A storyboard is an outline or pre-writing activity to do before you create a film. The core of a film is storytelling and follows the same plot points as anything you have ever written or read. The same way you would pre-write with a clear beginning, middle, and end in prose, you do the same with film, just add in the visuals of what you want to show. This ensures that you have a consistent atmosphere throughout the piece.

What do I need to include in my storyboard?

●Visuals of the story: You don’t need to worry because they don’t need to look polished. The sketches can be as basic as stick figures, as long as you can tell what the camera angle is and the who or what the focus of the shot is.

●Notes on the scene: We may not get all the info from your stick figure sketches, because, well, they are stick figure sketches. It’s important to add a note stating what the subject is doing in terms of any action.

●Timeframe: Videos can convey a lot in a short amount of time, especially in the land of social media. In the notes you should list how long the shot is. For stories on IG, FB, and LinkedIn you only have 15 seconds, make sure you get everything you need in there in time.

Don’t over think your storyboard and don’t be too precious with it. This is a jumping off point. We even created a template to take off the pressure. Download our storyboard template here.