A Lesson in Storyboarding from The Good Dinosaur’s Screenwriter and Story Supervisor

Every aspect of the movie-making process fascinates me, and always has. Watching a whole new universe come to life on screen is like watching magic happen right before your eyes. While it’s all amazing- and all important- the part that really excites me the most is the story.

Maybe it’s because I’m a writer, or maybe it’s because that’s where the characters have to endure their biggest obstacles, overcome their greatest challenges, and face their biggest emotions. It’s also where you either fall in love with a movie or tolerate it- a great landscape and beautiful special effects are nothing without a good story to go with it.

When I got a behind-the-scenes peek at Pixar Studios a few months ago, we were able to sit in an actual storyboarding room at Pixar- with two amazing moviemakers who actually worked on the story of The Good Dinosaur. Screenwriter Meg LaFauve and Story Supervisor Kelsey Mann gave us a bit of an idea of what it’s like to be in the room when the magic is happening!

Kelsey actually demonstrated how a storyboard pitch meeting would go, which is when a writer who has worked on a scene pitches it to the rest of the writers. They mock up the storyboards {the drawings that serve to illustrate the story as it goes along} and project them off of the computer for the rest of the team. They don’t just go through them like your aunt showing off her family vacation photos via slideshow though- they basically act out the entire scene! Kelsey demonstrated using a particularly funny scene from the movie and he was gesturing wildly, making sound effects, and even brought in a baby toy {one of my boys’ favorites actually} to act as a sound effect! The pictures were just {beautiful} sketches, and there weren’t any voices or sounds besides what was coming from him, and yet the entire scene came to life. It was so fun to imagine what it would be like to come to work every day and get a demonstration like that!

While we were there, we also learned how to draw Arlo! I am a woman of few skills, and drawing is not one of them, but they made it a little easier for us and at least he’s recognizable? Maybe?

 I could talk all day about just how good The Good Dinosaur is, but you can find out for yourself in just two days! The Good Dinosaur comes out on Wednesday, November 25th, just in time for Thanksgiving! You can check out the trailer below, and be sure to follow The Good Dinosaur for more updates & behind-the-scenes peeks!

What’s your favorite part about a movie?

Want more behind-the-scenes looks at The Good Dinosaur? Check back next week or read my campfire interview with Director Peter Sohn & crew, interview with Production Designer Harley Jessup and Animators Kevin O’Hara & Rob Thompson, or interview with Set Supervisor David Munier, Effects Supervisor Jon Reisch, and Director of Photography-Lighting Sharon Calahan. &Don’t miss my preview of the brand-new short playing before the movie- Sanjay’s Super Team!