Outside of animating, this is where I spend the most time and really in some cases is the hardest step. At this point you know the style for the video but you have to start thinking about how your video is going to move. I like to storyboard out the entire video before animating. This helps me and the clients I work with see what the video is going to look like before getting into the animation. Seeing it all laid out in front of you makes it a lot easier to make changes during this stage rather than later once you already started animating.

I recommend breaking the storyboard process into two parts. Pencil and computer.

First get a storyboard template and a pencil and sketch or doodle what each frame is going to look like. Don’t worry if you can’t draw, they don’t have to look nice they are just for you to get an idea of how it’s going to move and what needs to be on the frame. 

When I’m going through a script I like to take each sentence or every half sentence and make a frame for them. You usually end up with 20 - 50 frames depending on how long your video is and how many scenes you want to have. Being creative with your scenes is tough. It’s often hard to visualize how the video is going to move from one scene to the next without just cutting from one to the other. Try to avoid just cutting from each scene to the next and think about how you could make the transitions more interesting and have fun with it. 

Once you have all your scenes sketched out on a paper, now you can jump back on the computer. You now have an idea of what every frame or scene needs to look like so it makes designing all of them in your style a little quicker since you don’t have to do as much thinking and worrying about the movement. 

Earlier this year I started running, it wasn’t to get in shape or make myself healthy, that’s just been an added benefit from it. For three years I biked to and from work at Daily Planet Productions ltd. office everyday. The main reason I started running was because I work from home now and I needed something to get me away from the computer to let me mull over some ideas or issues I might be struggling with. I’ve mentioned before about how getting the sketchbook out is a great tool to help clear your mind and deal with some ideas. I’ve thought about trying meditation but I think I’d just fall asleep. So for me I find a good run or bike ride helps me with this. Lately, it’s been a lot more runs then bike rides. When you’re out there it’s just you and the road, you’re free to let your mind wonder a bit. It’s also been a great manager for stress; after a 5 mile run, those project set backs aren’t as troubling. I’m not sure if I’d get that same stress killing result with meditation. Whatever it takes for you to manage stress and clear your mind, do it. If its the sketchbook, running, meditation, biking or swimming, just do it and get yourself away from the computer for an hour, 30 minutes, or even five.

Remember sketchbooks? Being attached to the computer or iPhone basically 24/7, I often forget this simple joy. Sketching onto paper has such a distinct sound. The feeling of the pencil or pen touching the paper just isn’t something you can get on the computer. It’s just you and the paper, distractions are gone. You’re free to let your mind wonder and drift. This is something you don’t really get when you’re sitting at the computer with Photoshop and a wacom. When I sit down at the computer to draw I’m expecting or planning to make something worthwhile. With your sketchbook it doesn’t matter if it looks good or not. The goal is to get out as many ideas as possible in a free, low stressed environment. Often times you’ll find that most sketches or ideas are bad, that’s fine. The point of the sketchbook is to clear your mind and get some of these ideas out of your system. And then hopefully those evolve into better ones and it gets you thinking of even newer ideas. If you feel the need to disconnect and get away from your computer but you still have that itch to create, maybe you should go grab yourself a sketchbook.