From Word To Image

Last week a copy Marcie Begleiter's "From Word to Image: Storyboarding and the Filmmaking Process", 2nd Edition came in the mail.

I like it enough to recommend to all you, dear readers, who are interested in making moving picture.

This is not really a "how to make a storyboard" book, it is a book on film making from the perspective of storyboarding.

As such, the discussion focuses almost entirely on live action production and how preproduction visuals are created and used for that process.

The live action board tends to be very different from most animation boards.  The dynamic differs according to the media.  Even so, the language is essentially the same and this book is clear and specific in defining terms (moreso even than the also excellent "Shot by Shot" by Steve Katz).  It also describes many techniques useful for animation boards: creating overhead "shooting plans", formal consideration in the construction of the frame and it includes a lengthy interview with Blue Sky Studios director Steve Martino.