How to make a digital storyboard

By: Jules Verne

STEP 1

Decide on the story you want to tell from novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

The story about the main characters in this novel – the characters that have a strong role in this

novel like Professor Lidenbrock, Axel Lidenbrock, Hans Bjelke, Grauben and Martha.

The story about an event in the novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth - One of the significant

events is when the scientist Otto Lidenbrock finds an old journal with instructions on how to get to

the center of the Earth and follows them, facing and overcoming many dangers but not actually

getting to the center.

STEP 2

Start collecting materials.

Images can be from student’s personal files, or from the Internet. If student use public images from

the Internet, they should be copyright-free. It is useful to have a lesson on Copyright before student

start downloading images and music for their digital story. I’m collecting the image related to

Journey to the Centre of the Earth from Internet.

STEP 3

Begin writing script.

Depending on the amount of time you have, student develop their story through a process writing

approach (drafts, editing, rewriting). Teacher conferencing and peer feedback can be utilized at this

stage. Resist the temptation to take the easy way out and create a story with only images and music.

People want to hear a personal voice.

Get personal - Forget everything you’ve been taught about using a dispassionate, authoritative,

essay-like voice. This isn’t an essay contest. People want to hear your voice. The story must be told

from your point of view.

Write lousy first drafts - Don’t edit as you go. Editing and writing use different parts of the brain. Let

it spill out. Get the main elements of your story down on paper, then go back and edit later.

Read your script aloud as you’re fine-tuning it. Eschew big, fancy words (like “eschew”); use plain

speech.

Look for a narrative arc for your story - All stories have a beginning, middle and end. The beginning

tells the premise of your story: it sets up the dramatic tension that should hold throughout the story.

The middle outlines conflicts along the way. The end is the destination, revealing a small discovery,

revelation, or insight.
Work on the pace - Many consider pacing to be the true secret of successful storytelling. The rhythm

and tempo of a story is what sustains an audience’s interest.

STEP 4

Prep your equipment.

1. A desktop computer or laptop.

2. Video software such as Apple iMovie, Adobe Final Cut Pro or Express, Adobe Premiere or

another software application designed to help you tell stories.

Additionally, if you plan to record interviews, you’ll need:

1. A recording device: for video, a camcorder; for audio, a portable digital recorder (preferably)

or an analog cassette recorder (if you use analog video or audio, you’ll need to convert it to

digital).

2. A handheld microphone for audio interviews (optional).

3. Headphones (optional).

STEP 5

Create a storyboard.

Professionals have used storyboards for decades to plot out the sequences of events that unfold in a

movie, TV show, cartoon or commercial. This is where you’ll plot out your visual materials to make

them align with your voice-over. (Some people feel more comfortable plotting out the images first

before beginning the script — go with what works for you.)

I will use no more than 15 images and no more than two minutes of video. As a general rule, four to

six seconds is the ideal time for an image to appear on screen, though feel free to linger longer on a
few key images. A handful of good images makes a more powerful story than a scattershot of

random photos that fail to connect to the narration. If you get stalled writing your script, try jotting

down thoughts on an index card next to an image and let the cards serve as your script. Just write

one true thing, and the rest of the words will flow.

STEP 6

Recording narrated story.

Students need to know that a good recording is crucial to making an effective digital story. Lots of

oral reading practice and pronunciation help can make a big difference at this stage. Students

should also know that they may need to record and re-record until they get the recording that they

are happy with! The author's voice should be the emotional conduit for viewers to experience the

informationor story being told. It is highly recommended that voiceovers be created first as separate

audio files to focus on the art of creating a storytelling voice.

STEP 7

Creating rough cut FIRST.

It is useful to organize the Post-Production steps along with learning technical features within in two

stages called ROUGH CUT and FINAL CUT versions of the product. The rough-cut step provides the

author with a FIRST view of the story sequence - made up by inserting the voiceover, guest voices

first along with sequencing images/video and titles. It is a rough cut of how the story will flow. NO

transitions, special effects, fine-tuning the durations, or adding music/sounds yet. General feedback

about tone and design from teachers and peers can be very useful at the ROUGH CUT stage.
STEP 8

Create the FINAL CUT.

If the ROUGH CUT generally flows for you, begin fine-tuning the additional digital elements

considered the FINAL CUT stage. Titles, openings, closings, special effects, and transitions provide a

world of playful creativity for designing powerful communication that immerses the viewer in your

thinking and experiences. Plan for credits that identify dedications along with citing the specific

resources used to create the digital story. Add music and sound effects LAST according to the

storyboarding plan! If you modify any of the other elements, it changes the timing of the music's

entry, exit and fades, etc.