Amazon Studios Launches Free Tool That Turns Scripts Into Storyboards

Courtesy of Rogers and Cowan

Dubbed Amazon Storyteller, the tool identifies the scenes, locations and characters and “casts” them from a library of thousands of characters, props and backgrounds.

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Amazon Studios is launching a free online tool that turns scripts into storyboards, complete with characters and dialogue that can then be shared with others for feedback.
Dubbed Amazon Storyteller, the tool works when a movie script is scanned and uploaded to Amazon Studios. It identifies the scenes, locations and characters from scene descriptions, and “casts” them from a library of thousands of characters, props and backgrounds. Filmmakers can recast or change locations, or they can upload their own images. Storyteller places the cast in front of the right background so that filmmakers can focus their time on the emotion and energy of scenes by using pan and zoom, changing the facial expressions and positions of characters, adding vehicles or props or adding captions with descriptions or additional dialogue. Once completed, the storyboard can be published on Amazon Studios where other users are able to view it and give feedback on the project.
Storyteller is currently in beta.
“We’ve found that many writers want to see their story up on its feet in visual form but find it harder than it should be to create a storyboard,” said Roy Price, director of Amazon Studios. “Storyteller provides a digital backlot, acting troupe, prop department and assistant editor -- everything you need to bring your story to life. We want to see great stories turned into movies and television shows, and we’ll continue to develop new features and tools that help people develop great stories.”
Launched in 2010, Amazon Studios is the original film and series production arm of Amazon.com. The division recently greenlighted its first-ever original series -- comedies Alpha House and Betas and kids series Annebots, Creative Galaxy and Tumbleaf. These series will premiere exclusively on Prime Instant Video later this year and in 2014.