To complement the beat board and animatic, you should create a “master background” or concept artwork designs of a setting/environment from the beat board, in one or more detailed visualizations:
- Design it for full resolution. If it’s digital, at least 1080p dimensions (1920 x 1080). If you prefer creating artwork, design to the same 16:9 dimensions, utilizing letter-size / A4 animation paper or heavier-stock drawing or watercolour paper.
- You might elect to block in features and draw it first with line work (and grey tonal values if you wish), as you would do with a storyboard. However, you should add colour later.
You should capture the distinctive location and telltale details:
- Time of day, season, and weather
- Visual distinctions like shapes and forms, colours, lighting and shading
- Natural formations and environment features
- Constructed elements like architecture and design
- Set details like furniture, props, and objects that suggest scale with the character
- Characters in the setting
What is the tone of the place / setting? Is it whimsical; dark and moody; fantasy; and so on?
A further objective would be to create a colour version of the the concept artwork, once you have made a first draft for review and input.
To compose the imagery, you should design the view slightly from above, as though you are looking onto the space from a step ladder. The perspective can be somewhat neutral or isometric. This way, an observer can imagine viewing elements in the space from a variety of angles. With information from both the beat board and master background, you would therefore propose a good visual prototype of important features, attributes that you will continue to develop as layouts in the preproduction phase.
Inspiration
The links below are inspirational examples created by Amandine Pecharman, for the film, Lost & Found, directed by Philip Hunt, and produced by Studio AKA. The end result, the final film, is computer-generated 3D animation.
Another example of Amandine Pecharman’s work, as part of a team for student film:
- Cocotte Minute – Making-of, here
With Pecharman’s concept sketches, you will undoubtedly notice the preliminary concept designs are not in CG form yet. With “Lost & Found,” that came later. As initial ideation, drawings are pencil on paper. Some drawings are rendered with pencil crayon, others with watercolour, and some are done digitally. They all have qualities of dimension, light, and shade, suggesting a final look — but not specifically. As developmental work, the nature of the designs are open-ended. They are meant to forecast potential technique choices.
Visual research
Considering elements like a beat board and concept artwork — character sheets, master setting and the like — more so than with an animatic, you should push details that will convey distinctive design qualities that you envision with the look of the film you develop. An animatic will cover the development of story, character performance, and sound design. With the other components, you will address features that will be enhanced by the research and observations you undertake, beyond sketching from memory and imagination. That is, you should investigate information, from the Internet, libraries, and so forth. You should write notes and make sketches of what you observe, take your own, original reference photographs and movies. This kind of information gathering will strengthen the development of concept artwork.
For example, contemplate the setting of the story, the locations, geography, point in history, time of day, season, weather conditions — anything that emphasizes mood and atmosphere, characteristics that will enhance the film you are developing.