Storyboards used to be part of the art department’s domain, but can now also fall under the jurisdiction of directors and their assistants. As more people become involved in the storyboard process, there’s ever more room for interpretation. For example, the art department may sign off on a storyboard, but then the director will deliver what some might consider a different version of the original concept.As traditional storyboards transition into motion boards—animated storyboards, complete with character blocking, sets, props and camera moves—there’s a greater need for consistency. Fortunately, there’s also software out there designed to keeps things very specific for the benefit of everyone involved.One example is Antics 3D Pre-Viz, developed in the UK, which meshes well with a program called SketchUp from Google that has become highly popular among production designers for 3D virtual set design. Users can import a virtual SketchUp set—this is done on CSI: New York, for example—and using Antics they can place props, characters, cameras and movement onto that set, creating a moving board, which they can then export back out to the production designers.Art directors are happy with the results, which they say gives them more sway over the final look. “Antics software forges a strong link between production design and storyboarding, allowing an increase in communication between art director and production designer,” says art director Daniel Jennings, who sits on the Art Directors Guild’s Technology Committee.”We don’t believe Antics 3D will replace storyboarding. Rather, it will compliment and enhance the process,” says Fred Medina, Antics’ US sales manager, adding that the software is a more locked in—and animated—tool for illustrating a scene than a conventional storyboard. “The oops factor goes way down,” he says. “It’s an ironclad link between the art department and the storyboard process.”In newer versions of the software, a director or production designer will be able to import images created in Autodesk Maya, animate them in Antics, and then export that back out into Maya, Sketch Up or another program.
Written by Paige Donner
