Benefits of Digital Storyboards

A digital storyboard is a storyboard that is created and stored as a computer file instead of on paper. The benefits come from the file being easy to share, update and view while the production is still being planned.

Sharing and developing ideas

A digital storyboard is easier and quicker to share with the production team because it is stored digitally. You can email it or put it in a shared folder, so nobody has to photocopy or post paper frames. Other people can also view it while it is still being developed. For example, if you are planning a short film for a school awards evening, the lighting crew could spot that a scene is too dark and suggest a change before filming starts, making the process more efficient.

Reordering frames

Digital frames can be reordered by dragging and dropping. This is quicker and easier than cutting out paper frames and sticking them down again. If your opening scene feels slow, you can move a close-up of the main character earlier in a few seconds, then compare the two versions.

3D planning and capturing a layout

Some dedicated storyboarding software can mock up scenes in three dimensions. This helps you plan where camera equipment will be positioned. For example, if a scene is set in a treehouse, a 3D plan shows whether the camera and its rig will fit through the hatch, and where a light can safely stand on the narrow platform, long before anyone climbs up there.

A physical storyboard laid out in a particular arrangement on a wall is better captured with a digital camera than with a scanner. A camera can photograph the whole wall layout from a distance, keeping the arrangement of frames. A scanner needs flat pages fed into it one at a time, so the layout would be broken up.