A Videographer’s Tips: How Storyboards Make for Better Videos

Published: May 18, 2021

Author
Aaron Huskins

Categories:

A videographer is a communicator first and foremost. It’s our job to use what’s in the frame to convey a message to viewers.

Whether it’s by using the perfect camera angles, timing a cut or exploring different lighting techniques so it’s just right, it’s important that your visual storytelling is on point. One of the best ways to help make sure your video is doing that is to use storyboards.

Below, we’ll go over three ways storyboards help take your video to the next level so that you can determine if video production services are right for you.

A Videographer’s Tips: How Storyboards Make for Better Videos

You can ask any videographer: storyboards are one of the most important parts of video production. Here are three ways storyboarding can help your videos hit the mark:

#1. They help you pitch to clients.

Sometimes, clients don’t see the creative vision the way someone in video production does. And no matter how we explain a camera move, animation, or video edit, they just don’t get it.

Storyboarding lessens that language barrier and helps illustrate your idea for them. By drawing it out, you can better direct your client’s imagination toward the picture in your head without the risk of getting something lost in translation.

a simple sketch from a videographer of  three people sitting in a conference room as apart of a storyboard for a video marketing project.

Not only can this help them understand and approve of your concept, but it can also set their expectations up front. Therefore, when you deliver the final video, the product is in line with what they expected.

#2. They ensure your story works.

One of the most common misconceptions I’ve heard for why a videographer doesn’t use storyboards is a worry that it’ll limit their shot list and eliminate room for inspiration on set.

Storyboards aren’t meant to limit you. You can always capture something that you didn’t storyboard for if and when inspiration strikes, but what storyboards do is ensure that your story works.

a simple sketch from a videographer of a man sitting as apart of a storyboard for a video marketing project.

By sketching up your angles and reviewing them in pre-production, you can be certain that, even if inspiration doesn’t strike, you’ll have what you need to tell your story effectively.

For example: Here is a look at how my storyboards for a short film I recently directed, translated to the final edit

#3. They help you time your actions.

Having a concise list of shots that you know will tell your story can help you save time on set. This will limit the amount of coverage you may worry you need. It can also help you time your actions precisely on set.

Creating storyboards before a shoot allows you to test your video’s timing to make sure your pacing works, especially when working with limited runtimes like a 30-second TV spot or music video. This is even more important when creating a video for digital ads.

We recently created a 15 second non-skippable ad for BrandCraft. Here is how a storyboard is used to time each scene and line so it hit the beats I wanted while staying in the 15 second time limit:

Knowing ahead of your shoot that you need to have a line read in three seconds or less to leave optimal room for an end tag, comedic timing, or just to hit a musical beat perfectly can be quite an advantage when directing actors, designing a camera move, or planning a lighting cue.

Conclusion

When you’re drafting up your next video concept, consider drawing up storyboards as well. Whether you need to better illustrate your idea to others, check your shot list for imperfections, or direct your actions so that they hit all their marks when editing, having a video storyboard is crucial.

If you’d like help with video production, find a “videographer near me” at BrandCraft today. We’d love to work with you.

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