What Are Storyboards Used For?

Updated 2/2/2022

Storyboarding is an efficient way to communicate ideas with a team and has been used for centuries in theater productions. Today Storyboards are used in almost every production application that requires visualization of a scene. For example, A storyboard for a play could be as simple as sketches of each scene on individual cards, or it could be more elaborate, like a series of drawings that show the entire flow of the story. And using storyboards in a professional setting can eliminate trial-and-error or uncertainty commonly associated with new projects.

Here are a few storyboard examples and some of the more common uses for storyboards in 2022 and beyond:

Film

Storyboards for film production are essentially large sketchbooks that outline the film or sections of the film from a creative point-of-view, to be used by cinematographers and television commercial advertising clients to visualize the scenes better and find potential problems before they occur.

Film storyboards are similar to comic books in that they employ panels of images with accompanying notes. Often storyboards include arrows or instructions that indicate movement. Animated films and television series use storyboards in the development process because it allows the animators and directors to work out any screenplay or timing issues with the current storyboarded scene before they start animating; this saves the expensive costs of re-doing an entire animation scene.

View Film Storyboard Samples

Theatre

Storyboards hold a special place in the theater setting. They are frequently used in pre-production as tools for directors and playwrights to understand the scene’s layout better. Many actors also find storyboards to comprehend the scene’s structure better, mainly if multiple scenes occur in the exact location. Stage managers can also use storyboards to help organize their thoughts and make notes on how they want things to look. Improv troupes often use simple sketches of scenes to help them stay on track while performing.

View Theater Storyboards Samples

Animatics

Animatics are used in animation projects, typically after the storyboarding stage and consist of simplified mock-ups to understand better how the scene will look and feel in full motion. Animatics allow animators and directors to work out a portion of a screenplay to fix any issues within the storyboard. Advertising agencies commonly use this medium to create inexpensive test cases and aid the creative process.

View Animatics and Animated Storyboards

Advertising

Storyboards, 3D Art and animation, play a significant role in all aspects of advertising and pre-production for campaigns intended to influence or call to action. Industries that use storyboards in advertising production include commercial production, films, event launches, video games, new media and more. And as more productions integrate digital technologies, the association between traditional story art visualization and 3D art is getting stronger.

View Advertising Storyboards

Photomatic

A photomatic is a series of still photographs edited together and presented on screen in a sequence. This method of storyboarding is gaining popularity by advertisers to measure the effectiveness of a storyline before committing to an entire storyboard. Like an animatic, a photomatic is another research asset to gauge the effectiveness of a campaign.

View Photomatic Storyboards

Comic Books & Cartoons

Comic book art and storyboard art are similar in look and style. Storyboard art can be used for making comic books and vice versa. This medium can also be used for scripting comic books to stage the scene and show the positioning of the characters in the story.

Some storyboard artists even start as cartoonists and then move into storyboarding for film, television or advertising. Some also choose to work as cartoonists, creating comics and illustrations for publishers.

View Comic Book Storyboards

Business

Storyboards are used by many businesses today for planning advertising campaigns, commercials, events, proposals and other presentations intended to influence or call to action. Storyboards are also used for accounting to develop flowcharts to measure the cost of consumable resources, identify and eliminate added expenses, determine metrics, and perform performance optimization.

View Business Storyboards

On a Final Note

A storyboard is an essential part of the creative process for any new project in almost any setting. It can help you plan out strategies, campaigns or even event launches. Storyboards are also helpful when revamping websites and blogs to visualize what works best before implementing changes across multiple platforms.
By taking the time to create a storyboard, you increase your chances of success with any new project. What will you storyboard today?

To see a huge library of storyboard examples please visit Famous Frames.