Using Blender for Storyboarding

Howdy all!

I am weak at describing what I want visually in a film, or even a picture, verbally. I’ve never been able to do it without it becoming a complicated yet diluted version of what’s really in my head. This is where the art of drawing and storyboarding comes to save the day.

If you’ve never heard of what a storyboard is, here is the Wikipedia description - “A storyboard is a graphic organiser that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence.”

Here’s the kicker, I’m dogs*** at drawing. But ultimately, that doesn’t matter, you can use stickmen if you need to, just as long as the description underneath covers the questions that might be raised from the drawing.

So, what about your short films? Did I draw the storyboard for that? Not exactly. In 2020, I learned to use a 3d program called Blender. Blender is a free animation program with a large learning curve. But once you have the basics sorted, the world is your oyster. From that, I created a layout of the locations we will use, colour coordinated actors with basic key features to differentiate them further, and the camera placements on Blender to create a working storyboard! Using Blender for Storyboarding has been so useful for me and my cack handed ways!

I used Blender to storyboard Moustache Man! The tool was also key to explore movement and direction in the locations without visiting them due to lockdown, but more on that in another article soon.

Here is a shot example I created on Blender while talking to my DoP, you can see how basic and yet effective it is -

And here is the shot from the film!!!

I really loved comparing the two, it really highlights how needed imagery and storyboarding. And it would definitely benefit you as well, even if you aren’t great at describing what you want visually as well. It also highlights how good a job DoP's do!

Maybe I’ll do another article really going into using storyboarding, and even Blender, on Moustache Man!

Storyboarding and using image references are even more necessary at the beginning of your filmmaking journey, as a lot of what you imagine doesn’t always get remembered, or even shared to those you are working with, making the whole process that much more stressful. And who needs more stress when making something?

Do you have any questions about storyboarding or making films in general? Then ask away via sean@seanjyoung.com or DM me on Instagram @sjyoungcreative. Sean x