The SECRET to STORYBOARDING CAMERA MOVEMENT Like a Pro
Push, Pull, Zoom: How I Indicate Camera Moves in Storyboards
If you’re like most people, you prefer to learn visually by watching a video of someone actually demonstrating what they are teaching. However, I also realize there are those out there who prefer written articles over video tutorials. But if you’re like me, you would love to have both. A video from which you can watch and learn, as well as a written article that highlights all of the important moments from the video that you can keep as a quick reference guide.
That’s why I’ve decided to turn some of my more popular videos from our Beyond The Process YouTube channel into written articles. Perhaps you’ve already watched the videos, but have forgotten most of the material of which I spoke. Well, my hope is this article will be a good refresher for you. Enjoy.
When you’re storyboarding, it’s not enough to draw nice poses and compositions. If you can’t clearly indicate how the camera moves, you’re leaving the director, DP, and crew guessing—and that’s where miscommunication (and expensive reshoots) start.
In this article, I’m breaking down four foundational camera moves I use constantly in my boards:
Push in (dolly in)
Pull back (dolly out)
Zoom in / zoom out
Dolly zoom
I’ll walk you through what each move does emotionally, how it’s achieved technically, and—most importantly—how I indicate it clearly in my storyboards. This is part one in a larger series where I’ll eventually cover almost every shot type we use in visual storytelling.
You can watch the full video version of this breakdown here:
Prefer a downloadable PDF? Get it here.
