To hone the creative skills needed to be a master visual story-teller, it’s easiest to begin with simple visual drawings. No expensive equipment needed! Beginning Film School students are usually given assignments like this.
In another article about visual story-telling, I gave a list of ten possible story lines. We picked out three and illustrated them as examples.
Here’s a rendition of story #2; hungry dog steals a bigger dog’s bone.
In the first frame, the dog is obviously hungry because he’s staring at his empty food bowl, he has a pitiful expression on his face and he’s fantasizing about a tasty fish. You can also see his ribs, which makes him a chronically hungry dog. In the next frame, you see a beefy dog named Killer, sound asleep. Without the sound effect of the snoring, it might be difficult to tell killer is asleep. Oops, we’re cheating a little, but that’s okay!
Because Killer is asleep, it makes it possible for Fido to snatch the bone easily. This ensures the story won’t get bogged down in a dog fight, nor does Fido have to do anything complicated. Both of those scenarios would make the story move beyond three to six pictures. In this case, only four shots were needed and one of the truisms of video production is shorter is always better. Be concise and tell your story as quickly as possible.
Do you think the story of our canines would be more visually interesting if the final frame were a close-up of happy Fido instead of a WS? Would the story be told as well if frame #3 were a close-up with Killer cropped out? These are all things for the visual story-teller to think about.
Here’s scenario #6, teenager aces test after studying all night. This one was almost too easy!
The close-up of the calendar sets up the story. The obviously freaked-out students fearing an F- speaks to most of us. But how do you convey to your viewer she spent all night studying without any dialogue? That’s easy too. Just place her desk near a window where the viewer can see it change from night to dawn. The rooster is for humor and reinforces the idea of dawn. Taking the test is quite a harrowing experience for our girl but the A+ grade and her happy expression are simple to understand. As the video producer, you’d have to think of these details before you shoot so you can have all the needed props on hand.
To be critical, is it obvious what frame #5 is about or do you need to see the wide-shot of her in a classroom? Would frame #6 be better if it were broken into two shots, a CU of her grade and a CU of her face? Or does the A+ stand out well enough without the CU? Notice how the two MS of her studying work together because they are the same medium-shot scope.
Since #6 was so easy, let’s also do #7, which seems to me to be the most difficult. How do we know our hospital patient is terminal?
The machine next to his bed flat lining is instantly recognizable and it has to be done in a CU so the viewer concentrates on it and thinks “life and death†and not “gee, there’s a lot of expensive stuff in a hospital room.â€
In the third shot, the angel pops in to provide the miracle and the machine goes from flat line to a heart beat. The expression on his face tells you he’s recovered!
Was the CU of the angel in panel #4 necessary? Does the CU of the machine make sense? Was it wise to end on an ECU of our man or should it have been a WS with family and friends? As the producer, it’s your call. What’ll it be?
If you’re serious about increasing your visual story-telling skills, practice this exercise as much as possible. It’s fun, easy and really makes you think! Keeping it down to three to six pictures makes sure you get into the habit of ensuring that each shot really counts. Just like good writing is concise and every word is necessary, so it is with good visual story-telling. If the shot doesn’t add information for the viewer, leave it out. Here is a blank, six panel template for your practicing pleasure.
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