How I approach film studies

Most people know about film studies, and most storyboard artists will try this exercise at least once. The idea behind it is simple enough, you pick a film and do a quick sketch of every shot. This way you go through a sequence or even an entire film. I've done this quite a few times now, and I want to share some of my observations with you. Things like how I approach these studies, and lessons I learned from past mistakes. 

The first time I became aware of this exercise was through a blogpost by Emma Coats. (I'm guessing that this was the introduction for many people.) Actually I did do filmstudies prior to reading that post, but I never went much further than drawing out a couple of shots. The idea to sketch out every shot of an entire film never occurred to me.

After I read Emma's post, I went and boarded out What Lies Beneath in it's entirety. (WLB is a personal favorite, and I believe this film is actually a bit under-appreciated) A hell of a job, that took me more than a year. I filled up 41 large sheets, all with about 30-40 panels. After completing WLB I began working on Ratatouille. I did quite a bit of that one but when I got to that first long sequence in the kitchen I ran out of steam. 

Why it didn't work
There are a few reasons I didn't continue with Ratatouille. Just like I did with WLB, I would sit down for about an hour and a half at a time, to do these studies. So I would actually do quite a lot of panels in one go. But after such a session I'd feel a bit roughed up. I would draw these from my tv, and I'd sit down on the ground, with my sketchbook on the coffee-table. Even though I'd use a laptop stand to put my sketchbook at an angle this was pretty tough on my neck and back. So it was difficult to find a rhythm, since after a sketch session I didn't feel like getting back to it for a few days.

Another reason was, that I'd do so many panels in one session that the exercise sort of missed its mark at times. The main idea of doing these studies is that you start to focus on the details of filmmaking. That you really start to see how the underlying mechanics work. But if you sit down for a long time doing multiple pages of these sketches, they start to blend into each other a little bit. Also, once again the rhythm is very important. If you do these daily, or at least twice a week, you'll start to notice recurring elements, shot progression, angles, etc. 

After abandoning Ratatouille, sort of -I'd never actively decided to stop with that film, but at a certain point I just didn't come back to it- I'd do the occasional session where I'd study single shots from films, or maybe a short scene. But for some time I didn't do longer exercises focussing on a larger part of a film.

Daily Warm-Ups
It was my friend Dirk van Dulmen, who introduced me to the idea of doing filmstudies as a warm-up. He told me that he likes to start his working days doing 1 or 2 pages of studies (occasionally he'll do a third page if he is really into it). So I've been doing that for a while now, and it really works. After doing a couple of those pages I'm all warmed-up and ready to go.

Dirk also told me that he prefers to treat these studies, as if he is boarding out an assigned scene. This includes stuff like A and B poses. This is a fundamental difference from Emma's approach, she draws only one panel per shot and only when there is a camera movement will she draw a second panel. (usually the first and last frame of the shot) 

So about a year ago I set out to do Jaws. I'll do these studies every day, working my way through the film 2 or 3 pages at a time. At first I drew out panels by hand, but I noticed I wasn't always accurate and it is important to get the aspect ratio precise. So now I just print out A4 sheets with 10 panels on 'em. It's more accurate and a lot faster too. Usually I'll stick to the 2 pages per day, but sometimes when I'm in the middle of a fast shot and don't want to pick it up there the next day I'll do a few extra panels. Or, when I'm almost done with a sequence I might just finish it, so that I can start a new one the next session. (An example of this is shown on top of this post, which shows the third page I did today)

How I do these studies

For me the most important thing to keep in mind is that these are studies. If a panel turns out really cool I might share it on Instagram, but the objective is not to do pretty drawings. I mess up this stuff all the time. A few weeks ago I was doing the scene where Brody and Hooper try to convince the mayor to close the beaches on Independence Day. Now I really like drawing that mayor, but I'd draw the other two guys too big, or too small. Then in the next panel I'd focus on them and I'd totally mess up that mayor. Super frustrating!

But I try not too care. Unless a drawing turns out absolutely unclear, I'll just leave it and go to the next one. Some days it costs me a lot of effort to draw a half decent panel. It doesn't matter. Nobody will be seeing these, and again it is not about the pretty drawings.

Even if I get really into it I stick to the rhythm of two pages a day. It's the best way to keep going. Also, by keeping the sessions bite-size, things begin to stand out. Like how I've begun to notice that Spielberg is using shots that feel like a POV, but really they aren't. Or how he likes to open a scene on a small detail before cutting, or backing up to a more traditional wider establishing shot. 

When doing these studies I focus on: composition, camera position /angle, lighting, continuity & shot progression /editing. I'll make little notes if something stands out to me. I might write down: 'POV' or 'Reaction'. Sometimes I'll write down some dialogue if it's particularly important to the action on screen. If a camera set-up is re-used I'll mar the shot 'RE'. I try to avoid drawing arrows in the frame (just as I would, if this was an assigned sequence), but if something comes into, or goes out of the frame I might draw an arrow marked 'In' or 'Out'. I do draw arrows outside the frame to indicate camera movement.

Tools
I work on basic A4-sized printer paper. I like the paper made by Xerox, because there is some coating on it and if I use a marker it doesn't mess up the ink underneath so much. 

I primarily use a black pen to draw with. Currently I'm using a Uni Ball Eye fine. I draw directly in ink, no pencil sketches underneath. To put in blacks I use a Tombow Brush Pen and occasionally I'll use a Copic marker to to add some tone or color. Not to make things fancy, but to enhance clarity. For some (under) water shots I might add blue to indicate that we are in the water. Sometimes I'll color an element to keep track of it. Like the yellow airbed of the boy who gets eaten at the beach, and in the Independence Day sequence I colored in Brody's uniform with a cool grey because he is often small in the frame and I want  him to stand out.   

I'm currently working from a version I bought on iTunes. I view it in Quicktime because it allows me to scroll frame-to-frame. I you decide to work from Netflix this is not an option, and if you pause it you'll quickly get that annoying pop-up screen. Also if you work from a Netflix film keep in mind that it might disappear before you're done.

I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions about my approach, or if you are doing your own studies and feel like sharing, please leave a comment!