Storyboarding

| Slides |

Why?

A typical show may use a hundred different scenes or combinations of visuals. These need to be carefully planned in advance, before trying to automate the show with Hercules.

When?

Storyboarding can be done while slides are being produced and mounted, and should be completed before they are loaded into carousel trays and taken into the planetarium for automation. The writing and recording of the show script must also be finished before storyboarding is completed. Oftentimes the scripting of the show may be dialectically related to its storyboarding, and the show can be storyboarded (at least in a preliminary form) as it is being written.

What?

Storyboarding is a way of sequentially laying out in pictorial form everything that happens during each successive moment of a show. Imagine that every visual has its own notecard, and that you want to lay out the notecards in the order in which they are used. The “bulletin board” you arrange the notecards on is the “storyboard.” Notecards for visuals that appear together are grouped together in the layout.

Here is a template for a single notecard or storyboard cell:

 

Function
Example
Explanation
Slide Name
Corral

Concise, self-explanatory label
Program slide number
100

Corresponds to program slide list
Tray Slot number
1-79

Indicates where the slide is found in the carousel tray. Essential reference for automation programming of "Find Slide" commands.
On Effect
4N

Suggested automation command.
Off Effect
4F

Suggested automation command.

HINTS:

Putting it all together

  1. Careful planning is not a delay, but a shortcut! If done carefully, when the storyboarding is complete the show is almost ready, even if none of the slides have yet appeared on the planetarium dome!
  2. Arrange storyboard sheets on a portable bulletin board so that a full view of the layout is possible. Secure them with thumbtacks. and carry it to work in the Production Room or Planetarium as needed.
  3. Each cell of a storyboard table represents a notecard as described above. As you fill it out, pencil in the diagonal lines as needed.
  4. Each column represents a particular projector, and indicates when and how it participates in the show. The Configuration List indicates the various abbreviations.
  5. Each row represents a moment in time, or a time period of short duration during which only one set of visuals appears. When working in the automation system, each row will correspond to a single "cue block."
  6. SMPTE: The far left column of the storyboard tracks timecode for the length of the show.
    Note: An estimated value should be available from the left column of the prerecorded show script. The middle column of the show script is in effect a storyboard simplified into one column to work from, and should be updated when the master storyboarding is complete.
  7. Many visuals are visible for more than one row at a time:
    • For each row during which time a visual is visible, pencil in its name in the corresponding column.
    • For the first cell that indicates when a visual begins to come on, fill in the three corner information spaces (On Effect, Program Number, Tray Number).
    • For the last cell that indicates when a visual begins to go off, fill in the lower right corner information space only (Off Effect).
    • To facilitate automation of wait sequences, precede the On or Off effect with a W and the number of seconds to be waited. Example: use W2N3 to indicate a fade on in 3 secs beginning 2 secs after the time code indicated in the time code column. Or use W7F3 in the lower right corner to indicate a fade off in 3 secs, beginning 7 secs after the time code indicated in the time code column (which is the same as beginning the fade off at 2 secs after the image is fully on, if the W2N3 instruction was used).
  8. Time Up
    • No single combination of visuals should be projected for more than ten seconds. (When pans are up for more than 10 seconds then other things will be happening, with projector motion or the pointer, etc.)
    • When scripting the automation file, adjust timings so that visuals appear just before the narration describes them.
    • A slide with words that are meant to be read by the audience should be up as long as it takes to read it out loud three times--and no longer.
  9. Dissolve pairs: Storyboarding notes
    • Panorama and Informational projectors come in A and B dissolve-pairs. Dissolve sequences may involve simply a transition between 2 slides, or the creation of motion effects with multiple slides projecting from alternating dissolve-pair projectors.
    • Remember that if you want to dissolve between two sets of visuals, then the two sets of visuals must be in different trays so that A may dissolve into B or vice versa.
    • To decide in which trays to put a given panorama requires study of the entire show script to ensure that all dissolves will move between alternate projectors.
    • When possible, prefer Pan B projectors for tall pans and Pan A projectors for low scenes. The top half of images projected from the central pan A projector (PCA) are cut off by the projection booth, but this is not the case with PCB.
    • To facilitate automation scripting, identify dissolve pairs by preceding the On or Off effect with a D. Thus DN4 or DF4 indicates a dissolve sequence rather than a simple fade. If you encounter a DF when programming the automation file, you will know to look on the following row, in the column for the complementary A or B projector, for a DN notation.
  10. Dissolve pairs: Show considerations
    • Dissolve transitions are easier on the eyes than rapid fading through black, and provide a visual reinforcement of a transition in the show. They should be timed to occur simultaneously with musical or other soundtrack transitions.
    • See the Wess catalogs for interesting dissolve-sequence effects with masks. There are some extraordinary opportunities for creative choreography here.
    • Dissolved images must maintain continuity of style and consistency of orientation. Not just any dissolve-combination will work. Don't dissolve between vertical and horizontal images, between dark and light backgrounds, between word-slides and art-slides, between viewing angles, etc. Strive to preserve continuity in all dissolve-effects. Note: Dissolve sequences require more precise image alignment, perhaps variable registration mounting.
  11. Word slides: Production hints
    • For recorded shows, it is useful to include dated information (such as a list of the visible planets) on a word slide that may be easily replaced without making it necessary to edit the soundtrack.
    • Word slides may be prepared with PowerPoint presentation software, and then photographed from the computer monitor with a long exposure time.
    • Preserve graphic and stylistic continuity. PowerPoint background templates facilitate this.
    • When preparing word slides, use no more than nine 50-character lines. Characters should be large enough to be legible on the monitor from a distance of 12 feet.
    • Avoid ornate fonts. Maintain font continuity.
    • Mixed case letters are easier to read than all lowercase.
    • Prefer black or dark backgrounds. Avoid pastels.
    • Avoid grey rectangles by using masks and square or circular mounts whenever possible.
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