The Art Of The Storyboard Diorama

[JohnReid]

The Camel is situated at the back right hand corner of the diorama.I placed it here for close viewer inspection.The guns of course are the big attraction here.They are meant to look like they are fake and made from tin or wood and are brightly painted.This is for a lot of viewers the first time that they would have seen a WW1 aircraft fuselage up close.The radial engine is especially interesting for those who have never seen one before.I have left the fuselage open but of course for transport it probably would have been covered.(that old artistic license again)The back half has already been battened down and a large tarp should take care of the rest.The flying circus sign is a little bit of free advertising.
WW1 fighter airplanes were also extensively used for study purposes by universities teaching aeronautics.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

The old Ford CNR truck is awaiting the driver who has stopped outside the door of the rest room, in anticipation of a long road trip to the rail yards.It is in not the unusual postilion of having its engine looked at for water or oil leaks before the long journey.The wing crates have yet to be loaded on and secured.I sure hope there is enough room in the flatbed for them otherwise they will have to be secured to the airplane fuselages side.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

This is the view through the hangars backdoor.I left the lights on for a better look inside.On the left is the WC presently occupied by the driver,on the right is a coal storage area for the stove located in the carpenter's shop.Straight ahead is the door to the hangar itself which is now in darkness.The carpenter's shop is located to the left just beyond this door.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

Back outside again and continuing along the back wall an old air show car comes into view.Someone moved it there and then kind of forgot about it.It should of really been hauled away to the scrap yard ages ago. Besides it is always there in the way of the guys trying to deliver the coal.

 

[JohnReid]

This is very entertaining. It reminds me of the David Jones city department store at Christmas time and the animated dioramas in each of its outside windows. Families move along from one window to the next to get to the next stage of the Christmas story.

Thank you Chris for this memory! There was a department store here in Montreal that did somewhat the same thing and people just loved it.All those little noses pressed up against the glass in wide-eyed excitement.Wonderful !

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

Here is a great tutorial on the art of storyboarding:

Storyboard Elements: DVD Course on How To Storyboard by SpongeBob and Disney Storyboard Artist Sherm Cohen
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"When you wish upon a star......" Storyboard dioramas by JohnReid.
My photobucket:
http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y250/JohnReid/

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

Opening scene from "Once Upon A Time In The West" The cowboy standing in the doorway.This scene has a lot of interesting things going on.Although in the movie we never get to see this row of passenger car windows.Their presence is implied by the shadows falling on the seats.The little room behind the brick wall is never really shown in any detail so I just left it for the natural light.The door behind the cowboy is actually split in two but in this scene it should open to a desert scene which is not part of this closed set.I still have a lot of weathering to do but I think that you get the idea!

 

[JohnReid]

If you look through the engine shop window just above the Pickford/Fairbanks sign you will see hanging on the wall a pin-up poster of Mary herself.
This is our first view inside the engine shop which as you can see is quite busy with a Mercedes engine being overhauled for a customer.It is a classic engine from WW1 and although a little out of date by this time it could still be in use to power up a barnstormer or two.
Another interesting picture on the wall is that of Harley the company dog sitting in the cockpit of someone's airplane.
Air mail pilots would sometimes keep their dogs on board for company when on long trips much like some truckers do today.Dogs and fighter pilots have a long tradition together of companionship inside or outside the cockpit.

 

[JohnReid]

Storyboarding your diorama

 

[JohnReid]

Want to create your own storyboard diorama ? Here are some things that I have learned along the way.

 

[JohnReid]

A lot has been written about the art of building dioramas but there is little out there on the art of telling a good story using the diorama as a medium.Good storytelling is essential to the success or failure of a storyboard diorama.While travelogues and documentaries are nice and can be very interesting,well written novels are usually the spice of life.
Don't get me wrong I love writing and studying about history it helps us avoid the same mistakes in the future but a lot depends on who is writing that history,the winner or the loser ? How was it passed down through the generations ? word of mouth ? We all know of the problems there.We just tend to let our imaginations creep into our stories whether we like it or not.I kinda look at it this way.You are sitting in your car,lets call it "the now" you are looking out the front window,lets call that "the future".In your rear view mirror is "the past".You learn to avoid the potholes and other road hazards by not repeating the past.The trick is to avoid the potholes.Through our side windows life goes rushing by faster and faster with more and more distractions to attract out eyes from the road ahead.Take your eyes of the road for too long and damn your back to hitting those potholes again.It is all a matter of where you choose to put your attention.Artists tend to pay a lot of attention to "the now" it usually is the safest place for them to be.

 

[JohnReid]

Storyboardig is more than taking a series of nice pictures and posting them on a wall.Your different scenes must be believable and your viewer must be able to
identify with at least one of the characters being depicted.Ordinary characters doing ordinary things that the viewer can identify with is most important.Giving your characters human emotions by the use of dramatic lighting,posing and setting the stage for each and every shot can really add some drama to your work and make the whole experience much more interesting for your viewer.
It is what I call keeping it in "the now".

 

[JohnReid]

Upshots and downshots and point of view.

How to shoot it? angle of composition ,you get to choose the POV (point of view)
The camera really represents us and our attention and to where it is directed.It is the heart of our indentification with the character.So "he matters" to the emotional involvement of the viewer.
Upshots and downshots can also imply the relative size of the characters as well as the background.
A floor can represent a downshot where a ceiling, ceiling would do the opposite.By manipulating the background we can control the POV.Decorating elements such as pictures on a wall ,lighting fixtures will also convey the same message.