Storyboard Template
A storyboard for a video, ad or animation: a frame to sketch each shot, with the action, the audio and the timing beside it.
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| # | Frame | Action and camera | Audio and dialogue | Time |
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| 1 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
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What is a Storyboard?
A storyboard plans a video, ad or animation shot by shot before anything is filmed or animated. Each frame holds a quick sketch of what the viewer sees, with the action and camera move, the audio or dialogue, and the length of the shot written beside it. It lets a team agree on the story, spot missing shots and check the running time while changes still cost nothing. Without one, those problems turn up on the shoot or in the edit. Fill in the storyboard template on this page and print it to sketch on.
Video producers, marketers, filmmakers, animators and content creators storyboard ads, explainer videos, product demos, training videos, social clips and short films. Teachers set storyboards for class video projects and for planning a story before it is written, and designers use them to show how a customer moves through a service. The storyboard comes after the script or outline and before the shoot: it is where the words become pictures, and where a client or teacher can approve the plan before time and money are spent.
The basics are the same everywhere, but the details depend on where the video will run and who is paying for it. Platforms and broadcasters publish their own specifications for length, aspect ratio and safe areas for text, and a client’s brand guidelines may control logos, colors and music. Filming on public streets or in parks may need a permit from your city or county film office, and people who appear on camera, along with any music you use, need the right permissions. Check these before you plan shots that depend on them.
A storyboard is not a script: it summarizes dialogue and narration rather than holding every word. It is not a shot list either; a shot list reorders the same shots by location and camera setup for the shoot day. It does not need finished artwork, since stick figures and arrows are enough, and it does not fix timing to the second. For that, many teams cut the frames together with a rough soundtrack into a timed version called an animatic.
What to put in a Storyboard
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Project | For example: Product Launch Video |
| Scene optional | For example: Scene 1 — Morning at the office |
| Number of frames | Free text |
| Shots optional | One per line: action or camera | audio or dialogue | duration |
How to make a storyboard
Split the script into shots
Enter the project’s name and, for a longer piece, the scene this page covers. Then read through the script or outline and mark where each new shot begins: every cut, new camera angle or change of place. One shot fills one frame. A short ad may fit on a single page, while a two-minute explainer will run over several pages, with one scene per page.
Choose how many frames to print
Pick 6, 9 or 12 frames per page. Six gives larger boxes for detailed sketches; nine or twelve suit a quick ad or a sequence of short shots. If you list more shots than frames, the form adds frames so that every shot has one. Each frame is numbered in order, which makes it easy to talk about ‘frame 4’ when the team reviews the boards.
Describe the action and the camera
For each shot, enter a line: action or camera | audio or dialogue | duration. In the first part, give the shot size, such as wide, medium or close-up, and any camera move, such as a pan, tilt, zoom or tracking shot, then what happens in the frame: ‘Close-up: hands open the box’. Specific notes settle these choices at the planning stage instead of on the day.
Add the audio and the timing
In the second part, write the dialogue or voiceover in quotation marks, along with music and sound effects, so the sound is planned together with the picture. In the third, give the length of the shot in seconds. Add up the durations before you go further: if the shots for a 30-second ad come to 45 seconds, cut or shorten shots now rather than in the edit.
Sketch the frames and review them in order
Print the page and sketch each frame in pencil; simple shapes, stick figures and arrows to show movement are enough. Show the framing, meaning how much of the person or product is in the shot. Then walk through the frames in order with the team or client, reading the audio aloud with a stopwatch, and fix gaps, repeats and confusing jumps before anything is filmed.
Storyboard example
The shot notes for a 30-second ad as typed into the form; each line becomes one numbered frame, with a box beside it for the sketch.
Storyboard example: 30-second ad for a delivery company
Storyboard — Northgate Logistics 30-second ad
Scene 1 — From the warehouse to the doorstep
1 · Wide shot: warehouse at dawn, trucks backing in · Soft guitar music begins · 4 sec
2 · Close-up: a scanner beeps on a package label · Beep; music continues · 3 sec
3 · Medium shot: Marcus loads the package into a van · Voiceover: “Every package carries a promise.” · 5 sec
4 · Tracking shot: the van drives through city streets · Music builds · 5 sec
5 · Medium shot: Emily opens her front door and takes the box · Voiceover: “We keep it.” · 5 sec
6 · Close-up: her daughter opens a science kit at the kitchen table · Daughter: “It came!” · 4 sec
7 · End card: logo and website · Voiceover: “Northgate Logistics. On time, every time.” · 4 sec
Total running time: 30 seconds
Common mistakes
- Drawing two or three shots in one frame, so the camera operator or animator cannot tell where one shot ends and the next one begins.
- Leaving out the timing, so the boards describe a 30-second ad that turns out to run much longer once it is actually shot.
- Spending hours on detailed artwork for a first draft, which makes everyone reluctant to cut or change shots that are not working.
- Writing ‘nice shot of the product’ instead of the shot size, angle and action, which leaves the real decisions to whoever happens to be filming that day.
- Planning shots around a location, a piece of music or a person you do not yet have permission to use, so the shoot stalls or the video cannot be published.
Frequently asked questions
What is a storyboard?
A storyboard is a sequence of drawings, one for each shot, that shows how a video, ad, animation or film will look before it is made. Beside each drawing are notes on the action, camera movement, dialogue, sound and timing. It works like a comic-strip version of the finished piece, letting the team and the client agree on the plan before filming or animation begins.
How do you make a storyboard?
Start with the script or outline and break it into shots, one for each cut or new camera angle. Give each shot a frame, and sketch what the viewer will see, with notes on the action, camera move, dialogue or sound, and length. Number the frames in order, add up the timings to check the total length, and review the boards with the team before you shoot.
What should be included in a storyboard?
Each frame needs a number and a simple sketch of the shot, with notes on what happens, the shot size and camera movement, the dialogue or voiceover, any music or sound effects, and how long the shot lasts. At the top, give the project’s name and the scene. Transitions between shots, such as a cut or a fade, can be noted between frames where they matter.
Do you need to be good at drawing to make a storyboard?
No. A storyboard only has to show what is in the shot and where: stick figures, boxes for products, arrows for movement and a horizon line are enough. What matters is the framing, meaning how close the camera is, and clear notes beside each frame. Some teams use photos taken on a phone instead of sketches, which works just as well for planning.
What is the difference between a storyboard and a script?
A script is the words: dialogue, narration and brief scene descriptions, in the order they happen. A storyboard is the pictures: one frame per shot showing what the camera sees, with the action, sound and timing beside it. Most projects write the script first and then storyboard it, because the storyboard turns the script into specific shots that someone can film or animate.
How many frames should a storyboard have?
One frame for every shot, so the number depends on the length of the piece and how quickly it cuts from shot to shot. A short ad with fast cuts can need more frames than a slow two-minute interview. Count the cuts in your script rather than aiming for a number. On this page you choose 6, 9 or 12 frames per page, and the form adds more if you list extra shots.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.