What a storyboard is
A storyboard is a sequence of frames, each with notes, that shows how a film will look and sound. It comes after the script and before production. Its job is to let everyone agree on the film while changing it is still cheap.
It does not have to be beautiful. A rough sketch or a described image is enough, as long as every shot is there and in the right order.
The template
Copy this table and add a row for each shot. The columns are the same whether the film is a thirty-second ad or a four-minute explainer.
| No. | Picture | Voice | On-screen text | Sound | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What the viewer sees: subject, framing, movement | The words spoken, exactly | Words that appear, exactly | Music, effects, silence | Seconds |
| 2 | |||||
| 3 |
How to fill each shot
Start with the voice column, because the words decide the length of every shot. Then describe the picture in one sentence: who or what is on screen, how close, and what moves. Add the on-screen text only where the picture cannot carry the point. Last, note the sound.
Keep one idea per shot. If a row needs two sentences of picture, split it into two shots.
Check it before you approve it
Read the voice column aloud with a timer and compare it with the lengths you wrote. Then look only at the picture column and ask whether the film still makes sense without sound. A good storyboard passes both tests.
Show it to someone who has not seen the brief. Wherever they hesitate, the film will hesitate too.
When a storyboard is not enough
A storyboard shows composition, not quality. It cannot show whether the final footage looks right, whether the product is correct or whether a voice feels trustworthy. That is why we also show you the edit before we finish a film.
