Storyboarding is more than just planning - it's a powerful creative tool.
Here are 5 benefits:
1. Visual Clarity : Helps visualise complex scenes before shooting.
2. Efficient Communication : Ensures everyone on set shares same the vision.
3. Timer Saver : Prepares the team for every shot, saving precious production time.
4. Early Problem-Solving : Identifies technical challenges ahead of the shoot.
5. Creative Exploration : Allows experimentation with scene composition without heavy costs.
What's your secrets?
I would love to hear.
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Though they''re helpfull, you don't have to use storyboards. Floorplans also work very good and are more easy to adjust and create during shooting on set. Especially when your working low budget you can't plan everything ahead and you need flexibility as a director to be able to make adjustments - to locations, mise-en-scene or weather f.e.
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Hi Willem Elzenga
Thanks for sharing your perspective. You make a great point—flexibility is crucial, especially in low-budget productions. Floorplans can definitely be a practical alternative, particularly when quick adjustments are needed on set.
That said, with the modern use of AI, rapid storyboarding is becoming a reality. AI tools can quickly generate visuals, whether in a hand-drawn style or something more polished, making storyboarding far less time-consuming than it used to be. Even for directors who need to adapt on the fly, having a framework of visuals can still be a very useful tool for aligning the team and planning key sequences.
I think the best approach might even combine both—storyboards for the big picture and floorplans for the on-set details. Would love to hear how you typically balance planning and improvisation in your projects.
Best, Vincent
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A moving storyboard drawn and animated is best. You can basically visualize the complete movie as a director and can even include sound and music. But storyboarding and animating is expensive. So if you have little money or no sponsor, floorplans will do. Of course the director needs to have talent in order to brief his co-workers and they have to have talent to understand a more abstract briefing as well. I personally am a very prep kind of a director and use improvisation basically only when there's time left or when unforeseen problems need to be solved. But it needs to be said that at certain times some of the best ideas during shooting come from improvisation.
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Hi Willem Elzenga , You’re absolutely right—a moving storyboard is best. By the end of February, a tool I know will release a rapid storyboarding feature using AI to quickly generate visuals, whether hand-drawn or more detailed. It also lets you create slideshows with timing and sound, making it an affordable alternative to traditional animated storyboards. It could be a practical solution for directors who value preparation. Best, Vincent
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Indeed professional storyboarding can be expensive but often it's so very helpful. For a quick-and-easy approach I've also used stock figures and drawn-in camera angles that I did myself. They've always seemed quite important on commercials when you're having to consider the placement of the hero product or the spokesperson and everyone needs to know that up front to make prep go faster.
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Hi Pamela Jaye Smith, Great point! Quick DIY approaches can be so effective for clear communication. If you could add any feature to a storyboarding tool, what would make the biggest difference for you?