Photomatic Storyboard

H O P P E R P E D I A ©
-Brian Hammons


The term Photomatic is derived from animatic & photo-animation

Photography can express key points of a presentation very quickly. A photomatic storyboard is a series of still photographs edited together and presented on screen in a sequence. Photomatic boards, just like animatic storyboards are a research tool to a test and gauge the effectiveness of a final product or idea.

In digimatic (computer) form, photomatic storyboards can be very inexpensive to create. The internet has become an excellent locale for royalty-free & low-cost images. Photomatic boards save time and help control unecessary production expenditures. They are used to create presentations, project proposals, television advertisements, streaming videos advertisements, feature films etc.

Besides the film industry, photomatic storybaords are increasingly used by advertising agencies to research the effectiveness of their proposed television advertisements. Both film and television photomatic boards usually include a voice-over, soundtrack and sound effects to show how the film or ad could be shot and cut together.

Prior to digital software, photographs were taken using colour negative film. A selection would be made from contact sheets and then prints are made. The prints would be placed on a rostrum and recorded to videotape using a standard video camera. Any moves, pans or zooms would have to be made in camera. The captured scenes could then be edited.

Digital photography, web access to stock photography and Non-linear editing programs have had a marked impact on the way storyboards as a whole are created. Images can be shot and edited very quickly to allow important creative decisions to be made 'live'. Photo composite animations can build intricate scenes that would normally be beyond many test film budgets.