Examples

Storyboard examples for different kinds of shoot

Practical storyboard examples for commercials, music videos, shorts and smaller shoots, including sketches, photographic references and mixed boards.

The Storybrdr teamupdated 16 September 2026

Storyboards do not all need to look the same.

A commercial board going to an agency may need polished frames and clear product moments. A short may only board the scenes where blocking is difficult. A small branded shoot can work perfectly well with location photographs, references and a few rough sketches.

The examples below are useful because they solve different production problems.

Rough sketch board

A rough sketch is often the quickest way to show a composition that does not exist yet.

A row of six hand-drawn storyboard frames using boxes, stick figures and arrows to show camera movement — A sketch board: boxes, figures and arrows, nothing more.

It works well for blocking, camera position, eyelines and simple movement. The drawing only needs enough information for somebody else to understand the shot.

For a director who does not draw particularly well, clarity matters more than finish. Boxes, arrows and basic figures can be enough if the intention is obvious.

Photographic reference board

A photographic board uses existing stills, recce photographs or reference images instead of drawings.

Two women and a blue car parked in front of a stone house, a third figure watching from the balcony above — Six photographic frames in sequence, from the sample project in Storybrdr.

Two women standing in a sunlit doorway, one leaning on a painted cabinet, both looking off to the left — Six photographic frames in sequence, from the sample project in Storybrdr.

This is common in commercial and branded work because references are already part of treatments and creative development. They can communicate framing, atmosphere, styling or camera language quickly.

Keep a distinction between reference and promise. A still from another film may explain the intended framing without suggesting the location, light or production value will be identical.

Mixed board

Many productions end up with a mixture.

A storyboard row mixing a photograph, a hand-drawn sketch and a reference still side by side — A photograph, a sketch and a reference still in one sequence.

A recce photograph might establish the real location. A sketch can show where the talent needs to move within it. A reference still can explain the intended lens or lighting direction.

There is no benefit in redrawing useful information simply to make every frame match.

Commercial storyboard example

A simple 30-second commercial board might include:

opening wide that establishes the situation
closer performance or action
product interaction
transition into the hero setup
product hero
end frame with room for copy

That is only a starting structure. The useful part is identifying which frames need client agreement and which shots the crew will need to execute the idea.

Commercial boards often benefit from short notes for movement, supers or transitions. Keep them readable enough that the sequence still works at a glance.

Music video storyboard example

A music video board may be less linear.

Start with the images the treatment depends on, then organise performance, narrative or texture around them. Label setups clearly so the board can later help with the shooting order.

Two storyboard frames shown side by side with a note explaining how the first cuts into the second — A pair of frames used to explain a transition one still cannot show.

If the edit depends on match cuts, wipes, whip pans or repeated compositions, show the relationship between the frames. A transition can be difficult to explain with one still, so a short note or paired frames may be useful.

Short film storyboard example

A short film rarely needs every line of the script boarded.

A boarded scene in a kitchen, showing the establishing geography, two pieces of coverage and the final image — One scene boarded for geography and screen direction.

A director might board the opening geography, a complicated move, a scene with precise screen direction and the final image, while leaving conventional dialogue coverage to the shot list.

This keeps the board focused on the parts where previsualisation is actually helping.

Vertical storyboard example

A 9:16 board needs to be composed as a vertical frame from the start.

A board of tall 9:16 frames in the browser, with scenes down the left and shot fields beside each frame — A 9:16 board in the sample project.

Faces, products and text areas sit differently. A wide two-shot that works in 16:9 may become cramped or lose context when cropped vertically.

The same two-shot drawn once as a 16:9 frame and once as a 9:16 frame, with the vertical version losing the edges — The same two-shot in 16:9 and in 9:16.

If the production needs landscape and vertical versions, show both where the composition materially changes. Do not assume the editor will solve every format in post.

What makes a useful storyboard?

A useful board makes the intended shots understandable to the people who need to use it.

That may be a client approving a commercial, a DoP discussing coverage or a filmmaker checking tomorrow's shoot on a phone.

Polish is useful when the presentation needs it. Production clarity is useful every time.