A storyboard is a graphic organizer that plans a narrative or a sequence of events in a film, animation, motion graphic, or interactive media. It is a visual representation of how a video or film sequence will unfold, shot by shot, and breaks down the action into individual panels. Storyboards are made up of a series of ordered drawings, with camera direction, dialogue, or other pertinent details, and are similar to a comic book of the film or some section of the film produced beforehand. They help film directors, cinematographers, and television commercial advertising clients visualize the scenes and find potential problems before they occur. Besides this, storyboards also help estimate the cost of the overall production and save time.
Storyboarding is also used in software development as part of identifying the specifications for a particular set of software. During the specification phase, screens that the software will display are drawn, either on paper or using software, to help developers understand how the software will work. Storyboards can also be used as a way to add important details and structure to stories that might otherwise seem too abstract or difficult to explain.
In summary, a storyboard is an effective way to plan and organize narratives. By breaking the story into separate cells, authors can focus on each part of the narrative and create a visual plan that helps ensure everything flows together smoothly. They are helpful for understanding how different elements of a story relate to each other and for adding detail and structure to stories that might otherwise be hard to explain. Storyboards are an essential tool for visual communication because they make it easier for everyone involved to understand what will happen in a script frame by frame.
