The story
department is charged with planning out the entire movie in sketches
that everyone can understand and work from to make the finished
film. Each story artist tackles one or more sequences in the film
(sometimes two or more artists will work together ona complicated
sequence), creating quick, sequential sketches that are simple and
clear enough to read easily, yet loaded with all kinds of important
information, i.e.: what kind of business the character will be doing,
what their attitude is, exactly what they're saying or singing (or what
sound effects might be used), where they are geographically, what's in
their environment, where the imaginary camera will be placed from shot
to shot (and how or if it moves), how the shot will be lit, what the
tone and mood of each scene should be and how it changes over time, the
general timing and pace of the sequence, and so on. Sometimes,
it's just a matter of visualizing a detailed script; other times, the
story artists have to create entire sequences, characters, and
environments practically from scratch, with minimal guidance.
The story team continues to discuss, draw, pitch, revise and refine
each moment in each sequence in the film many times throughout the
course of production. This ensures that the story is as solid a
foundation as possible, that every department may build and improve
upon. Since story artists have to think about all the elements in the
finished film, they tend to be part illustrators, part writers, part
cinematographers, part editors, and part actors or showmen as they
develop and present their sequences for approval.
