Multimedia Storyboard Tools for Film and TV

Multimedia authoring tools such as have already made an impact in previsualisation and storyboarding for more tradition media such as film and commercial production.

Advertising companies such as Jordan McGrath Case & Taylor, Saatchi & Saatchi, J. Walter Thompson, D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles have used HyperCard, ScratchPad & MacRecorder for prototype TV commercials.

Macromind Director is another popular tool for the production of animated storyboards. It was used to previsualize a number of scenes for the Star Trek V movie. Storyboards can be printed directly from the package.

And Virtus Walkthrough Pro is one of the most popular tools among Holywood directors for previsualising camera moves. (Eric Holsinger, MacWeek Guide to Desktop Video, Emeryville, CA, 1993, p.141).

With the interactive games industry grossing yearly profits in excess of those from film, many film studios are getting interested in interactive media, since the resources in terms of hardware requirements and production talent overlap considerably between the two industries. This trend is supported by the investment of Japanese computer corporations such as Sony in Holywood studios. Practically every studio in Hollywood and television companies like ABC (News) and the BBC have set up units to explore the potential of interactive media.

The practice of using interactive media for product previsualisation and storyboarding is not widespread but the reported benefits in terms of time and other cost savings resulting from more careful planning are significant. And this applies as much to all the consultants, market researchers, designers and training companies involved in media production as to large and small commercial studios and public relations and advertising agencies.

See also Steven D. Katz, Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen, 1994 (exact reference to follow).