Storyboards

I have come across a couple filmmakers in my time making films and videos who have told me not to bother with story-boarding.  They tell me that they never use them. They whole movie is playing out in their head so why bother wasting time putting it on paper?  I think those folks are wrong.  Really wrong.  And it's also the easiest way to tell if a director is in the project for himself or if he's working to help everyone making the film succeed.
For those not in the know... storyboards are the visual outline for the shots that are going to make up your film.  Little doodles that show someone the shot you are thinking of for a particular scene.  It breaks the whole movie down, shot for shot, and gives anyone that looks at it a really good idea of what the director wants.
Many indie filmmakers bypass the storyboards due to pride, I think.  They can't draw so they don't bother.  It's all in their head.  Why should they?  Because everyone else can't read your mind, that's why.  It doesn't matter if the storyboards are crude stick figure drawings.  Mine look stupid compared to the quality storyboards done on big budget films.  The point is to be able to show your crew and actors exactly what shots you want to get.  You could spend ten minutes trying to explain it to someone or you can show them in ten seconds what you are looking for in a set up.  It saves time and also adds a bit of security when in situations when you can't shoot the film yourself or if you don't have a monitor to see whats happening in camera.
It takes some time to draw up the storyboards but that's ok.  The time you spend sketching out the shots is well worth it to save time on the set when you have to get your day finished.  I've seen a lot of shoots drag on way later than needed while the director stands around with one person after another trying to explain what shot he wants to get.  This is going to cause frustration and annoyance really fast among a crew that is most likely working for free.
The big thing to remember is that you aren't the only one on the set if you are the director.  You have people looking for you to guide them in the most time efficient and clear way possible and if you keep information difficult to access they aren't going to care for following you.  When directing you are not the boss.  You are the leader.  First one in and the last one out.  If you start acting like the king then your people will revolt.

An example of my excellent storyboards.  Crappy drawings work!