What is a storyboard?
A storyboard is a visual representation of your video script. It follows a chronological sequence of frames, each representing a shot in the scene. Each frame highlights the key visual elements required for that shot.
Storyboards vary in detail, depending on the preferences of the production team. Some storyboards only contain images to sketch out the visual flow of a scene. Other storyboards provide more guidance for shot creation through detailed titles and descriptions.
Storyboards are used in all types of video productions, including films, TV shows, animation, and video marketing. They keep production efficient by outlining how to shoot a scene, what resources are necessary, and what potential problems the team might run into.
Why storyboarding is important
A storyboard is essentially a plan. As with any good plan, the storyboard provides the information needed to keep production efficient, such as goals, necessary requirements, and steps in the process.
Keeps videos visually appealing and cohesive
Storyboards create visual representations of scripts. They let you plan composition and camera angles beforehand, ensuring that your shots are visually appealing. While some of these elements might change on the day of production, your storyboard provides a rough guide that helps your script translate well on screen.
Additionally, storyboards ensure that shots follow a cohesive visual sequence. Looking at the frames on the storyboard as a whole helps you determine whether the transitions from shot to shot make sense. If not, you can make changes before committing the shots to video.
Ensures team alignment
Storyboards ensure that everybody on the team has a clear understanding of your production goals. Everybody can glean the frames and prepare for potential work. For example:
- Directors of photography can plan out how to rig their camera setups
- Production designers can plan out props and set design
- Actors have a better understanding of the physical language required of them
Clarifies necessary resources
If you know what your scene should look like, you’ll have a stronger idea of what props you’ll need to achieve this look. This will help the props and production design team prepare materials in time for shooting.
You’ll also have an easier time staying within budget. Knowing the necessary visual elements helps you plan for their construction in the most cost-efficient way.
Saves time
As a blueprint guides construction workers through efficient building days, storyboards guide video production teams through efficient and purposeful filming sessions. The storyboard provides a rough outline of the basics: how the set is arranged, what each shot contains, and how the shot is angled and composed. You’ll have a strong guide for navigating filming, which saves you from figuring everything out on the spot.
How to build a storyboard
Building a storyboard is a straightforward process. To help you get started, we’ve outlined the core steps with tips for optimal execution.
Step 1: Select a storyboard medium
Traditionally, storyboards were created using pen and paper. This is one of the easiest, most flexible, and cost-effective methods.
However, one risk of using pen and paper is wasting physical resources when you make mistakes. Additionally, the medium limits your images to what you can draw. Meanwhile, digital methods let you pull images from the internet or AI tools.
If you want to work digitally, there are many platforms available online. Below are a few options:
- Canva: This free, browser-based graphic design tool offers multiple free and paid storyboard templates. It has a drawing tool if you intend to sketch your own frames, a library of stock images if you plan to use references, and an AI image generator if you want the computer to visualize a prompt.
- Boords: Boords is a dedicated storyboarding program with built-in generative AI tools for generating storyboard frames, scripts, and characters. It also provides collaborative tools that let you easily share projects for team review, editing, and approval.
- Storyboarder: Storyboarder is a desktop application with dedicated storyboarding features. It comes with a sketch pane, basic drawing tools, and a metadata panel for key details such as actions, dialogue, and other notes. One strength of Storyboarder is its built-in connection to Photoshop, which allows you to add more detail to your sketches.
Step 2: Create your frames
The next step is to translate your script into storyboard frames. Imagine your script as a scene, then divide that scene into its core shots. Sketch or generate images for the most important shots.
When creating frames, ask the following questions:
- What is the mood or tone of the shot?
- Which characters or subjects are included in the shot?
- What other important visual elements need to be shown?
- How would you angle the camera?
- How would you compose the core visual elements?
Frames don’t need to be too detailed. They only need to contain enough information for the production crew to reference later on. The storyboard is more of a rough outline than a strict 1:1 shot guide, so it’s better to prioritize serviceability over perfection.
You should also look at the frames as a whole, and picture how one frame would transition into the next. Ensure that the sequence flows smoothly, and that elements flow between frames in a way that makes visual sense. This keeps transitions between shots from becoming too jarring for the viewer.
Step 3: Add titles and descriptions
Add titles and descriptions alongside each frame. Like with frames, titles and descriptions don’t need too much detail. Instead, try to note the key points the shot needs to communicate. Useful questions to ask when writing a frame description include:
- What is the core action of the shot?
- What dialogue is being spoken in the shot?
- What is the estimated duration of this shot?
- How will the camera move?
- How will you cut in and out of the shot?
Only include the details you feel are critical to the essence of the shot, and leave room for change. Nothing in a storyboard is 100% final. Once you enter a filming session, you’re bound to find new strategies that work better for your scene.
Step 4: Present to the team for review
Once you’ve sketched and annotated your frames, hand it over to relevant team members and stakeholders for feedback. Production team members can help you assess whether the frames outlined are feasible for shooting. Meanwhile, stakeholders can evaluate whether the visualized script aligns with the brand’s identity and goals.
Step 5: Revise
After submitting the storyboard for review, incorporate the team’s feedback into your revisions. This ensures that your final product is feasible and aligned with stakeholder goals.
Again, the storyboard is just a rough outline. You don’t have to capture the entire scene perfectly in the first draft or revise until you have a perfect blueprint. Just make sure that the storyboard you go with during the production process is workable as a reference point.
Step 6: Share
Once you have a revised storyboard, send it to the production team, stakeholders, and all other relevant collaborators. You can then start planning for your shoot. The team can use your document as a reference for location scouting, set design, props, and other important production details.
5 things to remember when storyboarding
There are multiple ways to refine your storyboarding process. Apply these tips to the steps above to ensure you create the best video script possible.
1. Don’t start without a script
A storyboard is a visual interpretation of a script. If the storyboard gives you a starting point for your video, your script gives you a starting point for the storyboard. It helps to know the key players, dialogue, and story beats before you create your visual interpretation.
You can keep the script simple if your video isn’t too heavy on dialogue. Just include the core points of the story and the meat of what you intend to communicate.
2. Understand the types of shots and angles
Storyboarding is easier when you have a serviceable knowledge of film or video language. There are infinitely many ways to compose a frame, but in the video camera’s 100 years of history, humans have narrowed the art down to a few basic types of shots and angles.
Here are a couple of examples:
- Establishing shots
- Wide shots
- Long shots
- Full shots
- Close-up shots
- High-angle
- Low-angle
- Over-the-shoulder
- Bird’s eye
- Dutch angle
When you are familiar with the types of shots and how they are typically used in videos, you can use your visual vocabulary when translating your script into a storyboard. For example, if your script describes characters having a conversation without much other action, you can safely illustrate an over-the-shoulder angle.
3. Plan out camera positions
Similar to the point above, it’s best to include the types of shots, camera angles, and camera movements in your frame descriptions. Providing clear instructions on how you intend to shoot your scene ensures a smooth and time-efficient filming session. The team will enter the set knowing how to adjust their camera settings, rig the camera setup, and block your actors.
4. Write clear descriptions
As mentioned, your descriptions don’t need to be overly detailed, but they must be clear. Descriptions serve as instructions for the production crew. Make sure to communicate your vision in a way that is actionable and easy to understand.
5. Leave room for changes
Your storyboard is a blueprint, not a foundation. The project won’t crumble if you fail to make the storyboard perfect. In fact, it’s better to expect change. Often, the actual process of filming will open your mind to new ways of shooting a scene. While your storyboard provides a solid starting point, you should allow the process to reveal new ways to approach the point you intend to communicate.
Additionally, staying fixated on a perfect storyboard might take time away from shooting and post-production. Keep the storyboard rough and simple. You can always build on it later on.
Examples of storyboards
To better illustrate how storyboards work, we list examples of a few storyboards from famous films and compare them with their corresponding scenes or shots.
Alien (1979)
Above is Ridley Scott’s storyboard for the 1979 film Alien’s famous chestbuster scene. It outlines all necessary shots, starting with the establishing shot of the Nostromo taking off. The images display the key visual elements of each shot, including subjects, atmosphere, composition, and camera angles. The captions describe the action in each scene, occasionally highlighting the core emotion.
Watch the video below to see how the scene played out in the final product.
As you can see, the scene adds extra shots to tie the story together and even changes up the composition displayed in the storyboard frames. That’s because the storyboard doesn’t need to be a strict shot-per-shot scene guide; it simply outlines the scene’s visual flow and highlights all the key elements required for the scene to work.
Inception (2010)
Titles, descriptions, and camera angles are very helpful in detail in storyboarding. However, not everybody uses them. Sometimes it’s enough to let the sketches speak for themselves. Christopher Nolan’s storyboard of Inception’s hotel room fight scene contains no words and instead outlines the movement of characters within the physical space.
Knives Out (2019)
If you can’t draw, don’t worry. While illustration skills are helpful for communicating an exact vision, it’s still possible to create a storyboard without them. The important thing is to have a strong idea of the key visual elements of a shot. Should your team find your artistic skills too advanced for their comprehension, you can always explain your vision.
Rian Johnson’s idea for a critical shot in his 2019 film Knives Out was simple. The protagonist, Marta, sits on a chair embedded with knives. It only took a stick figure and some shoddily drawn stick knives to get the vision across.
Elevate your visual identity with SplitMotion
Creating a video requires a lot of preparation. Your storyboard turns your script into something more actionable; it visualizes the core shots of the scene, how they are composed, how they are angled, and how they flow into each other. Proper storyboarding ensures that your team saves time, resources, and effort.
If you want to take your brand videos to the next level, consider outsourcing production to SplitMotion. Our experts handle everything in the process, from scripting and storyboarding to shooting and editing. We turn your vision into professional-grade videos that foster audience connection and strengthen brand credibility.
Put your vision into motion with SplitMotion. Read our services page for more information.
FAQs
What is the purpose of a storyboard?
A storyboard shows how a scene will unfold visually. It allows you to sketch a video’s core visual elements and movements before committing to a shot. It also helps production teams anticipate necessary resources, such as sets and props.
Are storyboards necessary?
While some video productions can function without storyboards, storyboards make helpful starting points. They give you a clearer idea of how to angle your camera and block your actors, ensuring a smooth and efficient filming session.
What is the most essential part of the storyboard?
The most important part of the storyboard is the sketch or frame. The images in a storyboard align your team on how you want your video to appear. Descriptions simply serve as additional clarifications — they rely on your illustrations to make sense.
