making a storyboard
Behind the process Q&A with Courtney Branigan
APM: Do you remember when you made your first storyboard and what it was about?
CB: I don’t actually! I’ve done these or some version of these since I was kid. I’ve always loved the process of writing dialogue, and sketching out scenes or ideas for storyboards for film, and how it forces you to be really intentional about every word and visual image. It declutters my brain- so when I’m telling that story in some way I know what parts and lines are going to connect and move everything ahead. I’ve always kept a notebook or journal around. I’d remember something someone said and write it down. Then I would scribble vaguely what it looked like, and it was always in a box. That way I could add to it later with more sketching and lines if I wanted to develop it into something like a comedy sketch or short story. It was originally my way to document and capture these little moments and scenes around me that I would notice or recall as an observer that could turn into something interesting that I might want to run with.
document and capture these little moments and scenes around me
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document and capture these little moments and scenes around me 〰️
images sourced from Courtney Branigan’s ETSY. Check it out!
Courtney Branigan continued:
I gave myself permission when I was a kid to not worry about the drawing part - because that wasn’t the point of this. I wanted to be some kind of writer. In high school I had a few zines and then started in my 20’s to focus on writing dialogue and that led to dramatic adaptations of historical documents and letters and short plays and performances. And it's so interesting to now be doing this at this point in my life because I'm returning to forms and methods I used when I was a kid but now I’m on the other side so it feels new again. I’m not censoring myself anymore or ripping it apart before I even begin because now it’s really just for me and if someone else enjoys it too- great.
APM: When you begin, do you have an idea in mind or do you flow as you go?
CB: An idea. Something needs to hit me and then I feel like I have to grab it before it disappears! Usually it’s something that I find funny, darkly humorous. Or a bit unsettling, it has to be enough for me to be obsessed with for a few weeks.
APM: Set, setting and scene when you typically create your storyboard?
CB: I have a bit of a paper fetish. I like paper that is basically oilskin paper from the 1900’s. I can be a bit obsessive about nibs, I like a pen that is basically a mini paintbrush. I absolutely cannot use anything else. I find a little corner but sometimes I’ll sit in bed with a laptray. I like to listen to an audiobook while I’m working, usually something I know and love, like a Shirley Jackson story so I can drop in and out while I’m working. I absolutely believe that your setting can help tap into whatever you draw or write.
Head to page 37 in Issue 01 of APM to see Courtney’s Storyboard “Useless Pineapples”
“Something needs to hit me and then I feel like I have to grab it before it disappears! Usually it’s something that I find funny, darkly humorous. Or a bit unsettling, it has to be enough for me to be obsessed with for a few weeks.“
Courtney Branigan is a storyteller, artist and writer from Kingston, Massachusetts. 