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POWERPRODUCTION SOFTWARE > BRINGING VISION TO LIFE
PowerProduction
started out as a consulting firm, until
customer questions about storyboarding
caused a change of direction.
PowerProduction Software co-founder and
CTO Paul Clatworthy told
MacDirectory,
"One of my director friends said he
needed something (he could) storyboard
with, and I suggested he just draw and he
whispered, 'But Paul, I can't draw.' So, we
tried to think of a way to make a tool that
would assist with storyboarding."
The resulting product was called
Storyboard Quick, and it was so popular
that it caused PowerProduction's focus to
move from consulting to software.
Billed as "an easy-to-use, easy-to-learn
storyboard software," Storyboard Quick
has grown, since its inception, from an
internal application used by film
professionals to a tool that has earned a
growing place in all types of industries.
One reason for this tremendous success is
the fact that even as Storyboard Quick
has evolved, the basic concept upon
which it was built, that is, to keep it user-
friendly, has not been compromised.
Clatworthy admitted that it was "always a
challenge" to keep up with changes in
technology, but stressed that Power-
Production feels it is just as important to
keep their tools "approachable, because
even though the technology rockets
along, the people who are just coming to
the whole planning process still need
some type of easy to use (product) so
they can get to production."
As for those users whose needs and skill
sets have moved a bit beyond Storyboard
Quick, PowerProduction also has Story-
Board Artist. This tool has been designed
especially "for media-savvy professionals
who want to create amazing looking
storyboards for film, video production,
animation, broadcast, education or any
type of media development."
Storyboard Quick uses an easy to learn
interface to provide users with props,
features, character customization, and the
ability to import scripts from all major
screenwriting and technical applications.
Storyboard Artist, meanwhile, includes all
of Storyboard Quick's functionality, plus
higher level features, including a timeline
that creates animatic projects
automatically, the ability to import and
edit multiple sound tracks, a pan and
zoom tool that creates in-frame motion,
and the ability to export your project to a
variety of formats, including HTML.
Just like Storyboard Quick, Storyboard
Artist came about as an answer to
customer needs. "People used to be able
to go to the advertiser, jump up and
down, wave their arms and get the job,
but those days are gone. As the
customers got more savvy the producers
had to get more detailed on what they
showed," explained Clatworthy.
"So…(customers) started asking for more
multimedia type functions."
It was during this time that PowerProduc-
tion also saw a huge growth in the types
of industries using storyboards. Suddenly,
educators, business executives, and even
students were looking for an easy and
effective way to express their visions.
It is a diversity that Clatworthy welcomes.
"We see it as we've had this piece of land
outside of town and now the town has
grown out to meet us."
As for the future, Clatworthy told
MacDirectory that PowerProduction will
continue to do what it does best, provide
high-end, easy-to-use storyboarding tools
for professionals in a wide variety of fields.
WORDS BY JONE DEVLIN
