What is a Storyboard? Definition and Film Examples

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Published: April 20, 2025 | Last Updated: May 22, 2025

Think of a storyboard as a comic strip version of your film. It doesn’t need to be fancy , stick figures work , but it should clearly show what the camera will see. Storyboards let you break down complex scenes, communicate your vision, and save time and money on set.

Why Use a Storyboard?

Storyboarding helps you avoid guesswork. When the whole crew sees what’s planned visually, it makes camera setups, lighting, and editing more efficient. Directors use them to experiment with framing before anyone touches a camera. Editors can spot potential continuity issues early. Even actors benefit by understanding blocking and camera angles.

Storyboards don’t just help the director , they help every department prep smarter. Gaffers know where to place lights, production designers understand frame composition, and the 1st AD can anticipate the number of setups needed per day. This kind of prep cuts down confusion and decision paralysis during the shoot.

It’s also a great way to pitch a project. If your script is hard to imagine, storyboards can give producers and investors a clearer idea of the final product.

Read more on how to create creative pitch decks.

What Goes Into a Storyboard?

Each storyboard frame should show more than just what’s on screen. Add:

• Sketch or image: Shows the frame’s composition, angle, and movement.
• Shot type: Wide, close-up, over-the-shoulder, etc.
• Camera direction: Arrows or text for pans, tilts, zooms, or tracking shots.
• Action notes: What’s happening in the shot.
• Dialogue or sound: Optional, but helps link visuals to the script.
• Lighting: Use arrows or shading to show key light direction or label “low-key” or “high-key.”
• Sound: Add musical notes and a quick description , “low cello music” or “loud footsteps.”
• Camera Focus: Mark whether the shot starts in the background and pulls to the foreground, or stays shallow.
• Editing: Add transitions like “cut,” “fade to black,” or “cross dissolve” between frames.
• Shot duration: Even a rough note like “2s” or “6s” helps with pacing.

Remember that if your sketch doesn’t make the detail obvious, write it beside or inside the frame. Storyboards are for clarity, not art galleries.

The layout is similar whether you’re shooting a short film or a big-budget feature, but the level of detail varies depending on your style and needs.

Storyboard vs. Shot List

Some people confuse storyboards with shot lists. A storyboard is visual , it shows what the camera sees. A shot list is textual , it tells the crew what shots to capture. Most productions use both. The storyboard gives you the visual logic of the scene, while the shot list helps you organize your shoot day efficiently.

Types of Storyboards

There’s no single way to storyboard. Here are the most common types:

• Traditional storyboard: Hand-drawn panels on paper or digital tablets. Used for features, animation, and commercial work.
• Thumbnail storyboard: Fast, rough sketches that focus more on blocking and rhythm than detail.
• Animatic: A storyboard turned into a timed video sequence, sometimes with temp sound or music. Used heavily in animation and VFX-heavy films.

Famous Storyboards in Film History

Some directors storyboard every single frame. Alfred Hitchcock was obsessive with them , Psycho (1960) and Vertigo (1958) were both heavily storyboarded in advance. Steven Spielberg uses storyboards for action set pieces, like the truck chase in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, Paramount Pictures).

Ridley Scott even sketches his own boards , famously known as “Ridleygrams” , with sharp lighting and framing cues baked in. His boards for Blade Runner (1982, Warner Bros.) show how the final compositions were planned down to the millimeter.

Storyboarding as Writing

Walt Disney didn’t just plan shots; he developed stories through storyboards. At his studio, scripts often started as drawings. Teams would “write” with panels, revising structure, rhythm, and visual beats until everything worked. It was cheaper than animating too early and shaped how animated and live-action films are planned today.

Modern directors still use boards this way. If a scene doesn’t work visually, storyboarding lets you catch it before it eats time or budget on set.

Story Reels: Watching Before Shooting

Disney also invented story reels , rough cuts of the movie made from storyboard panels. These reels (in live-action production called animatics) are timed to audio and music, so the animators can see the rhythm of a scene before production starts. It’s how many animation studios still work today, and it’s become a useful previsualization method for action and VFX sequences in live-action too.

How to Make a Storyboard

Great storyboards aren’t about great art. They’re about great communication. If the frame clearly shows what needs to happen , even with stick figures , it’s doing its job. Use labels, arrows, and notes to clarify your intent, especially if someone else is using your board on set.

You don’t need to be a great artist. Even Steven Spielberg draws stick figures. What matters is clarity , as long as the panel shows the composition, subject placement, and movement, it works. You can always hand it off to an illustrator later if needed.

Start with a storyboard template or blank panels. Sketch basic shapes to represent characters and environments. Add arrows to show subject or camera movement. Arrange your boards digitally using tools like Storyboarder, Boords, or PowerPoint.

One helpful trick is using color to show movement. Red arrows mark subject movement or action (like running, falling, or shooting). Blue arrows show camera movement , pans, tilts, zooms, or push-ins. This quick visual code makes things easier for the crew and – later – the editor.

To storyboard a zoom or push-in, don’t draw two panels. Instead, sketch one frame and add a blue box inside it to mark where the final frame lands. Then use blue arrows to indicate the movement. It’s simple, efficient, and it saves space.

Another good thing to remember is to help the editor with key transitions. For example, you can draw a cross between two frames to indicate a crossfade.

Once your panels are clear, add short descriptions below each frame. List the scene number, frame number, and any quick notes about action, emotion, or technical direction.

Beyond Filmmaking: Storyboards in Other Fields

Storyboards aren’t just for movies. They’re used in education, UX and UI design, marketing, and animation. Anywhere you need to visualize a process or story before production, storyboarding becomes a low-cost way to plan and communicate.

Summing Up

Storyboards are a planning tool, like a map for your film. They help you test ideas, communicate with your team, and confidently move through production. Whether you’re working with a studio or shooting solo, storyboards help you film faster, shoot smarter, and keep everyone on the same page.