A storyboard is a sequence of drawings, arranged in order, that pre-visualises a film, commercial, animation, music video or interactive experience. Each panel represents one shot or one beat. Below every panel, the crew writes the information the shot needs — camera angle, lens, duration, dialogue, action notes.
The storyboard is not art. It is a shooting document: the single file that tells the director, the cinematographer, the editor and the client what the sequence will look like before a camera rolls.
Where storyboards came from
Webb Smith at Disney is credited with inventing the storyboard in the early 1930s. He pinned sequential sketches to a corkboard so the animation team could see an entire cartoon before drawing it. The format spread to live-action film in the 1940s and is now standard in every production that plans its shots before shooting them.
The core idea has not changed in ninety years: draw the sequence, pin it up, argue about it, fix it, then go shoot it.
What a storyboard is for
A storyboard answers four questions for a production crew:
Without a storyboard, these conversations happen on set, in real time, at $10,000 an hour. With a storyboard, they happen in a room, for free, before the shoot.
- What does the shot look like? — framing, camera angle, character position
- What happens in the shot? — action, dialogue, camera movement
- How long does it last? — duration in seconds
- What comes next? — the cut to the following panel
Who uses storyboards
See use cases for industry-specific workflows.
| Industry | What they storyboard |
|---|---|
| Film | Every scripted scene, plus VFX and stunt sequences |
| Television | Multi-camera blocking, title sequences, cold opens |
| Advertising | 15-second and 30-second spots, often with client approval |
| Animation | Every frame — the storyboard is the blueprint |
| Music video | Performance and narrative sequences, synced to the track |
| YouTube | Skippable ads, intros, sponsored segments |
| Education | Plot diagrams, visual essays, sequencing exercises |
| UX / product | User flows, interaction sequences |
What goes in each storyboard panel
A production-grade panel carries both the drawing and the data:
The drawing communicates the visual. The fields communicate the production intent. Both are required for the board to function as a shooting document.
See shot list for how these fields become a table, and shot size for the WS / MS / CU vocabulary.
| Field | What it says |
|---|---|
| Frame number | Sequential identifier (1, 2, 3…) |
| Shot size | Wide shot (WS), medium shot (MS), close-up (CU), etc. |
| Camera angle | Eye level, low angle, high angle, Dutch |
| Lens | Focal length in mm (24mm, 50mm, 85mm) |
| Camera movement | Static, pan, tilt, dolly, crane, handheld |
| Duration | Seconds the shot lasts |
| Dialogue / VO | What is said or narrated |
| Audio / SFX | Sound effects, music cues |
| Action notes | What happens in the frame |
Storyboard vs animatic
A storyboard is a sequence of static panels. An animatic is the same sequence, timed to audio, so you can play it back and feel the pacing.
Most productions make both: the storyboard first, to agree on the shots; the animatic second, to agree on the pacing. See storyboard vs animatic for a longer treatment.
| Storyboard | Animatic | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Static panels, arranged in order | Panels timed to a soundtrack |
| Purpose | Pre-visualise shots | Pre-visualise timing and rhythm |
| When | Early pre-production | After the board is approved |
| Tool | Drawing surface + shot fields | Timeline + audio track |
How to make a storyboard
The workflow has seven steps. See how to make a storyboard for the full guide.
- Break the script into beats — every location, intention or subject change is a new frame
- Block the frames in low fidelity — rough boxes and stick figures until the edit reads
- Reuse characters and locations — save each element once, drop it into new frames
- Write the shot data as you board — fill in shot size, lens, duration while the intention is fresh
- Review and revise — share the board with the director or client, get feedback on the sequence
- Build the animatic — time the panels to audio
- Export the deliverables — PDF for the crew, CSV for the 1st AD, MP4 for the animatic
Storyboard templates
If you want to start from a template rather than a blank page:
- Storyboard template — 8, 12 or 16 panels with shot footers
- Free storyboard template — PDF, Markdown and CSV downloads
- Shot list template — the 9 columns a crew will actually read
- Worksheet templates — Frayer, T-chart, cycle for classrooms
Storyboard software
You can make a storyboard with pencil and paper. Software adds three things: the shot data stays with the frame, the sequence is reorderable, and the export is production-ready.
See storyboard software for the full guide, or best storyboard software 2026 for how to choose.
FAQ
Is a storyboard the same as a comic?
No. A comic is a finished piece of art meant to be read. A storyboard is a shooting document meant to be argued about. The drawing quality matters less than the information it carries.
Do I need to be able to draw?
No. Stick figures answer the questions that matter — who is in frame, where the camera sits, which way people look. Many professional storyboards are rough sketches with detailed notes.
How many panels does a storyboard have?
As many as the sequence needs. A 30-second commercial might have 8–12 panels. A feature film might have 1,000+. The board is as long as the script requires.
Can AI make a storyboard?
AI can generate a first pass — see what AI storyboard generators get wrong. The expensive part of pre-production is the eleven passes after the first one: the director wants frame 7 tighter, the client wants the product bigger, legal wants the logo gone.
What is the difference between a storyboard and a shot list?
A storyboard is a sequence of drawings. A shot list is a table of the same information in row form. Both describe the same production; the storyboard is visual, the shot list is tabular. See shot list.