Previsualization is an essential tool in both animation and live action filmmaking. Whether it is a feature film or a commercial, a television show or a short film, it's critical that storyboarding is the first directorial step of translating the written word to the screen. In a medium where collaboration is the norm, a story artist inherently becomes one of the most influential figures in a film's production, as every department builds upon the foundation of their work. In this course, we will go over the building blocks of visual storytelling and traditional filmmaking, culminating in a final project at the end of the semester. Lectures and screenings will explore the tenets of story structure, visual language, film grammar, and performance, all of which will be integrated into weekly assignments that exercise tried and true techniques of storyboarding method. The lessons in this course will give you a firm understanding of the art of storyboarding as it applies to the film and animation industry, and also a greater understanding of how to visually communicate with a level of clarity that you had not known before.

Elective