Story Boarding

In all productions it is really important that before filming starts, a story board has been produced so the whole camera crew know what angles and shots they will be doing on set. A story board consists of rough drawings to outline what the actors will be doing along with some of the dialogue that will be said, however the purpose of the storyboard is to establish the camera angles and shots that will be used in the scene as well as the duration and movements of these camera's. 

In order to storyboard an establishing shot you would draw the shot you would be taking in the planned location and from the correct angle into one of the boxes and then write briefly that it would be a long shot and any movement the camera would be doing, for example panning or a slow zoom to indicate to the cameraman on the day of the shoot exactly what he will be doing. To add extra detail to the plan you can add what kind of lighting will be used and any audio that will be playing in the background. This process will be repeated for every different shot that will be used in a production, whether it is an over the shoulder close up of a conversation or a quick action shot where the camera is free hand and following the actor from afar, ALL camera angles must be planned before hand to prevent any possible confusion. 

Here is an example of a storyboard:

This story board is effective because it shows clearly what the actors will be doing in this scene. The shots are noticeably displayed both in words and the accurate drawings, together with a brief description of the location and context of each shot. Despite such clear sketches this story board does lack the details of the camera movements and the duration of each shot.