Storyboard

A storyboard shows the planned film as a sequence of images, one per shot, with notes on camera, movement, text and sound. It settles before production whether the story holds, which makes it the cheapest tool for discarding a film that does not work.

What goes on a storyboard

One image per shot plus four pieces of information: what is in frame, how the camera sits and moves, how long the shot runs and what is heard. The drawings do not have to be beautiful, they have to be unambiguous. A stick figure with an arrow explains a camera move better than a polished image without one.

Storyboards in generative production

Here the line to the styleframe blurs. Because we generate images anyway, storyboard panels often arrive already in the later visual language. That saves a step but carries a catch: when people see beautiful images they discuss image quality instead of structure.

So we keep the two questions apart. The storyboard is only about whether the sequence holds and whether the length is right. The look is decided at the styleframe, on two to four images rather than twenty.

When it pays off

Whenever the film has a narrative. For pure mood pieces of ten shots a list is enough. For anything that explains, persuades or tells a story, the storyboard saves more time than it costs. It is part of the first approval point.

Frequently asked questions

What is a storyboard?

A storyboard is the drawn plan of a film: one image per shot with notes on camera, movement, duration and sound. It exists to check the structure before production costs are incurred.

What is the difference between a storyboard and a styleframe?

The storyboard shows the sequence across many shots, the styleframe the visual language of a single one. One answers whether the story works, the other what the film will look like.

Do short social spots need a storyboard?

At six to fifteen seconds a description of the three or four shots plus the hook idea is usually enough. As soon as several variants are to be tested, a brief overview still helps.

Read on: All terms in the glossary • Pricing

Story first, images second

In the first call we settle whether your idea holds before anything is produced.

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