DPHU1006 Chap.4 Previsualisation: Storyboards and Shot Lists
Previsualisation: Storyboards and Shot Lists
Previsualisation is the Week 3 lecture topic and the bridge between a written story and a shoot. It means deciding, on paper, how every moment will be filmed: which shots, from where, for how long and with what sound. Quiz 2, in the Week 6 tutorial, covers Weeks 3 to 5. The course gives this stage concrete documents.
Its production roles checklist asks the director for a lined script, a shot list, visual references and a storyboard made with the cinematographer, and it asks the producer to run a script breakdown and check the lined script for coverage.
Moodle also provides a storyboard template for use in your assessments, with six panels per page and seven fields per panel: time, music, sound effects, description, shot type, camera angle and camera movement. This chapter shows how the documents connect, fills in the template field by field, and builds a shot list for a thirty-second scene with its coverage checked. These documents become assessment evidence later.
The team's production schedule must be updated and uploaded every week before the end of the tutorial, with its locations, cast and crew roles sections due by the end of Week 8 and its props, costumes and gear sections by the end of Week 9. The story outline rubric also rewards images that help the reader imagine the film, and storyboard frames are the natural way to provide them.
Good previsualisation therefore earns marks twice: on paper, and in a smoother shoot.
What this chapter covers
- 01
What previsualisation decides before the camera rolls
- 02
Script breakdown, shot list, storyboard and schedule as one chain
- 03
Coverage and the lined script
- 04
The seven fields of the course storyboard template
- 05
Numbering and timing set-ups in a shot list
- 06
Feeding the team's weekly production schedule
Worked example · free
Filling one storyboard panel completely
- +1Description: he tilts the tag towards the light and reads the address; the dog licks his wrist.
- +1Shot type close-up; camera angle slightly high, over his shoulder; camera movement static.
- +1Time 4 seconds; Music none; SFX the jingle of the tag and distant traffic.
Key terms
- Coverage
- Filming a moment from more than one set-up so the editor has a choice of shots.
- Lined script
- A script marked with vertical lines showing which planned shot records which stretch of action or dialogue.
- Script breakdown
- A list of who and what each scene needs: cast, props, costumes and locations.
- Insert
- A close shot of a detail, such as a screen or a note, cut into a scene to carry information.
- Master shot
- A wide shot that records an entire scene's action from start to finish.
- Production schedule
- The team's working timetable of locations, cast, crew roles, props, costumes and gear, updated each week.
Previsualisation: Storyboards and Shot Lists FAQ
What fields does the course storyboard template use?
Each of the six panels on a page has a frame plus fields for time, music, sound effects, a description, shot type, camera angle and camera movement, under a header with your tutorial time, name, student number and page number.
Do I need to be good at drawing for storyboards?
No. Simple figures are fine as long as the framing, angle and movement are clear and every field is filled in; the storyboard is a communication tool for the crew.
What is the difference between a shot list and a storyboard?
A shot list is a numbered written list of every set-up with its type, angle, movement and length; a storyboard draws those set-ups so the composition and order can be seen.
What is a lined script used for?
It shows coverage at a glance. Each planned shot is drawn as a vertical line down the script across the action or dialogue it will record, so any stretch crossed by only one line is a moment with a single option in the edit.
How many panels should a storyboard have?
There is no fixed number. Draw one panel for every planned shot, so a thirty-second scene with five set-ups needs five panels, and the course template fits six panels on each page.
What is a script breakdown?
A script breakdown goes through the script scene by scene and lists who and what each scene needs: cast, props, costumes, locations and equipment. The course checklist gives this job to the producer, and it feeds the production schedule.
Assessment move
Each week, pick one scene from a film shown in class and storyboard it on the course template, filling every field. Then write a shot list for the same scene and add up the times. Comparing your total with the real scene length shows quickly whether you plan too many shots or too few.
For the Video Project, give every shot a number made of its scene and a letter, 3A, 3B and so on, and use the same numbers on the storyboard, the shot list and the lined script, so the crew can cross-check all three on the shoot day.
