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Quick
on the Draw?
Storyboarders Get Plenty of Action
1997 Artist's and Graphic Designer's Market
Insider Report
By: Douglas S. Wood
Before the cameras recorded the action, Mark Simon's pencil brought the characters and action of seaQuest DSV to life. Simon was the storyboarder for Spielberg's science fiction series during its run on NBC. Though most artists have only a vague idea of what storyboarding is, Simon says it's fun and lucrative. But you have to be quick on the draw to succeed.
"If it takes you two hours to finish a sketch, you're never going to make money and you're never going to be hired because you're never going to finish." You'll need skills at drawing the human body, proficiency at perspective, and a good understanding of spacial relationships, but detailed renderings won't get you jobs, says Simon. Getting an idea across is more important than how realistic or pretty your art looks. As many as 200 crew members might be reading the same storyboards and every single person on that crew must derive the same meaning from them to work together effectively. A storyboard takes the producer's or director's initial vision and enhances it, says Simon. "I look at a storyboard as a kind of visual blueprint of the finished product." Before a script is shot, the artist reads the script and often sits down with the director to discuss each shot. The artist then "translates" the script into a simple comic strip of the action, detailing camera angles, how shots flow into one another and how details like special effects change shots.
Storyboarders save producers lots of money and time. Because changes during production are so expensive, producers and directors use storyboards during pre-production to iron out details, and to make sure each scene is shot for maximum effect.
Television commercial producers rely on boards even more heavily than film or series producers. After boards are show to an agency's clients, they may be revised several times to make sure every second of expensive air time counts. It's less expensive for the commercial producer to ave the artist redraw the boards than shoot and revise a commercial four or five times.
Simon became intrigued with storyboards wile working as an art director for film and television in Los Angeles. In his job, Simon hired other artists to create storyboards, but often wished he could try his hand at the process. So he made an appointment with an agent who repped storyboard artists to find out how to get started. The rep suggested Simon take scenes from feature films and TV commercials and draw sample storyboards to add to his portfolio. After spending several months creating samples, Simon showed his new portfolio to Home Box Office Executive Producer Jonathan Debin. Three weeks later, Debin called. Simon was handed a script and told to "make it scary."
Simon landed more storyboarding work on two made-for-TV movies, which led to the seaQuest job. Since then, so many doors have opened up he no longer has to art direct fulltime.
The first step to getting assignments is creating a portfolio of sample storyboards Fill your samples with plenty of action sequences because, as Simon says, "If you have the choice between looking at two guys talking or two guys hitting each other, which one are you going to look at first?" Once you think you have a good portfolio, send samples to production designers, managers, producers, directors, special effects houses and even stuntmen, who use storyboards to map out complicated stunts.
Not all production companies are in New York City and LA. Check the yellow pages for local advertising agencies, film and video production firms. Send a cover letter, resume and samples of your work to prospective clients and plan direct mailings at least twice a year.
Contact state film agencies and get your name in local production guides to let people in the industry know you're there. Once you're into the grapevine, it's easier to get your foot in the door, says Simon. A good strategy for beginners is offering to work for free for film students and low-budget filmmakers. You'll gain experience plus samples to show future clients.
Simon uses 4 x 3 panels for his portfolio, three drawings to a page. He uses color copies because they show line work better. Show both rough and detailed storyboards because both types are marketable, says Simon.
For Simon, storyboarding has turned into a well=paying vocation, earning him up to $2,000 a week on ongoing productions. For smaller jobs, like commercials, he charges by the panel. Simon suggests consulting the Graphic Artist's Guild's Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines for pricing. Fees can range from $15 to $45 per panel. Once commercial can have between eight and 30 panels.
Though Simon has moved from LA to Orlando, he still gets plenty of storyboarding assignments. He works on commercials, creates storyboards for Disney and Universal Studios in Orlando, art directs, lectures on opportunities for artists within the entertainment industry, and is the author of Storyboards: Motion in Art (1994, Nomis Creations). "Storyboarding is a tremendous creative outlet," he says, "You get to sit in a movie theater and see your art come to life."
Storyboarders Get Plenty of Action
1997 Artist's and Graphic Designer's Market
Insider Report
By: Douglas S. Wood
Before the cameras recorded the action, Mark Simon's pencil brought the characters and action of seaQuest DSV to life. Simon was the storyboarder for Spielberg's science fiction series during its run on NBC. Though most artists have only a vague idea of what storyboarding is, Simon says it's fun and lucrative. But you have to be quick on the draw to succeed.
"If it takes you two hours to finish a sketch, you're never going to make money and you're never going to be hired because you're never going to finish." You'll need skills at drawing the human body, proficiency at perspective, and a good understanding of spacial relationships, but detailed renderings won't get you jobs, says Simon. Getting an idea across is more important than how realistic or pretty your art looks. As many as 200 crew members might be reading the same storyboards and every single person on that crew must derive the same meaning from them to work together effectively. A storyboard takes the producer's or director's initial vision and enhances it, says Simon. "I look at a storyboard as a kind of visual blueprint of the finished product." Before a script is shot, the artist reads the script and often sits down with the director to discuss each shot. The artist then "translates" the script into a simple comic strip of the action, detailing camera angles, how shots flow into one another and how details like special effects change shots.
Storyboarders save producers lots of money and time. Because changes during production are so expensive, producers and directors use storyboards during pre-production to iron out details, and to make sure each scene is shot for maximum effect.
Television commercial producers rely on boards even more heavily than film or series producers. After boards are show to an agency's clients, they may be revised several times to make sure every second of expensive air time counts. It's less expensive for the commercial producer to ave the artist redraw the boards than shoot and revise a commercial four or five times.
Simon became intrigued with storyboards wile working as an art director for film and television in Los Angeles. In his job, Simon hired other artists to create storyboards, but often wished he could try his hand at the process. So he made an appointment with an agent who repped storyboard artists to find out how to get started. The rep suggested Simon take scenes from feature films and TV commercials and draw sample storyboards to add to his portfolio. After spending several months creating samples, Simon showed his new portfolio to Home Box Office Executive Producer Jonathan Debin. Three weeks later, Debin called. Simon was handed a script and told to "make it scary."
Simon landed more storyboarding work on two made-for-TV movies, which led to the seaQuest job. Since then, so many doors have opened up he no longer has to art direct fulltime.
The first step to getting assignments is creating a portfolio of sample storyboards Fill your samples with plenty of action sequences because, as Simon says, "If you have the choice between looking at two guys talking or two guys hitting each other, which one are you going to look at first?" Once you think you have a good portfolio, send samples to production designers, managers, producers, directors, special effects houses and even stuntmen, who use storyboards to map out complicated stunts.
Not all production companies are in New York City and LA. Check the yellow pages for local advertising agencies, film and video production firms. Send a cover letter, resume and samples of your work to prospective clients and plan direct mailings at least twice a year.
Contact state film agencies and get your name in local production guides to let people in the industry know you're there. Once you're into the grapevine, it's easier to get your foot in the door, says Simon. A good strategy for beginners is offering to work for free for film students and low-budget filmmakers. You'll gain experience plus samples to show future clients.
Simon uses 4 x 3 panels for his portfolio, three drawings to a page. He uses color copies because they show line work better. Show both rough and detailed storyboards because both types are marketable, says Simon.
For Simon, storyboarding has turned into a well=paying vocation, earning him up to $2,000 a week on ongoing productions. For smaller jobs, like commercials, he charges by the panel. Simon suggests consulting the Graphic Artist's Guild's Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines for pricing. Fees can range from $15 to $45 per panel. Once commercial can have between eight and 30 panels.
Though Simon has moved from LA to Orlando, he still gets plenty of storyboarding assignments. He works on commercials, creates storyboards for Disney and Universal Studios in Orlando, art directs, lectures on opportunities for artists within the entertainment industry, and is the author of Storyboards: Motion in Art (1994, Nomis Creations). "Storyboarding is a tremendous creative outlet," he says, "You get to sit in a movie theater and see your art come to life."
Animatics & Storyboards, Inc.
407-370-BORD (2673)
marksimon (at) storyboards-east.com