# Commercial storyboards that fit the slot

Canonical URL: https://www.cineoboard.com/commercial-storyboard

How to storyboard a TV or digital commercial: panel count, duration math, pack shots, supers, legal, and a client review round that does not explode the board.

Last updated: 2026-09-13

A commercial storyboard fails in one of two ways: it is late, or it is 44 seconds of pictures sold as a :30. Duration is the job. Drawing is how you argue about duration.

Step-by-step: [how to storyboard a commercial](/blog/how-to-storyboard-a-commercial). Example frames: [storyboard examples](/storyboard-examples).

## Duration math before art

Write seconds on every panel. Sum them. If the sum is not 15.00 or 30.00, cut panels or cut time. The [animatic](/animatic-software) is how you prove it to a client who cannot add.

Supers (on-screen legal, URLs, claims) eat duration. Time them on the frame that holds them, not “in the mix later.”

## Pack shots are elements, not one-off drawings

The product has to look like the same object in shot 2 and shot 14. Save it as an element. Regenerating a pack shot for every frame is how continuity notes become a legal problem.

## Client rounds without duplicating the board

Send a [review link](/blog/client-review-for-storyboards), not `Board_v7_REAL.pdf`. Comments sit on the frame. Approvals are a state, not an email. Agencies: [CineoBoard for agencies](/for/agencies).

## What belongs on a commercial board

- 8–16 panels for a :15/:30, plus coverage if you will shoot it
- Product / endline / super called out in the footer
- Music or VO cues against specific frames
- A shot list that matches, because the production company will build the day from the list

Templates: [free storyboard template](/free-storyboard-template).

## FAQ

### Who draws the commercial storyboard — agency or production?

Either. What matters is one versioned board both sides comment on. Split files are how the shoot uses the wrong pack shot.

### Can I generate the first pass?

Yes, then lock characters and pack shots before anyone spends money. [What generators get wrong](/blog/ai-storyboard-generator-what-it-gets-wrong).

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