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Ridleygrams: Ridley Scott draws the film first

Scott storyboards his own films. His crews call the drawings Ridleygrams: ink and pencil, lines that follow the form to build depth, solid blacks, and tone stippled almost to pointillism, in a comic register close to Moebius and Richard Corben. They start as thumbnails and often end up nearly as detailed as the shot.

From the New Yorker profile

Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” Complex by Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 13 November 2023 issue, is the best account of the drawings in use. It calls the Ridleygrams Scott’s method of thinking and communicating. He is visual before verbal, and has been drawing since before art school in West Hartlepool and the Royal College of Art, and before hundreds of commercials. The screenwriter describes sending pages mid-shoot and getting them back storyboarded the next morning. His son Luke, directing second unit, reshot a scene after missing what a board asked for. Scott leafs through a bound set of Napoleon boards that reads like a comic-strip biography, and says he goes to his vineyard to sit, think and draw.

“I tend to be visual above all things, before the written word.” Ridley Scott

“The next day you get the e-mail from Europe, and he’s storyboarded them. That would kill ninety per cent of the directors in Hollywood.” David Scarpa, screenwriter of Napoleon

“I was misreading the storyboard.” Luke Scott, on reshooting the vultures for Exodus: Gods and Kings

“If I come here, I find that I can sit and think and draw.” Ridley Scott, at his vineyard

Read the full profile at The New Yorker →

What + How + Why

Distilled from “What We Can Learn from ‘Napoleon’ Ridleygrams”, No Film School.

What

Detailed, expressive drawings in Scott’s own hand: finished blueprints of each shot, not rough thumbnails.

How

Why

Film History8

Alien1979 · 17 boards
Alien: Early atmospheric sketch of an oil-refinery-like structure, part of Scott's pre-production mood studies for Alien.
Early atmospheric sketch of an oil-refinery-like structure, part of Scott's pre-production mood studies for Alien.Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source
Alien: Early storyboard for Alien: two crew members, represented by emergency helmets, talking in the Nostromo control room (1978).
Early storyboard for Alien: two crew members, represented by emergency helmets, talking in the Nostromo control room (1978).Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source
Alien: Early Alien storyboard showing Kane preparing coffee aboard the Nostromo (1978).
Early Alien storyboard showing Kane preparing coffee aboard the Nostromo (1978).Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source
Alien: Early Ridleygram of the derelict spacecraft exterior on the planetoid, from Alien pre-production (1978).
Early Ridleygram of the derelict spacecraft exterior on the planetoid, from Alien pre-production (1978).Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source
Alien: Early Ridleygram of the Space Jockey's seat seen from behind, for Alien (1978).
Early Ridleygram of the Space Jockey's seat seen from behind, for Alien (1978).Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source
Alien: Space Jockey sketch by Ridley Scott, drawn as design direction for H.R. Giger, for Alien (1978).
Space Jockey sketch by Ridley Scott, drawn as design direction for H.R. Giger, for Alien (1978).Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source
Alien: Early Ridleygram of the egg silo / mound exterior on the derelict's planetoid, for Alien (1978).
Early Ridleygram of the egg silo / mound exterior on the derelict's planetoid, for Alien (1978).Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source
Alien: Early Ridleygram showing the underside of the facehugger, from Kane's point of view, for Alien (1978).
Early Ridleygram showing the underside of the facehugger, from Kane's point of view, for Alien (1978).Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source
Alien: Ridleygram of the alien beast killing Brett, for Alien (1978).
Ridleygram of the alien beast killing Brett, for Alien (1978).Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source
Alien: Early Ridleygram storyboard of the alien beast running down the Nostromo corridor, for Alien (1978).
Early Ridleygram storyboard of the alien beast running down the Nostromo corridor, for Alien (1978).Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source
Alien: Early Ridleygram featuring a whimsical pedalo-like escape pod concept, for Alien (1978).
Early Ridleygram featuring a whimsical pedalo-like escape pod concept, for Alien (1978).Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source
Alien: Storyboard for scene 56, ext. planet: "They move off - we see a skeleton" - the Space Jockey skeleton embedded in rock, for Alien (1978).
Storyboard for scene 56, ext. planet: "They move off - we see a skeleton" - the Space Jockey skeleton embedded in rock, for Alien (1978).Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source
Alien: Full page (page 6) of Scott's pre-production Ridleygram pitch book for Alien: 16 marker-and-ink panels of the derelict ship, Nostromo bridge, and asteroid-field exteriors, used to secure 20th Century Fox's backing and double the film's budget.
Full page (page 6) of Scott's pre-production Ridleygram pitch book for Alien: 16 marker-and-ink panels of the derelict ship, Nostromo bridge, and asteroid-field exteriors, used to secure 20th Century Fox's backing and double the film's budget.Ridley Scott via Boords · source
Alien: Full page (page 2) of Scott's pre-production Ridleygram pitch book for Alien: 16 panels covering the Nostromo bridge scanning sequence, crew close-ups, and the ship's exterior approach.
Full page (page 2) of Scott's pre-production Ridleygram pitch book for Alien: 16 panels covering the Nostromo bridge scanning sequence, crew close-ups, and the ship's exterior approach.Ridley Scott via Boords · source
Alien: Full page (page 3) of Scott's pre-production Ridleygram pitch book for Alien: 16 panels showing the derelict ship on the planet surface, the crew's landing, and the interior of the ship.
Full page (page 3) of Scott's pre-production Ridleygram pitch book for Alien: 16 panels showing the derelict ship on the planet surface, the crew's landing, and the interior of the ship.Ridley Scott via Boords · source
Alien: Ridleygram sheet for the chest-bursting scene: Kane chokes at the dinner table, the creature punches out of his chest "uttering a birth cry," and disappears into the ship.
Ridleygram sheet for the chest-bursting scene: Kane chokes at the dinner table, the creature punches out of his chest "uttering a birth cry," and disappears into the ship.Ridley Scott via Boords · source
Alien: Framed original 'Ridleygram' miniature storyboard and shot list from the Alien production: a small ink sketch of a table set for the pilot's paint effect, with handwritten shot notes (Slate 4/7).
Framed original 'Ridleygram' miniature storyboard and shot list from the Alien production: a small ink sketch of a table set for the pilot's paint effect, with handwritten shot notes (Slate 4/7).Ridley Scott via Propstore auction house · source

Blade Runner1982 · 1 board
Blade Runner: Group of 21 original Sharpie pen-and-ink sketches by Ridley Scott for Blade Runner: interior set and prop studies including apartment elevator doors, a bathroom, an origami unicorn window, and Deckard's apartment layout.
Group of 21 original Sharpie pen-and-ink sketches by Ridley Scott for Blade Runner: interior set and prop studies including apartment elevator doors, a bathroom, an origami unicorn window, and Deckard's apartment layout.Ridley Scott, via Bonhams auction house (estate of Charles W. Breen) · source

Apple "1984"1984 · 1 board
Apple "1984": Nine-panel Ridleygram for the famous Apple Macintosh "1984" commercial: the dystopian marching crowd, the Big Brother telescreen, the runner with the hammer, and the closing title card.
Nine-panel Ridleygram for the famous Apple Macintosh "1984" commercial: the dystopian marching crowd, the Big Brother telescreen, the runner with the hammer, and the closing title card.Ridley Scott, via Fountaindale Public Library · source

Hannibal2001 · 1 board
Hannibal: Ridleygram storyboard sheet for Hannibal: eight sepia-toned panels including Hannibal Lecter on the phone, a lecture hall, a close-up portrait, and a hand injecting a needle.
Ridleygram storyboard sheet for Hannibal: eight sepia-toned panels including Hannibal Lecter on the phone, a lecture hall, a close-up portrait, and a hand injecting a needle.Ridley Scott, via Fountaindale Public Library · source

Kingdom of Heaven2005 · 1 board
Kingdom of Heaven: Ridleygram pencil-sketch sheet for a siege-battle sequence in Kingdom of Heaven, numbered panels 122-133 depicting archers, a battering ram, siege ladders, and shield walls under arrow fire.
Ridleygram pencil-sketch sheet for a siege-battle sequence in Kingdom of Heaven, numbered panels 122-133 depicting archers, a battering ram, siege ladders, and shield walls under arrow fire.Ridley Scott, via Fountaindale Public Library · source

Prometheus2012 · 2 boards
Prometheus: Ridleygram concept sketch exploring a beluga-whale-like head form, part of Scott's early design development for Prometheus.
Ridleygram concept sketch exploring a beluga-whale-like head form, part of Scott's early design development for Prometheus.Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source
Prometheus: Ridleygram sketch for the 3D holographic star-map 'Orrery' sequence in Prometheus, inspired by an 18th-century orrery painting with "circles within circles."
Ridleygram sketch for the 3D holographic star-map 'Orrery' sequence in Prometheus, inspired by an 18th-century orrery painting with "circles within circles."Ridley Scott via Alien Explorations · source

Alien: Covenant2017 · 1 board
Alien: Covenant: Ridleygram layout sheet for the Med Bay scene (scenes 87-103): the Neomorph erupts from its host's spine and back in a sequence of panels mixed with on-set stills.
Ridleygram layout sheet for the Med Bay scene (scenes 87-103): the Neomorph erupts from its host's spine and back in a sequence of panels mixed with on-set stills.Ridley Scott, via Fountaindale Public Library · source

Napoleon2023 · 2 boards
Napoleon: Ridleygram for the Battle of Waterloo sequence in Napoleon: marker-and-ink panels of cavalry riders in the rain, Napoleon's staff conferring, and artillery batteries lining up, with handwritten scene notes.
Ridleygram for the Battle of Waterloo sequence in Napoleon: marker-and-ink panels of cavalry riders in the rain, Napoleon's staff conferring, and artillery batteries lining up, with handwritten scene notes.Ridley Scott, via The New Yorker / No Film School · source
Napoleon: Ridleygram for the preparation of artillery and cannonballs before Waterloo in Napoleon: gun batteries in the rain, officers debating whether it is too wet to begin, and stacked cannonballs sinking into mud.
Ridleygram for the preparation of artillery and cannonballs before Waterloo in Napoleon: gun batteries in the rain, officers debating whether it is too wet to begin, and stacked cannonballs sinking into mud.Ridley Scott, via The New Yorker / No Film School · source

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