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Storyboarding with an iPhone? - Hitchcock Directs!
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Is there anything the iPhone can't do?
Every good filmmaker knows that pre-production is critical to the success of a well-run film. Planning, planning, planning will make all the difference when it comes to Day One of your shoot. One big component of these efforts should be an in-depth storyboarding. Who stands where? Which way is the extra walking? The camera should go...here. It's this pre-visualization that will save you time and money when you hit the set and start rolling.
There are a bunch of storyboarding software options out there or you could shoot the locations with a basic point-n-shoot with stand-ins and build something from scratch.
I'm currently working on a film titled SHADOW ANGEL with a few friends - including the name-sharing-but-way-older DP, Chris Smith. A few days ago we visited one of our scenes, Comic Outpost, to work on camera angels, take photos and punch Batman in the face. Older Chris Smith (OCS), being the well-prepared DP that he is, built out the scenes using some a basic storyboarindg software. These looked great and certainly helped get us oriented. He also brought his archaic camcorder to use as a camera stand-in to allow our director, Heather Donnell, to eyeball the composition. We also had a still camera to supplement the video camera. Our iPhones were there to keep us company. But they could have been doing so much more.
The new iPhone app Hitchcock from a company named Cinemek is positioned to simplify and enhance the on-site storyboarding process. Basically, it's storyboarding using your iPhone. Simply take photos with your iPhone and use the app to build your scenario. Rearrange, delete and crop the photos to get the scenes you want. Annote them, set times and add camera moves. Build it - play it back - hate it - redo it -- better - do it again - like it - done.
Especially cool is the ability to add audio notes to the scene. Plug in dialog, add music/audio suggestions or extemporaneous thoughts. Export the final product as a PDF and email it to producers and crew.
It looks pretty amazing. Fast, flexible and almost certain to capture moments of inspiration and increase efficiency. I'm wonding about the learning curve but at $19.99, I'm not going to be the one to find out how hard it is to use.
Reviews have been very positive - my favorite being "The only thing that's missing is a distribution deal." from iTunes user 321istaken.
VIA Cinemek:
Hitchcock is the worlds first mobile story boarding application. With Hitchcock you can have your first story board up and running in a matter of minutes. Hitchcock streamlines the process of storyboarding by allowing you to compose storyboards using photos rather than the tedious hand drawing process. This allows professionals and students to portray their vision to others in a easily controllable and transportable format
See for yourself: http://www.cinemek.com/hitchcock/
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