postcard. I just dug your address out of my e-mail files, so I can mail it tomorrow... if I have a postcard stamp, which, let's not hold our breaths.

[par_avion]

Neat-o, thanks for sharing!

[heresluck]

Hey, you're welcome! *g*

welcome!

[heresluck]

My handwriting's not normally this tidy either. Storyboarding doesn't require quick writing; it's a pretty slow process.

Re: welcome!

[heresluck]

Heh. No. If I could draw well enough for that, I wouldn't need to vid. Keep in mind that most of my vids use clips from between four and ten eps, all of which I've watched dozens of times. I know the visuals alarmingly well for someone who is basically not a visual person. It has a lot to do with the dialogue, I'm finding; the scenes I recall best are usually the ones where facial expressions, movement, etc. are linked in my mind with the onscreen dialogue.