Film Stylo

Step 2 of 5

Storyboard

 

After completing your essay, you will be creating a storyboard to prepare for filming.

Filmmakers use storyboards to help them visualize what their final film might look like. For Film Stylo, we will be creating a storyboard in a unique way.


Download and Print


No printer?

Simply upload the downloaded storyboard file here and edit it online. You can then download your completed storyboard as a PDF.

 
 

Sentence Chunks

While essays are made up of sentences, films are made up of shots.

Your first step is to break down your entire essay into sentence chunks that could potentially be one shot. These chunks will then go on the left side of your storyboard.

Here's an example of how to do this, using some sentences from a simple essay:

I wake up at 8am every morning. Then I open the curtains. The sun shines through my window.

The first sentence is about waking up, while the second and third both relate to the idea of "sunlight." So sentence 1 can be one chunk, while sentences 2-3 can be a separate chunk:

I wake up at 8am every morning.

Then I open the curtains. The sun shines through my window.

There is no right or wrong way to break down your essay into chunks, as long as the sentences in each chunk relate to the same idea. In general, chunks that are not too short or not too long work best.

 
 

Subject

Your next step is to determine the most suitable subject to show each of your chunks with. A subject is something that the camera can film, so it must be something you can see. For example, a "clock" or a "window" for the two chunks above.

Sometimes, it is not obvious what the subject for each chunk is (such as when you describe a feeling). This is where you can get creative, and come up with other ways to show your chunk.


Types of Shot

Subjects in a film can be shown in a variety of ways using different types of shot. Each type communicates different amounts of information about the subject, and creates a different emotional effect for the viewer.

 
 

Rules

While your sentence chunks, shot subjects and shot types can be anything you want, I do have two important rules for you:

  1. You cannot be the subject, or point the camera at yourself, for any of the shots;
  2. However, in one of your shots, you must film yourself in a mirror/reflection (other camera) or selfie (phone front camera) to show yourself as the filmmaker

This selfie or mirror shot will be your "special shot," and can fit with any sentence chunk you'd like. On your storyboard, please circle the shot that you've decided will be your special shot.

 


Rough Sketches

Once you have written down your shot subject and shot type for each sentence chunk, you can draw rough sketches in the boxes to visualize each shot.

The sketches can be as simple or as detailed as you’d like. Don't worry about making each one look perfect. They are only meant to be something you can refer to when you start to film.

 
 

When you're done, attach your storyboard as a PDF or JPEG in your email reply, submit it via Google Classroom, or upload it to your class Drive folder.