How to Create a Video Storyboard

Sometimes, the process of producing a video can be intimidating. If you’ve clicked on this link, you’re probably a video creator of some sort whether it be live-action, animation, stop motion etc. and you want to elevate your video content. Well, you’ve come to the right place because I can guarantee you that creating a storyboard for your video is a key step in your overall process to producing your video with the highest quality. 

What is a Storyboard?

Now you may have created video content but have never heard of a storyboard. Storyboarding dates back all the way to the 1930s when Walt Disney developed the idea and was first created for the Disney short “The Three Little Pigs”. Storyboarding is a visual representation of how the story of your video will unfold, shot by shot. It is made up of ordered pictures or illustrations/drawings of what the shot is going to be. Underneath the visual representation, there is usually a description of the action, the type of shot and angle it is, and any dialogue from the script that is going to accompany the shot. 

The Different Kinds of Storyboards

Like most things in life, there are different approaches and kinds of storyboards that have been discovered and developed over the years. There are 3 different kinds, those being:

• Traditional storyboards

• Thumbnail storyboards

• Animated storyboards

Traditional Storyboards 

Traditional storyboards are various pencil or ink drawings that assist in visualising the story of a video before beginning to fim. They can be displayed sequentially in a sketchbook or hung up on a wall. This method allows you to be as detailed or simple as you want. 

Several traditional storyboards also have written notes under the drawings to describe what is happening in the scene. These notes can be in point form and brief. 

Thumbnail Storyboards 

The second type of storyboard is thumbnail storyboards. Like a thumbnail for a YouTube video, a thumbnail storyboard shows a representation of what the premise is. Thumbnail storyboards call for tiny sketches - the size of a postage stamp - that shows your shots in your video on pieces of paper. 

However, due to the miniscule size of these sketches, it leaves little room for detail. This version of storyboarding is beneficial for quickly outlining  your ideas before making a more detailed version of your storyboard using a method such as the traditional storyboard. 

Animated Storyboards

The world of technology is always evolving, making it possible to create things such as live animations helping to create animated storyboards. Animated storyboards have dialogue and music. They are composed of sketches strategically filmed to show timing, pacing and flow of a scene and it is much easier to get your story across. 

Why Should You Storyboard?

Have you ever watched a book-to-movie adaptation and was disappointed because it wasn’t what you pictured? I’m sure there are many cases like this. A storyboard helps you to share your vision with others and really help sell the story whether it is a campaign for a commercial to a big Hollywood film.You can then get feedback from others and make changes. They may help you to fill in gaps that were missing in the story so that everything that happens in your story flows with no loose ends. If just a storyboard can move people and connect the audience to the characters, imagine how the end product will be recieved!  By making a storyboard, it helps your pre-production process and helps you to remember what shots you need. By having the story all laid out before production begins, it saves a lot of time and energy and will make sure you are using your time efficiently. 

Creating a Storyboard

You may be thinking to yourself, “Wow, a new step to the process?” Don’t worry, it’s fairly simple. Storyboarding is fairly similar to a shot list. However, storyboards are laid out in a much more story-like manner.

The process of creating a storyboard can be as simple or elaborate as you want to make it. Before storyboarding was first developed, animator Webb Smith was credited by Disney for the idea of drawing out scenes on separate sheets of paper, pinning them up on a bulletin board to create a sequence of a story, thus creating the first ever storyboard

Storyboards can be very simple and you don’t have to be an artist to create a storyboard. You can make one as simple as drawing stick figures using a professional program. The choice is up to you and your ability level. Choose what suits you. 

There are many different methods of storyboarding. 

You can use:

• Sketches with descriptions

• Google slides

  • Insert pictures into a slide with  bullet-point descriptions 

• Google docs

  • Create a table and insert pictures into the columns

  • Make sure you number the pictures accordingly

  • Underneath the pictures, add descriptions 

• Celtx

• Storyboarder (It’s paid but a great option for artists)

  • Draw in depth illustrations of the shot to clearly visualise the story with 6 different drawing tools

  • Enter dialogue and action underneath the panel. You can also include the timing information and shot type

These are just some of the many options to create a storyboard. 

Not all storyboards have to be created from sketches or drawings. You can also go to your filming locations with your actors and take pictures that will help visually represent the shot and action. In my opinion, taking pictures of the shot is much more efficient as you will have a clear, visual representation of the shot and angle you will need when it comes to production time. Since  it is harder within illustrations to create 3D depth, a photo will help you to understand exactly what your vision is, along with the description that will be provided under each picture in your storyboard. 

Do you know what you want your video to accomplish? What is the purpose for the video and what is the message you want to get across? What feelings are you trying to evoke in the audience? Make sure this is clear and set goals for your video. If you are getting feedback from others that your idea is evoking the emotions you wanted, you know you are on track. 

To create a storyboard, you first want to break down your script into actions as you will need to describe the action of each shot when you storyboard. You want to draw/import images that will move the action along. Too many images can be overwhelming and you will waste time that could be spent on other details. On the other hand, too little images will make your storyboard hard for people to understand. Know the right amount. 

Then, you will want to make multiple blank panels and number them in order.  There are many storyboarding outlines online or you can create your own. 

Next you will want to write up a description that includes the action, the type of shot and angle and dialogue that will accompany the shot. 

You don’t have to stop there! You can make multiple storyboards and revise and edit through the process. 

All storyboards should include:

• The project name 

  • Even if you don’t have one, create a working title and you can rename this later

• The scene number

  • Numbering scenes is important so you don’t get the order of your story mixed up

• Page number

Conclusion

There you have it! This is everything you need to know about storyboarding and how to create your very own video storyboard. You now know what a storyboard is, the different types of storyboards, why you should storyboard and how to create a storyboard. Do you think this will help you to improve your video production? Let us know in the comments below!

Written by Amy Anstett

If you need further help creating your own marketing videos, we offer video production services that will help you elevate your brand!

We look forward to being a part of your success. Contact us here to get started.

What is Audio Production?

Audio production is most often used interchangeably with the term “music production.” However, the two words have different meanings. Audio production is a broad term representing multiple tasks regarding audio and recording. In addition, there are other industries besides music that require audio production.

With today’s digital technology, it can be more accessible than ever for music artists, podcasters, and independent filmmakers to perform audio production work. However, understanding how audio production works to create a final music piece or master recording involves many steps.

The skills necessary for audio engineers, producers, and musicians include having a keen ear to detect various sounds and identify what makes high quality. Experts in the music industry who have been working with sounds for a long time understand what helps provide enhanced audio and what tools are necessary to achieve the best sound.

Many parts encompass the whole of audio production, so understanding each aspect that audio production entails is essential. In this piece, you will realize what audio production is and what tools are utilized in audio production. 

Audio Production for Musicians

As an independent or aspiring musician, the idea of audio production involves everything from songwriting to the complete master of an original piece of music. Music producers do not typically work alone; some people handle different areas within the production, from the songwriting by the musician to the recording, mixing, and mastering by sound engineers. 

The scope of audio production is a way for musicians to take something they have created and give it life. A piece of music is not valid until it can be recorded and listened to by others. Sound, mixing, or mastering engineers play integral roles in audio production, but don’t assume that they are any less creative than the musician; positioning of recording equipment and alterations done on the backend of recordings can drastically alter and change sounds. 

Music production oversees the song flow and brings about certain emotions by utilizing instruments and voices specifically. Here is a breakdown of the different parts of audio production for musicians.

Song Composition

The lyrics and initial melody of music are known as songwriting, which kick starts the audio production process. Musicians in bands may collaborate and work together to develop the song, while individual artists may consult with a music producer for assistance. 

Audio production works with the song’s foundation and builds upon it. Since the music is still the basis at the beginning of the audio process, if it is not good enough, no amount of audio work will make it better. 

Arrangement and Editing

Decisions regarding the arrangement of the song include multiple steps, such as:

• Length of introduction, verses, and chorus

• Instruments to be brought out in different parts of the song

• Instrumental breaks or vocal breaks

• Changes in keys or notes

• Builds to crescendos and decrescendos

• Ending to the song

Kristina K., a piano instructor with Music to Your Home, says that “chord progression and instrumental choices are key to establishing an original piece of music and vital to the structure of the song.” In addition, music producers often assist musicians through the arranging and editing process without going against the artists’ vision or changing too much of the song’s original intent.

Feedback can also be helpful during this time, so musicians will sometimes work with audio and music producers to gain insight into what might help the song sound better. For example, sometimes suggestions recommending other instruments, rhythms, or vocals can help develop the song’s arrangement more rich or full.

Once the arrangements and parts have been recorded, next comes the editing. Audio engineers can listen to multiple recordings of a song and decide which one has the best quality or what parts they can take from each recording to splice together. 

This part of the audio process also involves cleaning up the sound, such as taking away any unwanted or extra background sound, removing sharp intakes of breath or “pops” from words with a “p” or “t.” They also pay close attention to timing and pitch so that the recordings all fit together well.

Mixing and Mastering

The next stage of audio production is mixing and mastering the song. Mixing also involves some more clean-up of the audio sound, but there are added elements using audio software and hardware. These plugins include tools that are used, which have some of the following:

• EQ (Equalizer)

• Compression

• Reverb

• Delay

• Vocal Tuning

• Expansion or Noise Gates

These effects for production allow the sound to become more high-quality and mastered. There should be a vast difference between the original, unmixed recording and the final master recording. The song should still contain that all instruments and vocals keep their initial sounds and allow the music to meet industry standards while making an impact.

How Audio Production is Used Elsewhere

The film industry, podcasts, video games, and other media platforms utilize audio production in their work. If you think about the crystal clear audio quality you hear when watching television or movies, there is a lot of audio editing and mastering that occurs for it to sound just right.

Likewise, podcasters frequently will hire podcast managers to work on audio production for their episodes. Since podcasts utilize people talking, there is a lot of editing to remove breath sounds, extra background noises, and clean up filler words that are used like “uh” and “um” for a smooth flow.

Learning Audio Production

If you want to learn how to do audio production yourself, there are many options for taking courses or finding out how to do your own composition, arranging, mixing, and mastering. Of course, taking an online course focusing on production can be most helpful. Still, you can also search YouTube since it will have plenty of free tutorials on different audio software and hardware for you to learn, however this option will be a lot more time consuming, less focused and harder to find the right information.

When working on audio production, it is crucial to stay persistent, record ideas often, and get inspiration from listening to a lot of music, podcasts and listening to audiobooks to help you develop and build upon your creativity.

Equipment is another necessary aspect of audio production. While you can easily record using a high-quality smartphone, you may eventually want to invest in some equipment such as software, microphones, pop filters, maybe even a soundbox or foam panels to build your own in-home recording studio. 

Don’t rush into anything; start small and invest in your knowledge of learning first, so you can decide what is best to help you grow. Just start simple to build your understanding of audio production, and soon enough, you can become an expert within the industry.

Written by Nicole McCray

-

Jony Studios is developing a course based on all of our experience in the business / music industry. It will be a concise value packed online course on everything you need to know about music production to succeed. From songwriting to producing to marketing your brand.

The course is called: Producer Launch - The Ultimate Online Music Production Course

This will help millions of musicians, home recording studio owners and producers learn what took me over 10 years to learn in a few months, plus it will be lifetime access, so I will keep adding more valuable content for all the people in the course as I keep growing. This is going to be an amazing community as well, where we can all learn from each other and keep growing together.

If you would like to get notified of when this course is released, sign up with your email here. Everyone on that list will receive an exclusive 50% off when the course launches! It’s time to take action now.

How to Become an Audiobook Narrator

A lot of voice actors tend to turn towards becoming audiobook narrators, as they find the work much more rewarding regardless of the level of expertise required, Who says you can’t learn? So how do you get started? Better yet, what skills do you need to be an audiobook narrator? 
Keep on reading to find out some of the traits needed to become one.

Know The Different Types of Narration

Surprise! There’s more than one type of audiobook narration, but typically they are voiced by only one person and to be able to differentiate from the characters they change their tone, style or pitch of voice.

• Solo - one person is voicing all of the characters and is able to differentiate their voices accordingly.

• Duet - when there are two actors cutting in every line of a dialogue scene like a play if you will.

• Multicast - an example of this is if you had 4 characters and different points of view for each character, so you’ll have a different voice for each one.

• Full-Cast - actors performing various roles.

Self-Management

A very important aspect to have personally and professionally in any field, but especially when it comes to narrating a book as you are the one who shows the way to the listener. Whether you are going to be self-directing or directing others, you need to be able to stick to the timeline and make sure to plan for any errors, extra time in the studio and to be sure things get done in a timely manner.

Stamina is Key

Some days you’ll be in the studio for long, long hours and your voice may get tired or strained. Try to pace yourself so you can keep a consistent performance throughout the entire recording session and remember to bring that same energy and tone to the next one as you will need to sound pretty much the same the whole time.

Organization

This is key as you should be planning way ahead, before even booking any studio time. 

Start with your script: How is it going to sound to listeners? What edits need to be made to keep the listener immersed? What words need emphasis? What words need to be softer? Pacing? Think about how you want it to sound and what message you want to be delivered in the tone of voice.

Remember to plan out extra studio time, and to budget accordingly as costs can quickly add up. For every hour of finished audio, plan for 2 hours in the studio regardless of the experience of the actor - they’re bound to make mistakes and making sure you have the time to actually and effectively deliver a great audiobook is what’s important.

Know What You’re Doing

If it’s your first time creating an audiobook, do some research. There is plenty of advice, tips and tricks out there, so as to not waste any money on a project that you have no idea where to even begin, look into it here. The narrator needs to have full control over their voice, which means confidence and if you’re new then you may not have the experience so all that’s left to do is to learn and practice.

Be Objective

You may have your own opinions on how a character should sound or be like, but stay objective. While you may love the book you are narrating, keep in mind that it’s the author’s book and they’re the ones who have created the story and the people in the book that you are so passionate about. Basically, the narrator tells it as is. You may have extra inside information that the audience doesn’t know, but that doesn’t mean you are the author (unless you are, but there’s a reason why you have a script).

Paint the Picture

People who typically enjoy listening to audiobooks like being told a story. So, it’s up to the narrator to be able to execute and deliver this to the best of their professional abilities. They’re able to bring the text to life and truly embody the characters. Whether it’s through the pacing and pronunciation of your words, voice separation from each character and narrative text, what you’re doing is drawing people to you with your voice, a strong skill not everyone is able to do.

CONCLUSION

There is more to audiobook narration than meets the eye. There’s a lot of background preparation that needs to go into the production before you can even begin to think of actually stepping into the studio. Basically, know what you’re doing, and if you don’t start researching, otherwise you’ll find yourself clueless and out of money. Do you want to create your own author-narrated audiobook? Let us know!

Written by Tina Phong

-

If you need help turning your book into an audiobook, we offer audiobook production services that will help you reach a wider audience and increase your book sales. 

Learn more here and listen to some of our audiobook samples.