Film Studies & Cinematography Project 3: Animation Storyboard and Storyboard Development
Table of Contents
Module Information
LECTURE
This blog documents the development process of Project 3: Animatic & Storyboard Development, which contributes 30% of the overall course assessment. The purpose of this project is to translate the approved short animation concept from Project 1 into a structured visual plan through thumbnail sketches, a detailed storyboard, and a time-based animatic.
Building upon my story Whispering Stars, this project focuses on visual storytelling, camera planning, pacing, and emotional rhythm before entering full animation production. By breaking the narrative into clear panels and timed sequences, the storyboard and animatic function as a blueprint that helps test continuity, screen direction, and narrative clarity.
The production process is divided into three main stages. First, thumbnail drawings were created to explore composition, framing, and overall story flow in a quick and flexible manner. These initial sketches helped refine the narrative structure and visual rhythm of the animation. Next, a detailed storyboard was developed using an A4 landscape format, including panel numbers, descriptions of action, audio elements, visual effects, and estimated duration for each shot. Arrows and tonal contrast were used to indicate camera movement and depth, ensuring the storyboard could clearly communicate motion and cinematic intent.
Sketches and storyboards
Based on the storyboards and plot setting slides created in Project 2, we will produce an animated short lasting one to three minutes.I start by creating thumbnails in accordance with the specifications, adding text to describe the image, and creating it on Procreat, provided that the narrative is easily comprehensible.I used Procreat to create thumbnails, describing the scene using lines.
Sketches
This section documents the thumbnail drawing stage of Project 3, which focuses on visualising the story structure and shot progression before developing the final storyboard and animatic. Thumbnail sketches were used as a fast and flexible method to explore composition, camera framing, and narrative flow, allowing the story to be clearly understood in an orderly manner.
The thumbnails were sketched in black and white to emphasise contrast, depth, and spatial relationships rather than detailed rendering. Each scene was planned with simple shapes and directional arrows to indicate camera movement, character focus, and transitions. Short text descriptions were added beside the sketches to clarify actions, mood, and intended pacing.
Storyboard Development
Next, we had to create an A4 storyboard with black and white tones to convey the depth of the composition and arrows to direct the action and camera work. I began concentrating on the intricate images that matched the narrative, but I also added some transitions and empty scenes and modified other images to match the screenplay.
This section documents the storyboard development stage of Project 3, where the initial thumbnail sketches were refined into a structured and detailed visual plan. The storyboard functions as a bridge between concept development and animatic production, translating abstract ideas into clearly defined shots with precise timing, camera movement, and audio planning.
The storyboard was created in A4 landscape format using a black-and-white colour tone to emphasise composition, depth, and lighting rather than surface detail. Each panel includes a panel number, page number, shot description, audio notes, visual effects, and estimated duration, ensuring that the narrative can be easily followed in a sequential and logical manner. Arrows were used to indicate camera movement and screen direction, replacing written explanations with clear visual guidance.
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