Steven Spielberg and Denis Villeneuve are both incredible filmmakers who have shown the world that they are the best in what they do, but like many other directors out there, they have their own techniques and strategies when it comes to helming movies.
Both are massively known for their works on science fiction projects, but they do not share the same love and fascination for storyboarding. It’s part of the process of making movies, and sometimes, Spielberg likes to skip it.
Steven Spielberg Prefers Spontaneous Filmmaking Decisions
During an interview posted by All The Right Movies, director Steven Spielberg revealed his process while filming movies. Surprisingly, he likes to come up with decisions in the middle of production. He does not have any storyboards and he just relies on his own discernment.
“I just sort of come in, look at the set, sometimes I do it the night before, sometimes I get in early before the crew even shows up, and I walk the set with a work light on, and I figure out my day, or I figure out the first shot.”
STEVEN SPIELBERG talking about the art of directing a movie. pic.twitter.com/GsGgyGRuUI
— All The Right Movies (@ATRightMovies) May 7, 2024
The famed director even mentioned that he did not use storyboards on Bridge of Spies, Amistad, Lincoln, and Saving Private Ryan.
“Every movie I begin, it’s just scary. It’s scary because it’s an adventure, and I don’t know what’s going to happen on the film. It’s scary, and it’s exciting all at the same time because I get to make the movie in real time.”
Indeed, having no storyboards to work with can be scary for other filmmakers as it usually serves as a guide to check on the flow of the story. Unlike Spielberg, Canadian director Denis Villeneuve is obsessed with it.
Denis Villeneuve Shares His Love For Storyboards
Denis Villeneuve once wrote an article for Vanity Fair sharing that he started storyboarding Dune when he was only a teenager.
“As Dune neared its release last year, one of my brothers found a part of its origin in a drawer in my parents’ home. They were drawings I’d made with my friend, Nicolas Kadima—storyboards for a movie we envisioned after reading Frank Herbert’s novel. I was probably 13 or 14 years old.”
He has been profusely proclaiming his love for storyboards, and even though he claimed to be a huge fan of Spielberg, he could not follow his technique. In his interview with Shot, Drawn & Cut on YouTube, he shared:
“I spent a long time in a hotel room alone with Roger Deakins, and my storyboard artist in Montréal got out from the world for weeks and weeks dreaming about the project, storyboarding, drawing, and I really am more and more in love with the pencil.”
The Dune director also pointed out how many filmmakers nowadays just rely on computers to create concepts. For him, he loves the traditional way of using pencils to draw storyboards that would ultimately guide his filmmaking.
