Story Boarding Novels & Stories

No sooner did my ass hit my chair than the new guy, Carlos, hired the other day to do storyboards for a new campaign, also visible from my desk, seemed to go into something of a panic. “What’s up, Carlos?” I asked, inching into his cubicle to see if I could help. He looked up at me wide-eyed. “I can’t find the tag-sheet,” he gasped. The guy was a little high strung. “The what?” I asked, keeping my voice down.

Just like how we went on our own trip to visit the market and dog meat farms, the other teams had their own way to conduct their own research to gather both information and inspiration. Various storylines were presented in many differing ways in captivating storyboards. Although the storyboards were rough and no where as detailed as the final version, it already gave me a good idea of what the teams had in mind. As the presenter described each scene of the storyboard, I could picture a very vivid commercial running through my head. It was an amazing experience. “My turn now,” I said as I stood up from my seat when it was finally my turn.

“What’s that?” Damien looked up, surprised for half a second, like he’d forgotten there was a world outside his notes. He pushed the folder toward her. She flipped it open. Storyboards. Location snaps. A scribbled cast list. A short script, barely fifteen pages. No big name directors. No corporate funding. “Damien?” He watched her read. “I started it a while ago. Back when you were still… away. I didn’t know if we’d ever do it, but I kept working on it anyway.”

He stands when he sees me and smiles easily. “You made it.” “Sorry I’m late,” I reply, taking my seat. “No worries. I ordered you a flat white. Figured you might need it.” We order food. Simple things, soup for me, sandwich for him, and he turns the laptop so I can see what's on the screen. The screen fills with storyboards, rough scripts, and mood boards. There are eight versions, just like he said. Each one takes my painting and builds a different world around it. And it is as he described it, a love letter to new artists.

I get my phone from my table and messaged Eloisa. Lou: Hey girl! Can you please ask Gio about the shooting? Ask him when will be his free time so we can set a date for the shoot? I need an answer ASAP She immediately saw my message to her and type. Eloisa: Noted on that, boss. I waited for a while. While waiting, I sit down on my vanity table and get a notebook and pen. I wrote down all the shots we need including the scenes I’ve imagined. I also make a storyboard days ago so if they will help me with the cinematography, I am just going to show it to them.

It could be a boring morning but a boring morning meeting that was necessary. My afternoon schedule was a lot more fun. I had this advertisement storyboard review with the vendor and our marketing team. So, pretty much talking to creatives and reaffirming expectations. I still didn’t know which tone I should advocate for; elegant, serious, or funny? Since our target customers were young, maybe a more upbeat, colorful, energetic tone could be the right pick. And after we finished with the storyboard, they might show me the choices of a model to be featured in the ads. That was the fun part since I didn’t have to think much. I just had to use some instinct.