16 Storyboard Templates
If you happen to work in the entertainment industry, you have probably needed tools like storyboard templates. After all, you would need a simple tool for presenting the most basic ideas you have for any project you might be working on, and these templates would definitely save you time making your storyboards.
Of course, your own storyboards would differ, so your user storyboards would have to be unique. That said, storyboard templates are fairly simple tools, and can easily be adapted to whatever ideas you have in mind so as to serve you best. After all, they would need to be simple to meet such needs.
Video Storyboard Template
Storyboard for Music Video
Corporate Video
Free Video Storyboard
Basics of Creating Storyboards
There are some things to keep in mind when using simple storyboard templates and making storyboards in general. You can will some of these elements in storyboard examples, which include:
- Making a basic image of the scene so as to guide how it should look.
- Creating short notes as a guide for how the scene plays out.
- Establishing a proper flow from one image to another to create a pattern for the scene to follow.
- Describe any details you want in the image, which can include shots, lighting, effects, etc.
What Not to Include in a Storyboard
In practically any storyboard template, such as printable storyboard templates and comic storyboard templates, there are some elements you do not want to add, such as:
- Intricate detail, as the storyboard is simply a guide for visualizing and describing the scenes in your project.
- Extensive notes, as there is no need to include too many details on a storyboard. If anything, you are just skimming through a scene.
- Complete dialogue, as this is a detail that can be added and refined later on in the script. If anything, you can add these as short notes for brevity’s sake.
Film Storyboard
Blank Film Storyboard
Documentary Film Storyboard
Animation Storyboard
Basic Animation Storyboard
What Projects Storyboard Templates Can Help You With
It should be clear by now that these tools, especially specific examples like storyboard templates in Word, are meant to be aids for helping you make your own storyboards specific to your own projects. Of course, that there are different audio and video storyboard templates is an indicator that there are any number of different projects where you could use storyboards:
- Film, which might be one of the most obvious uses of storyboarding. It is practically standard operating procedure to use storyboards to explain various technical aspects of the filming process, such as cinematography, lighting, etc. This works because the storyboard is able to capture those elements and explain them to the rest of the production well before the actual work begins.
- Animation, which is an even more appropriate medium for storyboards. Being that everything in an animated film must be animated first, storyboards would make a perfect tool for the planning stages of the film, especially with regard to animation and its flow. This way, animators, directors, etc. can examine and contribute to the film as early as pre-production.
- Comic books, which are definitely another medium that benefits from using storyboards. Like animation, comic art must be drawn in order to produce the final product, and like film, each panel is akin to a shot. As such, it is imperative that artists and writers have a tool for examining the comic well before work gets under way.
- Music videos, which are a unique type of film, in that, it would be possible to plan out the technical aspects. But a music video would have to conform to the actual song playing at the time. Thankfully, there are indeed storyboard templates with tools that allow you to plan out the video according to the song, such as measuring the duration of a shot to match a song’s beat.
- Theater, which can still use storyboards so as to more easily visualize the layout of a given scene so as to get feedback before committing to anything physically.
Film Storyboard
Blank Film Storyboard
Storyboard for Grid Film
Business Storyboard
Free Business Storyboard Format
How a Storyboard Works
While you can tell what storyboard templates in PDF can do for you, the question of “how” still remains. Whether animation storyboard templates or anything else, you can expect more or less the same things from any storyboard.
- Breaks up scenes into something smaller, so that it becomes easier to visualize and manage even the most detailed sequences.
- Describes director’s vision, as storyboards can capture and reflect the director’s ideas, down to the most technical details.
- Allows for easier arrangement, as storyboards make it easier to arrange different sequences together to make a more cohesive whole.
Why You Should Get these Storyboard Templates
You may already have an idea of what concrete things free storyboard templates can do for you, but there are some traits that PowerPoint storyboard templates and their like possess that make them all the more enticing.
- Convenient, as the basic templates already have everything you should need to start working.
- Flexible, as you should be able to find a storyboard template that suits your purposes, no matter what project you may be working on.
- Editable, which allows you to change anything you may create if you discover better ways of working in the course of your project.
Commercial Storyboard
TV Commercial Storyboard
Commercial Storyboard Example
Storyboard for Commercial Video
Digital Storyboard
Blank Digital Storyboard
Digital Stories Storyboard
Project Storyboard
Video Project Storyboard
Do’s and Don’t’s of a Storyboard
It may interest you to know that there are some guidelines to keep aware of when using your storyboard templates. After all, these tips could very well turn out to have an effect on your storyboard formats, which would make it wise to take advantage of them for your projects, such as education storyboard templates.
- Do remain flexible. This would allow you to keep an open mind, and make any changes that would be necessary.
- Do stay concise. The storyboard is only a simple run-through, and any more detailed additions should be included elsewhere.
- Do keep everything simple. This makes it easier to go through the basics as included in a storyboard, and makes it easier to implement changes when necessary.
- Do not be vague. Make sure to specify everything in your storyboards so as to make it clear to everyone.
- Do not forget every aspect of a scene. You also need to think about technical aspects, not merely creative ones, so make sure to use storyboards to do just that.
And if you should find yourself in need of them, you may also feel free to check out some of the other templates available on the site so as to give yourself more options for your work.