A useful storyboard template pairs a numbered picture with the action, framing, and sound the shot needs. The example plans a short scene in four rough panels, with a continuity mistake you can compare against its revision.
Start with a complete four-shot plan
In this original fictional scene, Emi arrives at a workshop table holding an empty orange mug. A closed notebook is on the table's left. Emi puts the mug on the notebook's right, opens the notebook, and reads it. There is no spoken dialogue.
The storyboard assumes three seconds per shot, or twelve seconds altogether. Those are proposed screen durations; no footage has been recorded or timed. The rough drawings communicate the intended composition rather than finished artwork.
| Shot | Picture to draw | Action and framing | Planned interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | Emi, the table, the closed notebook on the left, and the mug still being carried. | Wide shot establishes the person and table before the mug is placed. | 0 to 3 seconds |
| S2 | A closer view that keeps the notebook and the mug's landing place visible. | Close shot shows Emi placing the mug to the notebook's right. | 3 to 6 seconds |
| S3 | An overhead view of the notebook opening, with the mug on its right. | Show the opening action and preserve the established prop positions. | 6 to 9 seconds |
| S4 | Emi behind the table, reading the open notebook; the mug remains on its right. | Medium shot shows the reading action and the unchanged tabletop arrangement. | 9 to 12 seconds |
Keep left and right consistent in these sketches: draw the notebook on the left and the mug on its right, with the same front edge of the table at the bottom. Give the overhead panel that orientation too. A change in drawing viewpoint should not accidentally look like an unexplained prop move.
Select S1, S2, S3, or S4 in the example to inspect its sketch beside the shot notes. The whole sequence stays available so you can compare the selected composition with the panels around it.
Give each drawing enough information to shoot
The wide shot establishes where Emi and the objects are. The close shot directs attention to the mug being placed. The overhead shot makes the notebook-opening action visible, while the medium shot returns to Emi reading. Each frame has a reason to use that view.
Rough shapes are enough if a teammate can tell what the camera should include. Draw the table edge, the notebook, the mug, and the part of Emi needed for that shot. Give the orange mug a text label too, so its identity does not depend on color alone.
Adobe's storyboard guidance includes numbered frames, shot types, action, camera or stage directions, and dialogue or sound notes. Choose the fields your production needs. For this silent example, the sound note can say "Silent scene; no dialogue planned." Actual recording and sound requirements belong in the production plan when they are known.
Write an action that the picture can show. "Emi opens the notebook" gives the overhead panel something to depict. "Emi feels inspired" would need a visible action or performance decision before it could guide the drawing.
Correct the mug position without changing the scene
Choose S3, then compare Inconsistent draft with Corrected panel. The draft overhead drawing places the mug to the notebook's left. S2 established it on the right, and the supplied scene contains no action moving it across the table.
The corrected S3 keeps the mug on the right while Emi opens the notebook. S1, S2, and S4 stay unchanged. The revision note should name the fix: "S3 mug moved in the drawing to match its established position in S2; no new story action added."
Check the drawing and its caption together. A caption saying "mug stays on the right" does not repair a picture that still puts it on the left. After the correction, follow S2 into S3 and then S4 again.
If your own scene deliberately moves an object, show or explain that action where it belongs. Keep the shot IDs when revising a panel so a colleague's note about S3 still points to the same shot.
Review the transition with someone who will use the plan
Ask a teammate to follow the mug from S1 through S4 and describe what happens without your explanation. If they cannot tell whether it moves in S3, inspect the framing and the action note together.
A prepared HTML storyboard in your NOS workspace can put the rough panels beside those notes for the discussion. Clarify the static S3 caption when it describes the wrong position, and correct the drawing in the maintained storyboard as well. The next reviewer needs the picture and wording to agree before the scene reaches production.
Keep the team's required planning file and original drawings as the production record. The example is a storyboard review page; it does not make a video or export a production file.
Copy a prompt for the storyboard and blank panels
Create one complete HTML storyboard planning page with original rough
sketches and a separate blank panel scaffold.
Project, audience and purpose of the sequence: [PASTE]
Supplied scene or script, including exact actions/dialogue: [PASTE]
Shot IDs and planned order: [PASTE]
Framing, camera direction and prop positions: [PASTE]
Sound/dialogue and proposed screen durations: [PASTE or TO CONFIRM]
Production format, original artwork location and open decisions: [PASTE]
Use my supplied scene. Do not invent dialogue, motivation, equipment,
recorded duration, completed footage or approval. Keep unknown details
TO CONFIRM. Give each numbered panel an actual rough illustration,
a text description, framing, action, sound and timing notes. Planned
screen duration is separate from shooting time and actual clip length.
Include this separate original fictional practice scene:
Emi arrives at a workshop table carrying an empty orange mug. A closed
notebook is on the table's left. Emi places the mug to the notebook's
right, opens the notebook, and reads it. No dialogue is supplied.
Draw four genuinely different simple inline SVG sketches:
S1 wide: Emi, whole table, closed notebook left, mug being carried.
S2 close: mug being placed to the notebook's right; keep enough of
the notebook visible to establish that position.
S3 overhead: Emi opens the notebook; mug stays on its right.
S4 medium: Emi reads the open notebook, with mug still on its right.
In every sketch keep the front table edge at the bottom, notebook
left and mug to its right once placed. Give the overhead view the
same orientation. Label the mug; do not rely on orange alone.
These are composition sketches, not four identical text cards.
Plan three seconds for each shot: S1 0-3, S2 3-6, S3 6-9, S4 9-12.
Total twelve seconds is a planning assumption, not recorded media.
Sound note: silent scene; no dialogue planned. Do not invent a file,
recording, music, lens, shoot date or actual production result.
Show the full ordered storyboard. S1/S2/S3/S4 selections inspect the
matching drawing and complete notes while retaining the sequence.
For S3 provide Inconsistent draft and Corrected panel views.
Inconsistent S3 puts the mug to the notebook's left without a supplied
movement. Corrected S3 keeps it on the right. Keep the notebook-opening
action and all other shots unchanged. Show this revision note:
S3 mug moved in the drawing to match its established position in S2;
no new story action added.
The selected drawing and caption must agree in both versions.
Provide a separate blank scaffold for my shot ID, drawing description,
framing, action/continuity, sound, planned duration and review notes.
Do not generate my missing story. Preserve temporary typing across
worked views and confirm before clearing. State that notes last only
in this open page. No fake playback, filming, upload, export or saving.
Use readable text at least 16px, semantic headings, labeled native
controls and visible keyboard focus. Keep sketches and their notes
readable at 720px and 360px; stack panels without horizontal overflow.
Inline CSS/JavaScript and inline SVG only. No external assets, fonts,
network or storage. Return full HTML. Preserve the team's actual
storyboard/artwork and production process as the maintained record.
Read the generated sequence from S1 to S4. Check the mug's position in the actual drawings, the notebook's closed-to-open change, and the four planned intervals. A heading that says "Corrected panel" is useful only when the picture shows the correction.
Take the corrected sequence into production planning
Resolve the S2-to-S3 transition, retain the revision note, and ask the teammate responsible for the shots to review the current storyboard. Then confirm the production details still missing from your own plan. When footage exists, compare what was recorded with the planned sequence before changing its duration notes.