Story

Every film begins with a story. In the animated film Tales from the Magic Garden, the story comprises four tales about coping with the loss of a loved one, based on short stories by Czech writer Arnošt Goldflam. Because a film tells more with images than it does with words, a group of screenwriters translated these short stories from the language of books into the language of cinema. They wrote the story in the format of a screenplay, which describes in detail everything that happens and is said in the film. Unlike books, screenplays are not intended for a wider audience; they serve as the blueprint for the entire cast and crew making a film.

Screenplay

A screenplay is the written foundation of a film that describes what goes on in the film as clearly and concisely as possible. It is divided into numbered scenes, each of which indicates the place and time of the action. The dialogue – the words spoken by the characters in the film – stands alone, separate from the rest of the text.

The screenplay for the Tales from the Magic Garden was written in four languages by screenwriters from four different countries.

Storyboard

A storyboard is a visual representation of the story, presented as a series of drawings, that helps the film crew envision the visual narrative and plan the shooting. The drawings of key shots are accompanied by short descriptions of the action and dialogue.

Animatic

An animatic is an animated version of a storyboard. The drawings from the storyboard are combined with recorded dialogue into a video that helps the film crew plan the movement of puppets and cameras. It is a tool that helps decide the speed of the action and the length of each scene.