Storyboard

Storyboards are illustrations displayed in sequence for the purpose of crafting an animated or live-action film.

In creating a motion picture with any degree of fidelity to a script, a storyboard provides a visual layout of events as they are to be seen through the camera lens. In the storyboarding process, most technical details involved in crafting a film can be efficiently described either in picture, or in corollary notation.

A storyboard in film is essentially a large comic of the film or some section of the film produced beforehand to help the directors and cinematographers visualize the scenes and find potential problems before they occur. Some directors, such as Joel and Ethan Coen, storyboard extensively before taking the pitch to their funders, stating that it helps them get the figure they are looking for since they can show exactly where the money will be used. Other directors storyboard only certain scenes, or not at all.

In animation and special effects work, the storyboarding stage may be followed by simplified mock-ups called animatics to give a better idea of how the scene will look with motion.