Tobias Gundorff Boesen: I’ve already touched upon the heavy focus I place on preproduction; this is essential when making animation and effects on a small budget with limited resources. I always try to think in terms of technical solutions. So the storyboard is an important tool for me, as a storyteller, as a visual artist and as a producer.

On “Ghost”, I hadn’t prepared a finalized board, because I wanted to leave room for experimentation. But usually before shooting I have a completely finished, timed animatic, where everything from acting, shot flow and staging to framing, compositing, etc. is decided on.

This style definitely comes from my background in animation, and might seem inflexible to some. But, since I’m really good at imagining and visualising, I feel that the better prepared I am and the better I plan my film, the better the chances of getting exactly what I imagined, and not having to clumsily improvise through production. Plus, my boards reach all the way to postproduction, anticipating compositing solutions and how to carry out shots.

Of course there’s still room for change and trying out different shots and editing, but my starting point is just strong; I know I have something that works, that just needs to be executed and realised. So basically my films are made in preproduction.

My love of aesthetics and imagery can be something of a crutch though. I believe that the next step for me would be to try and direct something which has dialogue, plot or at least less dependency on good cinematography.