Barry Cook Former Effects Animator, Director and Story Development Artist Walt Disney Feature Animation and other Studios. Q: What background skills do Storyboard artists need to be successful? What would you tell a student to do to prepare themselves for this profession (or just to be good at storyboarding for their own films)? Training? Books? Lectures? Websites? Other Sources or kinds of experiences? Barry Cook: Above drawing and the rest, the greatest single attribute of a successful story artist is Imagination. Applying imagination to story boarding is easier said than done but ultimately the imaginative story teller will see more of their work on the screen. Movies, comics, graphic novels and manga are a great starting point to see what others are doing, but the goal is originality. Q: Are there special characteristics that you find professional story artists have in common. What makes the successful ones successful? Is great story telling ability or humor something one can learn or is it an innate skill that some people have and others do not? Barry Cook: I believe some people are born storytellers. My grandmother, for example was one. Her stories were usually real events told with embellishments. Her manner of telling stories was captivating and compelling.
Humor is often a natural inclination, we all know the class clown I was one. One of my greatest thrills in high school was to make people laugh. I ve grown more serious with age (responsibilities tend to do that) but I still get a kick out of causing someone to crack up. If one has a desire to tell stories, most likely they possess the talent at some level. Q: What is your top ten list of must see movies to help a person understand good film/animation-film construction and story telling? (to make one a better storyboard artist) Barry Cook: The Kid (Chaplin s), Lawrence of Arabia, High Noon, What s Opera Doc (Maurice Noble s short masterpiece). Seven Samurai, Alls quite on the Western Front, The Cameraman (Buster Keaton), Witness, My Neighbor Totoro. All of these are great examples of stories told visually. Q: Do you have any favorite sequences what are they? Barry Cook: Once of my favorite movie sequences is the barn building scene from Witness, but I must say much of its impact comes from Maurice Jarre s incredible score. A recent favorite is the chase in Children of Men. It is one continuous take but the camera moves to frame separate shots within the sequence. This movie really brings the audience into the world and the experience of the characters.
Q: Have you looked at any student story boards? What do you think is most often lacking in them? What were some of the big lessons you learned when you first began as a new hire story artist? Barry Cook: The number one thing I see lacking in neophyte story artists work is acting. The audience must be clear on what the character is feeling. One of a couple of things is usually the problem. Either the artist is trying to be too clever with camera angles or he/she is struggling with their ability to draw. It is important to develop a simple drawing style that CLEARLY communicates the ideas one is trying to get across. Q: How much freedom do you have to interpret how a scene is to be presented? Are you encouraged to explore unique and adventurous solutions to story telling problems or are you given very specific guidelines and expectations. Barry Cook: This depends, a couple of factors that will certainly come into play will be the director and his/her wishes for story input and the experience level of the artist. We all start at the bottom. In large studios, there is often executive interference with the creative forces so it is a common struggle to find your voice as a story artist. I will say that great ideas are seldom in debate. Everyone knows a good thing when they see it.
Q: Can you describe your process? Do you thumbnails, what drawing materials do you use? Do you do key shots first and then work in between or do you work straight ahead. Barry Cook: I tend to get key images down first then build the continuity around those ideas. The most traditional tool of the trade is a China Marker on paper. Most artists currently are drawing using digital devices. I scan and rework a lot of sketches in Photoshop but I like to start on paper. Q: What do you find are the main obstacles you have to overcome when you are storyboarding a scene? (in order to avoid the scene from being boring, confusing, too complicated, etc.?) Barry Cook: The best advice is not mine but comes from writer/director David Mamet who defined the process quite succinctly in his recent book Bambi vs. Godzilla. He writes, If you want to know if a scene is playing ask three questions, Who wants what? What happens if they don t get it? Why now? Many screenwriting gurus have given the same basic advice but I like Mamet s simple approach to analyzing the problem.
Q: How would you describe the difference between story boarding for film and any other kind of sequential artwork like comic books or book illustration? Barry Cook: Will Eisner s book Graphic Storytelling has a great section on this topic. The basic difference is that more sequential drawings and more drawing of detailed action are required for animation storyboards over comic art and illustration. Q: How would you describe the difference between story boarding for animation and Live Action? Barry Cook: Live action boards focus more on camera angles and shot to shot continuity than animation boards. The acting, which is vital in animation boarding, is really unnecessary in live action boards. Also in animation there is a layout phase where specific camera angles and continuity can be perfected. Q: What are some of the tricks you use to prevent pitfalls - to keep your ideas and images fresh and dynamic? Barry Cook: It is so easy to fall back on something you have seen or done before. It s requires a lot of thought to find a fresh approach. I don t think there are any tricks just a lot of drawing and redrawing, thinking and rethinking. Q: How do you research or find ideas when fresh ideas are not coming easily? How do you wake up your brain, get inspired, and solve that artist s block problem? Barry Cook: I ll often stop drawing and start writing. This works well for me. I ask, How can I describe this moment in words? Usually the images follow.
Q: How much do you do by yourself and how much do you work in a team? Do you think about story structure a lot or do you just work intuitively and refine things later? Barry Cook: I am a serious believer and student of story structure for feature projects. For a short film it is not as important but every story (every joke) has a beginning middle and an end. Dealing with story structure cannot be avoided. Q: Do you worry about editing transitions (fades and cross dissolves) or match cuts and pans at your stage of the process? Barry Cook: Only if there is a specific need for a transition to communicate an idea. Q: What would you say about staging? Are there any basic principles that you apply to your work? Barry Cook: CLARITY, CLARITY, CLARITY. Q: How many times are you likely to re-draw your original drawings in other words, approximately how many drawings do you actually make before you complete one 100 panel story sequence? Barry Cook: On average, I suppose it s about 3 to one for me (not counting complete reboarding for story changes). I start very rough using near scribbles. The ideas are more important that the drawings. I can go back and make a pretty picture later but at times you need the end of your pencil to keep up with your thoughts.
Q: Do you think of yourself as actor, cameraman, editor, designer and/or all of these things in your job? Have I left anything out? Barry Cook: One thing, a storyteller. Q: How much do you think about the emotional content of your story as well as the specific action or event? Barry Cook: What do I want the audience to feel? is a central question, Great stories work on an emotional plane not an intellectual one. Q: How important is presentation? Do you refine your drawings a lot before they are presented to the bosses? Barry Cook: Again this depends on the boss. Mark Henn had a great way of putting his animation ideas down quickly so that he could get input before spending a lot of time on an idea. If one s boards are clear, they really don t need to look gorgeous. Q: Who are your heroes (past and/or present) in the storyboarding world? Barry Cook: Bill Peet, Chris Sanders & Hayo Miazaki. (no particular order)
Q: What about drawing? Do you draw any from observation, photo and film references? Do you find you have to overstate the action, acting, etc in order for it to read in the storyboard or do you leave that problem to be solved by the animator? Barry Cook: I advise students to draw constantly (personally I set a bad example). I would not advise leaving the acting to the animators for a simple reason, if it is not clear in boards what your characters are feeling, the scene will never get to the animators. Q: Same with issues like lighting and atmosphere and environment do you need to address these or is that Layout s domain? Barry Cook: As part of the story, the board artists will need to address atmosphere and environments just don t get too caught up in it. Hey, this was fun. B.C,