Animatics: The Moving Storyboards of Episode I

We start with a storyboard, drawn by Art Department artist Jay Shuster, who has created many of the real Episode I storyboards. Jay's artwork illustrates the different elements of the shot and indicates movement by an arrow and the placement of the soldier figure at both his starting and ending positions. The shot is a pan to the right, so Jay's storyboard is stretched to include the camera's start and finish positions.

When it comes time to edit the scene in which this shot appears, if the editors need something immediately, we may provide them with a brief video clip of the storyboard itself. We simply pan across the drawing to approximate the final shot. This introduces the dimension of time to the storyboard, giving it duration for use in the rough cut. But the dynamics and movement of the shot remain to be worked out.

An animatic can pick up where the storyboard approximation leaves off, adding the elements of full movement to help the editors tell how the shot will feel when it is complete. An animatic also may suggest additional aspects or elements that will improve the shot.