Spring 2013 - ANM 691 Advanced Storyboarding

This semester, while I am working one-on-one in a Thesis Forum setting with Tim Hodge, I am also taking ANM 691 - Advanced Storyboarding with Paulo Alvarado.  I am really excited about this class because I have been wanting to take it for several semesters now, and it's finally available!  Not only that but I really enjoy working with Paulo, so this is going to be awesome!

Week 1

This week is my first attempt at a storyboard with Storyboard Pro.  It will take some getting used to, but between this class and Thesis Forum, where I will be working on the sequences for my final project, I will definitely get the practice I need.

The assignment this week was "a character finds a box".  I wanted to use one of my Navigators characters, but in the interest of simplicity, I went with a standard stick figure who gets more than he bargains for when reaching for a donut.

Week 4

This is the final pass on an assignment to write a story based on an illustration from "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick".  I chose the image with an open window and a bird pulling away from the wallpaper, with the caption, "It all began when someone left the window open"  

Week 7

From week 5 we have been working on a sequence which is meant to be from an animated feature.  This is an original concept  I want to eventually turn into a graphic novel.  The cinematography concepts I am learning in this class are really helping me improve the staging of my boards.

Week 9

Another original story, this is meant to be a sequence from a live action feature.  To be honest, coming up with new stories and boarding them, in addition to the work I'm doing on my thesis, is getting a little hard to keep up with, but eventually I will be able to focus on just the boards for my final project and I will be able to get more done.

Week 15

Beginning in week 11, we began working on our final projects for the class.  I chose one of the sequences from The Navigators.  It turns out this was a good choice, since I ended up having to travel out of state for both a funeral and my mother's pre-op.  Included here are the final boards, the pitch video, and the presentation of the production art.

Summary

This class was even better than I had hoped it would be.  I learned a lot about cinematography, staging and pacing.  I feel I now have a better understanding of what it means to tell a story visually, which will be an excellent complement to my written storytelling skills.