Storyboarding for music videos departs notably from traditional narrative pieces. In this genre, the visuals are not just storytelling tools; they're crafted to accentuate the rhythm, mood, and essence of the music. They serve to magnify the song's emotional resonance. The song is not just the backdrop but the driving force behind each visual decision.

Our process began with creating a text outline. We timed this outline with a beat counter, ensuring that the visuals would eventually sync with the song's tempo. This provided a strong basis on which we began our work on the storyboards.

The first visual draft of the storyboards was a series of rough thumbnails. These allowed us to block out each shot and refine the timing as well. Using those in our final storyboards, we infused depth, detail, and color palettes in the shots. It ensured that each frame not only told a part of the story but also harmonized with the song's vibe.

While storyboards help with the timing of shots, they are also the creative team's key for shot composition and layout. We used the 3D design and modeling software Gravity Sketch to pre-visualize the forest grove's environment. We set up a rough layout of the environment and were easily able to move the camera around and reposition characters until all shots were perfectly planned.

Even if these 3D sketches don't make the final cut, they play an indispensable role in communication within our creative team. They illustrate spatial dynamics, potential mood settings, and offer insights into the narrative's physical world. One of the biggest benefits of the Gravity Sketch experience was gaining clarity on logistics: deciding on the best camera lens, determining the spatial scale required for the environment, and ensuring our world was expansive enough to feel immersive without becoming overwhelming.

Storyboarding for music videos is as much an art as it is a science. Every frame, every scene transition, every color palette choice is a delicate dance between the song's essence and the visual tale we wish to narrate.