Story Time!

... actually, more like storyboards. First step in doing things right is to do a little planning. For photography, I just close my eyes and nod off - I mean brainstorm. In film, storyboards are used to film only the necessary scenes and save a lot of crying (from the kids), complaints (from the wife) and time. In prior years, physical index cards were used but this year we went digital. Given our impending move, using physical cards seemed like a recipe for disaster. Images of Aidan hiding them in the closet or Zoe putting them in her purse danced through my head.

The storyboard above captures some basic info (director's notes, location, equipment requirements, snacks) on a relatively straightforward but hopefully visually interesting opening scene. A quick snapshot was included more for your benefit then my own. All this info is handy so that I can print out all the scenes and necessary equipment by location. This may seem like a lot of work, but it's totally worth it when the kids are enjoying themselves during the filming and we're all sitting on the couch enjoying a good flick when it's done. So regardless if you're taking a still photo or a short video clip of the kids, think about the story you want to tell them when they're all grown up.