I have spent the whole day on Storyboarding again – not working with Gabrielle this time, but planning the shots and ordering them so that next time we meet, I am clear about every single shot and how it will cut with each shot on either side.

I am used to doing a shot list, and this is just a logical extension of that process. But I wanted to organise my shot list alongside the actual boards – which is when I cam e across a superb little program called Springboard. It’s shareware and costs $35. It’s essentially a tool for organising your boards and adding arrows and zoom / dolly lines. It’s not the most sophisticated program, but in this day and age of over developed software, it’s kind of a joy to use.

For me, the real use comes in having a place where you can make an extensive shot list, with production notes, and marry that with storyboard sketches, then print the whole lot out neatly and cleanly. It’s also easy to re—order shots too, should changes be made. Plus it’s got all sorts of drawing tools, which I don’t use, but others probably will.

You can download a trail version from their website at http://6sys.com/

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com