What's the difference between StoryBoard Quick and StoryBoard Artist?
StoryBoard Quick is great for creating Quick shot setups and concept ideas for clients and crew. With StoryBoard Quick it's easy to design and refine your shot ideas for scenes and/or sequences in your production without needing to draw. The printing formats are also Quick and easy and each frame has a caption window to add dialog or camera notes.StoryBoard Artist is Quick and more. It's used for designing and creating presentation-style story boards with sound and motion (runtime animatics). The StoryBoard Artist Timeline feature adds that ability to give greater dimension to your previsualization using the Pan and Zoom in-frame-motion and transitions between frames. StoryBoard Artist also includes linking features and a Link View to assist in designing non-linear or branching storyboards for game development and simulation projects. Its print features are highly customizable to take advantage of multiple captions per frame feature and integrated database. StoryBoard Artist also exports to QuickTime, HTML and XML.
How easy is it to learn StoryBoard Quick?
StoryBoard Quick's learning curve is practically nonexistent. You can download the software and after installation, you can be productive in minutes. There is a step-by-step tutorial included, but most directors say they easily board the next day’s shoot faster than ever.
". . . when they say QUICK they really do mean quick."
- Julie Smyth - Cyber Aspect
How simple is it to use StoryBoard Artist?
StoryBoard Artist is easy to learn. It's intuitive and if you're familiar with other graphic applications, its workflow will feel familiar. Designed by creative people who worked in the entertainment industry, StoryBoard Artist keeps the technical aspects of the computer safely hidden leaving only the most creative elements easily accessible.
"SBArtist is nothing short of superb! Fast, solid, easy-to-use and, most important of all, up to the task it promises."
-Wm. Butler, Logical Solutions
You have pre-drawn art, how does that work?
One of the most import pieces of information to communicate in storyboards is the relationship between the main elements in the frame. The pre-drawn artwork comes in integrated libraries that have been requested as “main elements.” The categories are characters, props and locations. But you can place text in the frame or other importable graphics. Each graphic remains on its own layer and can be always be changed.
Using the Library grid, you can instantly choose the character, angle and position. Zoom with a click the character comes into a close-up. Using the location library gives you choices of pre-drawn background locations that, when clicked in StoryBoard Quick, is automatically placed in the background layer. So with two clicks you’ve created the beginning of your first board and shown some important information that your crew needs to know.
Can I use my own pictures or photographs?
Yes, in fact, directors will find it very valuable to import actual location scout images. This is even easier than ever before with the advent of digital cameras. Both StoryBoard Quick and StoryBoard Artist can import pictures for use as items in the frame including characters, props, and backgrounds. You can take images with a digital camera or search the Internet for location pictures you find on many websites. All items, including imports, can be easily layered, moved, and edited individually without disturbing your frame composition.
What if I need a reverse angle for a shot?
Taking a cue from professional filmmakers make reverse angles easy. Simply move the background to see a different view or just scale it larger or smaller. The magic of filmmaking comes from the illusion created within the viewfinder. The view we see doesn’t have to be reality, it just must communicate. If the background is different but relevant or related, that’s all the audience knows. Filmmakers have long used the trick of shooting a character from a low angle against the sky…and can you tell where it is? No, but it looks like they’re in the same location as before because there was a blue sky in the last shot. Very often pickup shots or second unit directors use this trick when they can no longer access the same location. We provided the elements, you provide the creativity.
What about high and low angles?
In StoryBoard Artist, characters and elements are rendered in many angles and rotations making them instantly accessible. In StoryBoard Quick, you can use a two-dimensional trick that has worked beautifully for years. Position the character high in the frame to give the illusion of the camera looking up at the character. Positioning the character low in the frame and the horizon line high in the frame gives the illusion of shooting from a high angle. Keeping your ultimate goal in mind of actually making your production will give you momentum to create the board. Storyboarding is a means to an end. With our software you can get to your production a lot quicker.
Can I put the pre-drawn characters into any position?
Characters can be directed to rotate around, like an actor turning around. Most libraries have the following positions: standing, sitting, running, jumping, prone. Some specialty libraries vary from these positions to accommodate the library style like the Stuntman library and the Kids library. Using the crop tool, you can combine the top of one character with the bottom of another position and come up with an infinite number of positions. No rendering necessary, no posing necessary. Just point, click and keep on boarding.
How can my crew view my boards on the Internet?
With one click, you can save your storyboard in a web-ready format ready to be emailed or uploaded to the Internet. In StoryBoard Artist you can also save your storyboard as a movie so everyone can see the timing of your plan as well.
Where do I put my text or scripts?
Every frame in a storyboard has one or more captions or text areas attached. You can either import your script or type directly into your caption windows. When importing your script, new frames are automatically created, ready for images to be added. Frames can be inserted and deleted as needed to expand some scenes and shorten others.
How many frames can I make?
There is no limit to the number of frames in a project. You are only limited by the amount of disk space on your computer.
Will the storyboarding application make the boards for me?
Yes, when importing your script, frames are automatically created. You can also drag and drop a folder of images to create a storyboard as well.
How can I store my own artwork?
You can either drag and drop artwork directly into the frame from folders full of artwork or import using the menus. In StoryBoard Artist you can also create your own libraries of artwork that can be accessed and manipulated instantly.
Who uses storyboarding software?
Primarily, creative people use our tools for storyboarding. Thousands of writers, directors, producers and cinematographers even find that they enjoy storyboarding using our software. (Many who tell us they don’t let their clients know that they’re using software.) For more than a decade, StoryBoard Quick has been called the only little secret in Hollywood. We can say our software is in use at all of the major studios and is used on countless features, dramas, sitcoms and thousands of freelance production companies. So don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone you can’t draw. |
