Storyboarding/Production Organizers? at DVinfo.net

Christopher C. Murphy · January 16th, 2004, 11:41 AM

Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out the best way to manage film and television projects - I'm a producer/director/writer. Here is what I have and what I'm thinking about getting. Can you share how you manage your projects?

Have:

Final Draft 6 on Mac, Office X on Mac, no decent storyboarding software (but, have a storyboard artist available - i can't draw)

Thinking about getting:

KeynotePro's new Pitchboards:
http://www.keynotepro.com/keynotepro...tchboards.html

I'm not sure what the best management software is out there. I know of Movie Magic and such. But, there must be some other choices for a producer/director/writer ?

Dan Brown · January 16th, 2004, 12:28 PM

Since you have Final Draft 6, it seems like Frame Forge 3D would be a logical addition. It's from the Writer's Store:

http://www.writersstore.com

Frame Forge itself is at:

http://www.writersstore.com/product....id=1725&cPath=.

Hope this helps.

Christopher C. Murphy · January 16th, 2004, 12:37 PM

Yowza, pricey! Do you own it? If so, if you're happy with it..I'll definately consider it. I'd like to hear from someone that owns it and uses it.

I've read a few posts in my travels that mention it. That was a while ago..

Thanks for the post!

Murph

Dan Brown · January 16th, 2004, 12:45 PM

I'm doing my first storyboard right now, but with pencil and paper. Crude to be sure. I would like a product like FrameForge, but my $$ is going toward a NLE, audio gear, and lighting right now. Maybe my next project.

There is brief review of FrameForge in Issue 52, Vol 10 of MovieMaker. It seems really cool, because once you set up a scene, you can look at several camera angles, and movements. It seems like the actual shoot could be highly efficient if all the angles and blocking were 99% done ahead of time.

Christopher C. Murphy · January 16th, 2004, 12:46 PM

Cool, thanks man!

Murph

Nicholi Brossia · January 16th, 2004, 01:25 PM

FrameForge looks like a great program, but according to its website (http://www.frameforge3d.com/purchase.php) the Mac version isn't going to be out until next month. They do offer a PC demo version though, so that would be something to try out. Hopefully the Mac will too.

Rob Belics · January 16th, 2004, 08:24 PM

Frame Forge is pretty neat but I would think a storyboard artist could do it faster. Of course if you were proficient with FF then maybe you could be fast, also.

One valuable tool is the ability to place the camera, select a lens and place props in a room the same size as your studio or what you have available. The lens selector is a great help since it shows how a change in lens affects the foreground/background. However it seems rather pricey for what it does.

Glenn Chan · January 16th, 2004, 11:29 PM

Pixar's Finding Nemo was done on paper. Then they took the sketches and edited it to together with sound FX and temp music to get a better picture of what it was like.

Pencil and paper works and there's no learning curve or bugs (well, hopefully you don't have any in your house!).

James Ball · January 17th, 2004, 03:44 PM

Poser has a huge library of free 3D models on renderosity.com and is fairly cheap for ver 3.x

Poser is Mac and PC and files can be used for the most part across platforms.

Also like most 3d programs you can take location shots and put them up as backdrops in your scene. either as a simple backdrop or projected onto a piece of geometry.

sometimes i print these out in B&W and trace them with a lightbox. then fill in other detai.

looks very professional. people ooh and ahh over them. and i'm an OK doodler at best.

Christopher C. Murphy · January 17th, 2004, 05:57 PM

These are great suggestions! Thanks everybody..

Murph

John Locke · January 17th, 2004, 07:38 PM

Pitchboard is basically the same as PowerPoint and Keynote.

Frame Forge looks interesting, but I'd want to take it for a test run before buying it.

Christopher, I saw a storyboard once where the guy took his digital still camera to the locations where he wanted to shoot, brought along a couple of friends to pose...then put all the stills together to create a slide show. Pretty effective, actually.

As for production management software, the only one I've seen that appears worth anything is Gorilla. It's got lots of features but is pricey...and to be honest, at that price I like to see a program that "looks" professionally-made. Gorilla looks to me like it was programmed professionally, but then due to budget constraints, they let their kids do the layout and design. Too bad. A professional look tells me that they're committed to constantly improving and upgrading their product. A shoddy appearance makes me think otherwise.

January 16th, 2004, 11:41 AM	#1
Christopher C. Murphy Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,707	Storyboarding/Production Organizers? Hi all, I'm trying to figure out the best way to manage film and television projects - I'm a producer/director/writer. Here is what I have and what I'm thinking about getting. Can you share how you manage your projects? Have: Final Draft 6 on Mac, Office X on Mac, no decent storyboarding software (but, have a storyboard artist available - i can't draw) Thinking about getting: KeynotePro's new Pitchboards: http://www.keynotepro.com/keynotepro...tchboards.html I'm not sure what the best management software is out there. I know of Movie Magic and such. But, there must be some other choices for a producer/director/writer ? __________________ Christopher C. Murphy Director, Producer, Writer

January 16th, 2004, 12:28 PM	#2
Dan Brown Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 235	Since you have Final Draft 6, it seems like Frame Forge 3D would be a logical addition. It's from the Writer's Store: http://www.writersstore.com Frame Forge itself is at: http://www.writersstore.com/product....id=1725&cPath=. Hope this helps. __________________ dB

January 16th, 2004, 12:37 PM	#3
Christopher C. Murphy Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,707	Yowza, pricey! Do you own it? If so, if you're happy with it..I'll definately consider it. I'd like to hear from someone that owns it and uses it. I've read a few posts in my travels that mention it. That was a while ago.. Thanks for the post! Murph __________________ Christopher C. Murphy Director, Producer, Writer

January 16th, 2004, 12:45 PM	#4
Dan Brown Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 235	I'm doing my first storyboard right now, but with pencil and paper. Crude to be sure. I would like a product like FrameForge, but my $$ is going toward a NLE, audio gear, and lighting right now. Maybe my next project. There is brief review of FrameForge in Issue 52, Vol 10 of MovieMaker. It seems really cool, because once you set up a scene, you can look at several camera angles, and movements. It seems like the actual shoot could be highly efficient if all the angles and blocking were 99% done ahead of time. __________________ dB

January 16th, 2004, 12:46 PM	#5
Christopher C. Murphy Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,707	Cool, thanks man! Murph __________________ Christopher C. Murphy Director, Producer, Writer

January 16th, 2004, 01:25 PM	#6
Nicholi Brossia Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 389	FrameForge looks like a great program, but according to its website (http://www.frameforge3d.com/purchase.php) the Mac version isn't going to be out until next month. They do offer a PC demo version though, so that would be something to try out. Hopefully the Mac will too. __________________ Nicholi Brossia

January 16th, 2004, 08:24 PM	#7
Rob Belics Major Player Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 581	Frame Forge is pretty neat but I would think a storyboard artist could do it faster. Of course if you were proficient with FF then maybe you could be fast, also. One valuable tool is the ability to place the camera, select a lens and place props in a room the same size as your studio or what you have available. The lens selector is a great help since it shows how a change in lens affects the foreground/background. However it seems rather pricey for what it does.

January 16th, 2004, 11:29 PM	#8
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Pixar's Finding Nemo was done on paper. Then they took the sketches and edited it to together with sound FX and temp music to get a better picture of what it was like. Pencil and paper works and there's no learning curve or bugs (well, hopefully you don't have any in your house!).

January 17th, 2004, 03:44 PM	#9
James Ball Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sulphur, LA Posts: 61	Storyboarding with Poser Poser has a huge library of free 3D models on renderosity.com and is fairly cheap for ver 3.x Poser is Mac and PC and files can be used for the most part across platforms. Also like most 3d programs you can take location shots and put them up as backdrops in your scene. either as a simple backdrop or projected onto a piece of geometry. sometimes i print these out in B&W and trace them with a lightbox. then fill in other detai. looks very professional. people ooh and ahh over them. and i'm an OK doodler at best.

January 17th, 2004, 05:57 PM	#10
Christopher C. Murphy Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,707	These are great suggestions! Thanks everybody.. Murph __________________ Christopher C. Murphy Director, Producer, Writer

January 17th, 2004, 07:38 PM	#11
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	Pitchboard is basically the same as PowerPoint and Keynote. Frame Forge looks interesting, but I'd want to take it for a test run before buying it. Christopher, I saw a storyboard once where the guy took his digital still camera to the locations where he wanted to shoot, brought along a couple of friends to pose...then put all the stills together to create a slide show. Pretty effective, actually. As for production management software, the only one I've seen that appears worth anything is Gorilla. It's got lots of features but is pricey...and to be honest, at that price I like to see a program that "looks" professionally-made. Gorilla looks to me like it was programmed professionally, but then due to budget constraints, they let their kids do the layout and design. Too bad. A professional look tells me that they're committed to constantly improving and upgrading their product. A shoddy appearance makes me think otherwise. __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com