F*k I hate that. I just wrote a loooong response and it logged me out and lost the lot.
😡
In a nutshell...
Storyboard Quick is underwhelming due to buggy, poorly designed interface, overpriced, has only 5 or 6 characters (!!!), limited objects, looks pretty average, and cannot even move arms or heads to help convey the story information in the frame. I have version 6 and just upgraded to the latest build an hour ago and it made my character palettes disappear. Support is poor. No forum. Couldn't seem to find the User Manual in the Help where it was supposed to be. Have to wait for their reply to my support request.
Other options:
- Toon Boom Storyboard (or whatever it's called) seemed just as limited, even if it was better designed. At least Storyboard Quick allows 3D rotation of characters, even though there's only a few fixed poses. Don't think Toon Boom app allowed that.
- Frame Forge demo looked better because you could click on an object to make the character look at it, but it seemed to be an old app and had lots more complexity. Depends on your wants. In that app, you create the frigging set and tell it your lens and get all this accurate info. I ain't Stanley Kubrick, so I'm not wasting my time getting anal about that stuff. Story/Idea is all I want to test.
- Celtex (or however it's spelled - ix???) supposedly has a storyboard function. The app is an open source screenwriting/production app. I'm not sure if it has the libraries to use those, which is the attraction of Storyboard Quick.
- Comic Life with a bunch of clipart and google images may be the best substitute. It has much better text capabilities that SQ IMO, but wouldn't allow 3D rotation of objects and wouldn't import script formats (not that I've managed to get that to work properly with SQ anyway, even though I'm using Movie Magic Screenwriter).
Download demos and check them out for yourself, but the cost and clunkiness of Storyboard Quick makes me feel like a frustrated Windows user.
For more on previsualization software, which is more about adding motion rather than stills, check out
http://postproduction.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=519527-0