Storyboarding originates from the film industry as a means for directors to illustrate scenes in their films before shooting. Dictionary.com defined storyboard as a panel(s) on which a sequence of sketches depicts the significant changes of action and scene in a planned film, as for a movie, television show, or advertisement. In layman terms, storyboard tells a story visually, allowing you to picture the story, almost similar to a comic book.

Students from Boon Lay Primary School

Storyboarding is usually used to plan for a movie, television, show or advertisement. There are various ways to do up a storyboard; taking pictures of the scene and presenting in sequence, cutting out pictures from magazines and even using computer to make it. However the simplest way to do up a storyboard is through drawing. It does not even have to be fancy, and stick figures, simple shapes can be used to depict the story. The crucial part is to show the development of the story.

There are many benefits to storyboarding. Firstly, it shows the flow of the story through visuals, much easier to grasp, allowing one to see what you want to show. Secondly, it is helpful when one plans the shot of the story, when every shot is pre-visualised. It also helps to show the cameraman what type of frame is wanted. Also, it helps in planning the story well, especially when a story is based on a flashback. Stories can be rearranged to strengthen the plot.

Jiemin Pri School Students doing Storyboard

So, how does storyboarding help students in writing compositions? It is a creative approach for students to write their stories. The first benefit is that storyboarding allows the student to shuffle their stories to make it more non-linear. Instead of commonly writing in a chronological order, students can write in reverse order such as flashback. They can also learn to expand their content, story and ideas by previsualising the images first.

Previsualising is a key element in the art of storytelling.

Reel Storyboard Programme @ Woodlands Regional Library

Storyboarding is an unconventional approach to make writing fun for students. This could spark their interest in writing as students work in groups to develop a story. Students can also learn new techniques in their writing where broadcast techniques are used to teach. Students are able to envision their story and impart their message in a creative manner, ultimately improving their story-telling.

Storyboarding is our best-selling programme in RFOS. More than 400 students have benefitted from this enrichment course. Look out for our next Reel Storyboard programme.