How to make a storyboard

To make a storyboard, break your script or outline into individual shots, then sketch or describe each one as a numbered panel that pairs a visual frame with notes on the action, camera angle, on-screen text, dialogue, and timing. You don't need to draw well, you need each panel to answer "what does the viewer see and hear in this moment," so the whole team shares one visual plan before filming.

That's the whole job: turn words into a sequence of pictures, in order, that anyone on the team can read the same way. This guide covers what each panel should contain, the step-by-step process, why drawing skill is optional, how to convert a script and shot list into panels, how many panels you need, the mistakes to avoid, and a real worked example you could hand to a crew.

What is a storyboard and what should each panel include?

A storyboard is a sequence of panels, each representing one shot, that shows the visual flow of a video before you film or animate it. Think of it as a comic strip of your video: read the panels left to right, top to bottom, and you see the whole thing play out in your head.

Every panel should answer the same six questions, so nobody downstream has to guess:

• Visual frame: what's in the shot, roughly composed. A sketch, a reference photo, or a clear text description all count.
• Action: one line on what's happening or moving in the frame.
• Camera: the angle, framing (wide, medium, close), and any movement (pan, push-in, static).
• On-screen text: any captions, lower-thirds, graphics, or end-card copy.
• Audio: the voiceover line, dialogue, or key sound for that moment.
• Duration: an estimate in seconds, so the panels add up to your target runtime.

Get those six on every panel and you have a plan a stranger could shoot from. Skip them and you have pretty pictures with no instructions.

How do you make a storyboard for a marketing video step by step?

Work in this order, from settled strategy down to individual frames. Each step inherits from the one before it, so you never sketch a shot you haven't earned.

1. Start from a locked script or outline. You can't storyboard a video you haven't decided on. Settle what's said and the narrative beats first.
2. Break the script into shots. Read it through and mark every place the visual would change. Each change is a new panel.
3. Number the panels in sequence. One panel per shot, in playing order. Numbering keeps reorders and crew references unambiguous.
4. Sketch or describe each frame. Rough is fine. The goal is "viewer sees X," not gallery-quality art.
5. Add the notes. Camera, on-screen text, audio line, and an estimated duration on every panel.
6. Map the call-to-action to the end. The last panel or two should carry the CTA: the logo, the offer, the "book a demo."
7. Check the timing adds up. Sum the durations. If your 45-second ad storyboards to 70 seconds, cut panels now, not in the edit.
8. Review with stakeholders before you shoot. A storyboard is the cheapest place to catch a missing shot or a clunky transition.

"It's much easier and less time-consuming to make revisions to a storyboard than to a video." — Vyond, animated video platform

That's the whole value in one sentence. You see the video before you spend a day shooting it, while changes still cost a pencil eraser instead of a reshoot.

Do you need to be able to draw to create a storyboard?

No. Drawing skill helps, but it is not required and never has been. A storyboard is a communication tool, not an art piece. What matters is that each panel clearly conveys the shot, not that it's beautiful.

If you can't draw, you have plenty of options that work just as well:

• Stick figures. An arrow for camera movement and a box for the frame is enough to convey blocking.
• Reference photos. Pull stills from similar videos or stock images that match the framing you want.
• Text-only panels. A labelled box with a one-line description ("medium shot, manager at desk, paper everywhere") communicates the shot fine.
• Simple shapes. Rectangles for screens, circles for faces, lines for the horizon. Crude but legible.

The test is not "is this good art." The test is "could someone who didn't write this shoot it." If yes, the panel works.

How do you turn a script and shot list into storyboard panels?

Map them one to one: each shot on your shot list becomes one storyboard panel, and the script supplies the audio and on-screen text for that panel. The three documents are layers of the same plan, not competing ones.

Here's how the three relate, so you don't duplicate work:

• The script captures what's said and the narrative arc.
• The shot list enumerates every individual shot you need to capture.
• The storyboard takes those shots and shows them visually, one panel per shot, with framing, camera notes, and timing.

So the workflow is linear: write the script, derive the shot list from it, then draw one panel per shot and pull the matching script line into each panel's audio note. The storyboard is where the words finally become a picture the crew can follow.

How many panels does a marketing video storyboard need?

For most marketing videos, 8 to 15 panels is the sweet spot: enough to cover the opener, the problem, the solution, and the CTA without bloating into a frame-by-frame epic. A 30- to 60-second ad usually lands in that range comfortably.

The rule isn't a fixed count, it's one panel per distinct shot. A few guidelines:

• Short social ads (15 to 60s): roughly 8 to 15 panels, one per visual change.
• Explainers and product videos (60 to 120s): 15 to 30 panels, grouped by section.
• Talking-head or text-on-screen videos: fewer panels for the main track, but add one per cutaway, graphic, or setting change.

If you find yourself drawing 40 panels for a 30-second ad, you're storyboarding camera micro-adjustments that belong in the edit, not the plan. Pull back to one panel per shot the viewer would notice.

What are the most common storyboarding mistakes to avoid?

Here's what a storyboard looks like in PlanThatVideo

Here's a real prompt you can paste into PlanThatVideo, and the storyboard it turns that one paragraph into. The point isn't the tool. It's the shape: a loose idea in, a shot-by-shot panel plan out.

And the storyboard it produces: one panel per shot, sequenced opener to problem to solution to CTA, each with a frame, camera note, on-screen text, voiceover line, and duration.

Six panels, 35 seconds of plan with room to breathe in a 45-second slot, sequenced exactly opener (1), problem (2), turn (3), solution (4 to 5), CTA (6). That's a plan you could hand to a crew or an animator as is.

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