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  "path": "/goat-storyboarding",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-06T18:59:11.000Z",
  "site": "https://nofilmschool.com",
  "tags": [
    "Storyboarding",
    "Sony",
    "Storyboards",
    "Goat",
    "subtext",
    "animatic"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nI have always been fascinated by storyboard artists. It seems so cool to collaborate with someone and get the look and framing of all the shots.\n\nThis is maybe even more so for animation, where you're not exactly finding shots on set as you go; you're meticulously planning so animators can go off and create the look and feel.\n\nCase in point: Before the high-octane action of Sony Pictures Animation’s _GOAT_ hits the big screen, every dunk, car chase, and character beat was meticulously mapped out by a team of storyboard artists.\n\nIn a recent behind-the-scenes look, director and storyboard artist Chase Conley broke down the essential role of storyboarding and why simply \"boarding the script\" isn't enough to make a great film.\n\nLet's dive in.\n\n* * *\n\n### Storyboarding With the Goat Director\n\n\n\n\nThese kinds of videos are so invaluable for filmmakers of every level because they take use in someone else's process and give us a foundation for how we'd want to handle these situations on our own projects.\n\nRight at the top, Conley describes storyboarding as an architect’s blueprint. You don't want to do any heavy lifting without a plan or a foundation built.\n\nThe storyboard serves two primary functions:\n\n  * **Identifying Problems Early:** Translating text to a visual language helps the team catch pacing or logic issues before they become expensive mistakes.\n  * **Idea Testing:** It allows artists to iterate through dozens of ideas rapidly to find the most dynamic version of a scene.\n\n\n\n### Digging into Subtext\n\nThis was something I had never thought about, but it was cool to hear Conley’s poignant pieces of advice for aspiring board artists: look beyond the literal words on the page.\n\n\"If you’re just boarding the script, you’re not doing your job,\" he explains.\n\nYou need to be visualizing the subtext as well.\n\nConley begins his boards by discussing the director's intent and the character’s internal state. How can we feel that with the visuals?\n\nA character might say one thing but be thinking something entirely different. The storyboard artist must convey through physical acting and shot choice.\n\n### From Sketch to Screen\n\nOnce the boards are refined through rounds of review, they are handed off to editors to create an **animatic**.\n\nThis rough cut combines the drawings with dialogue and sound, giving the entire production a clear sense of the film’s timing and flow.\n\nYou can actually kind of watch the movie at this point.\n\nFrom there, the project moves into the specialized hands of the animation, lighting, and effects departments. While the final film is a polished, 3D spectacle, it all starts with the sketch and the artist's ability to ask: _What am I trying to say?_.\n\n## Summing It All Up\n\nYou can do this on any budget. Again, you just have to draw it out and take a peek. Sure, you may not be able to afford an animatic, but just looking at the framing of key scenes or scenes you're stuck on can open up a new world for yourself.\n\nJust diving into the subtext of it all will make your brain work to find answers and improve your cinematography and movie.\n\nLet me know what you think in the comments.",
  "title": "Filmmakers Can Learn a Lot from the 'GOAT' Storyboarding Process"
}