From the board to the day

The practical difference between a storyboard and shot list, when to use each, and how story order becomes shooting order.

A circled take is a take marked as preferred or worth drawing editorial attention to. Here is where the term comes from and what it means on a modern shoot.

What information travels from set into post-production, how professional script supervision handles it, and what smaller crews should make sure they preserve.

A practical guide to storyboarding films, commercials, music videos and branded work, from references and first frames through to the shot list.

A practical process for turning a script or idea into a board that works for the director, the client and the crew who eventually have to shoot it.

What actually needs recording during a small or mid-sized shoot, and why the best on-set system is usually the one you can update in seconds.

Compare the best storyboard apps for iPad for drawing, planning shots, sharing boards and client feedback, from a filmmaker's point of view.

Nine alternatives to Boords, arranged by the reason people go looking: price, drawing, animation, a production office, or a board that reaches the shoot.