In a recent survey from Wyzowl, 88% of people said that watching a brand’s video convinced them to buy a product or a service. These numbers made businesses realise that they should develop their video marketing strategies.
And when creating any type of short video– from an explainer video, a micro-learning video, a sales video, to a marketing video, careful planning is crucial. One of the crucial steps for creating better videos is to use a storyboard to flesh out how much detail will be included in each frame.
Visualise your idea with a video storyboard
Storyboarding helps to visualise ideas that need to be conveyed in a story, frame-by-frame. One does not need to be a great artist to create a good storyboard—even a rough draft with stick figures would suffice as long as it can explain what is happening in each scene.
This guide will help you understand how to make a video storyboard and why having one is important to include in your video marketing campaigns.
Here’s a quick look at what you will expect to see in this article:
What is a Storyboard?
How to Create a Storyboard
Start with a plan
Start sketching
Add script and other details
Assess, get feedback, and revise
The Storyboarding Tool You Need
Why Do You Need a Storyboard?
Benefits of Creating a Storyboard
Get support from key stakeholders
Streamline production
Save time and resources
Create Your Storyboard
Take Video Production Planning to the Next Level
What is a Storyboard?
Think of a storyboard as a comic book version of your script. A storyboard is a visual representation of the shot-by-shot progression of your video. Each shot is represented by a square with a drawing or image, with comments describing what happens in the scene and what the script says.
Furthermore, a storyboard serves as a guide that directs you visually through the entire production process before a video is created. By creating a strategy for your video, you will be prepared for filming by knowing which scenes you’ll need and how to achieve them.
Instead of making significant changes while filming which can cost you even more time, money, and headaches, you can collect feedback early on and make revisions to your storyboard.
You don’t have to be a visual artist to produce a good storyboard (though you can be). A storyboard might include anything from basic sketches that resemble comic books, stick figures, or computer-generated images.
How to Create a Storyboard
Ready to get started? Let’s go over the steps of how to make a video storyboard and the tool you need to create one.
1. Start with a plan
There are a few things you need to clarify before making a storyboard and writing the script to visualise your idea. Storyboards have the potential to take up a lot of your time and resources. This is where you have the option to outsource it to professionals so you don’t have to get your hands dirty.
Even if you decide to make your own storyboard, it is important to define your goals before starting filming as it helps you to move forward to the next step of video production.
It is also important to include an effective and strong message that your audience would remember. Choose the right words to make sure that the message is delivered clearly.
Furthermore, figuring out the video duration early on can help you find the right platform to share your video. Keep in mind that your video should not be too long or you might lose the interest of your audience.
As soon as you know where to publish the video–whether it is on social media platforms or your website–figuring out the direction of the story would be easier.
2. Start Sketching
The next step is to draw the visual layout of each scenario. Keep in mind that your storyboard doesn’t require great drawing skills. You can draw simple stick figures, or use storyboard software so you can create storyboards quicker. The most important thing is to get your ideas out on paper.
Using a video storyboard template can make the process faster as you can easily edit or draw objects and shapes based on what you envision.
The other option is to work with a production team who can help you create a storyboard to make it look clearer including key elements such as the characters or props, when would they appear on the scene, theme, backdrop, and the order of sequence.
3. Add script and other details
A storyboard is a visual tool, but to achieve the best outcome, you also need to include non-visual details. Each frame should have the script’s lines or voice-overs added.
Be sure to add notes of the information that will be useful throughout production and post-production and other specifics. Explain in detail what is happening in each frame to get a better understanding of each shot.
For example, you can write information about the camera movement, whether it will zoom in or out, the subject’s movement, whether a voice-over or a super will be present, sound effects, etc.
4. Assess, get feedback, and revise
Once details and scripts have been added to each scene, it is now important to proofread and edit before you share it with the people involved to get their feedback. It’s a great way to get insight from the team and communicate your idea as this eliminates the risk of delays and miscommunications.
Keep in mind the goal as you create the storyboards, and don’t be afraid to edit whenever necessary. The perfect time to make changes to your script and visuals is during this step of the process to lessen the extra step later on when filming starts.
Also read: A Complete Guide to Perfect Videography!
The Storyboarding Tool You Need
There are different storyboarding tools you can choose from when creating storyboards. Traditionally, storyboards were created using basic drawing tools like pens, pencils, coloured markers, and paper.
But you can go high-tech with the help of tools like this storyboarding software from Boords.com or theplot.io. Or you might want to use presentation software like Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides to create your storyboard. Similarly, you may use graphic design software such as Adobe Illustrator and InDesign.
Whatever tool you decide to use, be sure to set them up keeping in mind the size of your thumbnails should be roughly the same as the aspect ratio of your video such as 4:3, 16:9, square, etc.
Why Do You Need a Storyboard?
A storyboard helps to save you time and resources in video planning. It’s a great approach to breaking down the scenes through storyboards as it ensures that everything is in line with your vision and brand. A good storyboard should help you envision what you want to see on a video during its early stage.
With the help of a well-thought-out storyboard, you and your production team can visualise the idea from setting up to filming, video editing, and releasing the final product. Putting together the assets you need, estimating the time it should take, and calculating the total cost are all made easier by creating a video storyboard.
Making sure you have everything you need at this point will provide you with another opportunity to ensure that you can complete your project on time and within your budget. Making a storyboard streamlines the entire video production process and you’ll be able to plan more efficiently, communicate your idea to others more clearly, and avoid problems during production.
Benefits of Creating a Storyboard
If you want to promote a product or service with your target audience or educate and inspire them, creating a video that delivers an easy-to-understand and straightforward message is needed to make the video launch successful.
And the first step in achieving success is by having a plan for how the video would look like. This is why a video storyboard is necessary to make the full video production work.
Here are the benefits of creating a storyboard in your video production planning.
1. Get support from key stakeholders
A storyboard’s visual elements are frequently more successful in pre-production than a script in helping people visualise your video. Sharing your storyboard with colleagues and decision-makers early on in the process helps ensure that they understand your vision and the story you want to tell.
Lastly, if you need a green light from your boss or investors, a good storyboard would help them to see clearly why producing a video for your marketing campaign is essential to produce greater results.
2. Streamline production
By creating storyboards, you are pushed to plan out many of the specifics of your videos in advance, including the shots you want, the order in which the scenes will be taken, the objects or equipment you will need, etc.
Additionally, storyboarding might show you whether your script is lacking a crucial line of logic or language or whether your story is as cohesive as you had originally imagined.
3. Save time and resources
Revisions to a storyboard take far less time and effort than revisions to a video. Storyboarding allows you to identify the shots you’ll need upfront, saving you time and money in video production and special effects. A storyboard can also be edited far more easily than a video.
What’s even better is that production is more seamless once you know the sequence for each scene. You know roughly where to put your shots, different camera angles, your script, and everything else you need to make an engaging video! Prioritising these issues and solving them earlier on will save you time and effort so you can focus on the next steps of production.
Create Your Storyboard
After learning how to create a video storyboard, it is now time to make one. If you’re feeling inspired and need to get your ideas down on paper, go ahead and start drawing! You can revisit your storyboards and modify them later on once you add all the details and scripts you need. Storyboards are the perfect tool for letting your ideas flow, so have fun with them.
If drawing might be time-consuming for you or your team, using storyboard templates can make production faster. As long as you write all the important details in each frame, storyboarding doesn’t need to be complex. The main goal is to create images that describe how you want the video to look.
Also read: All You Need To Know About Video Production
Take Video Production Planning to the Next Level
Creating a video storyboard is one of the crucial steps in producing a video. You can use the old technique by using paper and pencil or use storyboarding templates available today and start creating your video storyboard.
But if you’re still thinking about what to do next with your video marketing content, then working with an animation studio company like SuperPixel can walk you through every step of the way to realise the direction you need to succeed. We have a creative team of professionals that will create a step-by-step process for making animated videos that would connect to your audience and meet your brand goals.
Talk to us today and let’s start creating the video marketing campaign you need for your next project.
