Storyboard Research: Mad Max Fury Road

Traditionally, production on a feature film begins with a screenplay, but with Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller (director of Babe: Pig in the City and the original Mad Max films) and artist Brendan McCarthy (well known for his work on Judge Dredd and 2000AD) approached the production differently. Concept art and storyboards largely informed the early phases of production, which really shows in the final product. To put it simply, the film is a 2 hour car chase, complete with just about every action movie staple you can think of. Fury Road received a lot of praise on release for thriving in it's simplicity.

Before he even had a script, Miller had the whole film planned out visually.

Where Fury Road succeeds is in every aspect of it's visuals, particularly in the way scenes were storyboarded to create exciting and coherent action scenes, which is important in a film which relies heavily on said scenes. Miller has stated in interviews that it was important not to shoot too much of the film in profile, instead working on a sort of Z-axis, which adds more dimension to the film. This really shows in McCarthy's storyboards, with their dynamic camera angles, reminiscent of 2000AD comic book panels. The film also faithfully abides to the visual style set out in Brendan McCarthy's storyboards, replicating the grimy, used-future aesthetic of 2000AD.

McCarthy's storyboards owe a lot to their 2000AD roots.

This aesthetic also owes a lot to a lot of the post-apocalyptic fiction that came in the wake of the original Mad Max, which has influenced a wide range of popular culture, from comics to films to video games. The character designs, particularly of arguably Fury Road's most enduring character; Furiosa owe a lot to Jamie Hewlett's 90's post-punk feminist action heroine Tank Girl.

The overall aesthetic owes a lot to works inspired by the original Mad Max films.

Composition is key to the success of Fury Road in the visual department, and for the film to succeed in the visual aspect it must be working from the strong foundation of a storyboard. The lack of dialogue in the film, which earned it scorn from some critics is compensated for with it's clear and concise visual storytelling. There is no confusion as to the orientation and motion of the action sequences because of how scenes are framed. The director and storyboard artists are well aware of the visual language and don't try to deviate too far from these established conventions. The 180 degree rule is an important part of this, in creating easily to follow, coherent action scenes For scenes which utilise lots of quick cuts in succession, the Director of Photography on Fury Road, John Seale used centre framing to maintain an audience's point of interest. He explains this is so that the viewer doesn't need 3-4 frames to figure out where to look. 

In many ways Fury Road is the antithesis of the modern action blockbuster, swapping shaky-cam and CG action sequences for intricately choreographed sweeping vistas, pyrotechnics and practical stunt work. It's a film that's gained a large amount of respect from people working in the creative industries for it's uncompromising translation from storyboard to screen and a rarity in a cinematic landscape increasingly saturated with derivative works and endless sequels.