What is a Storyboard and Why Do you Need One?
One of the most important stages of planning out your video is creating a storyboard.
A storyboard is a graphic representation of how your video will unfold, shot by shot. It is made up of a number of squares with illustrations or pictures representing each shot, with notes about what’s going on in the scene and what’s being said in the script during that shot. Think of it as sort of a comic book version of your script.
Why you need a storyboard?
Creating a storyboard might just sound like an extra step in the process of making a video, but trust us — it’s a step you won’t want to ignore.
A storyboard is the best way to share your vision
A visual aid makes it much easier for you to share and explain your vision for your video with others. We’ve all had experiences where we were trying to explain something to another person and they just didn’t get it — they couldn’t see our vision. When you have a storyboard, you can show people exactly how your video is going to be mapped out and what it will look like. This makes it infinitely easier for them to understand your idea.
A storyboard makes production much easier
When you storyboard your video you are basically setting up a plan for production, including all the shots that you will need, the order that they’ll be laid out, and how the visuals will interact with the script. This really comes in handy when you are making your video, as it ensures that you won’t forget any shots. It also comes in handy during editing, as it serves as a nice guide for your editor so they can piece together the video according to your vision. This will also prevent you from requesting multiple revisions from your editor, saving you time and money
A storyboard saves you time
While it may take you a little while to put your storyboard together, in the long run it will save you time. Not only will it save you time by making it easier to explain your vision to the people you are working on the video with, but also by providing a solid shot list that will make the creation process go more smoothly.
How to make a storyboardThe first step in creating a storyboard is to draw a series of squares on a piece of paper (you can also find tons of printable storyboard templates on Google). Think of these squares as the video frame. In each square a different shot or scene will take place. You can sketch the scenes by hand, create them on a computer or even take photographs. Make sure to leave space to write notes and lines from the script beneath or next to each frame.
Beneath each picture you should write the lines from the script that will be said in that shot and jot down some notes about what is happening in the scene. People should be able to read through your storyboard like a comic book to get a sense of exactly what will happen in your video.
Note that your storyboard doesn’t have to be incredibly detailed — you don’t have to draw in all of the props or even use color. If you’re not great at drawing that’s fine too. Just provide enough visual detail to give an impression of what is happening, which characters are in the scene and what the general framing will look like. The script and notes will help fill in the rest of the details. You can also make notes about camera angles and movement, transitions between shots and other details that will come in handy during production and post production.
One of the most important stages of planning out your video is creating a storyboard.
A storyboard is a graphic representation of how your video will unfold, shot by shot. It is made up of a number of squares with illustrations or pictures representing each shot, with notes about what’s going on in the scene and what’s being said in the script during that shot. Think of it as sort of a comic book version of your script.
Why you need a storyboard?
Creating a storyboard might just sound like an extra step in the process of making a video, but trust us — it’s a step you won’t want to ignore.
A storyboard is the best way to share your vision
A visual aid makes it much easier for you to share and explain your vision for your video with others. We’ve all had experiences where we were trying to explain something to another person and they just didn’t get it — they couldn’t see our vision. When you have a storyboard, you can show people exactly how your video is going to be mapped out and what it will look like. This makes it infinitely easier for them to understand your idea.
A storyboard makes production much easier
When you storyboard your video you are basically setting up a plan for production, including all the shots that you will need, the order that they’ll be laid out, and how the visuals will interact with the script. This really comes in handy when you are making your video, as it ensures that you won’t forget any shots. It also comes in handy during editing, as it serves as a nice guide for your editor so they can piece together the video according to your vision. This will also prevent you from requesting multiple revisions from your editor, saving you time and money
A storyboard saves you time
While it may take you a little while to put your storyboard together, in the long run it will save you time. Not only will it save you time by making it easier to explain your vision to the people you are working on the video with, but also by providing a solid shot list that will make the creation process go more smoothly.
How to make a storyboardThe first step in creating a storyboard is to draw a series of squares on a piece of paper (you can also find tons of printable storyboard templates on Google). Think of these squares as the video frame. In each square a different shot or scene will take place. You can sketch the scenes by hand, create them on a computer or even take photographs. Make sure to leave space to write notes and lines from the script beneath or next to each frame.
Beneath each picture you should write the lines from the script that will be said in that shot and jot down some notes about what is happening in the scene. People should be able to read through your storyboard like a comic book to get a sense of exactly what will happen in your video.
Note that your storyboard doesn’t have to be incredibly detailed — you don’t have to draw in all of the props or even use color. If you’re not great at drawing that’s fine too. Just provide enough visual detail to give an impression of what is happening, which characters are in the scene and what the general framing will look like. The script and notes will help fill in the rest of the details. You can also make notes about camera angles and movement, transitions between shots and other details that will come in handy during production and post production.