Free commercial storyboard template.
A commercial storyboard needs to do two jobs well: make the proposed film clear before the shoot and give production a useful starting point once it is approved.
This template is designed for commercials, branded films and campaign work. Use it as a printable PDF or build the board in Storybrdr if you want the same shots to continue into the shot list and shoot day.
What’s inside
Widescreen boxes numbered 1 to 6, three across and two down, so everybody on the call turns to the same picture.
Unlabelled, for the shot, the action, a sound moment or a timing, whichever the job needs written down.
The fields across the top of this sheet, ruled to write on, rather than the Project and Scene a scripted job wants.
Landscape A4 with the margins inside the page, clear enough to punch. It prints on US Letter scaled to fit.
What is on the template
Each frame has space for the image, shot number and a short note.
That is enough for most early commercial boards. Add movement, dialogue, supers, transition notes or practical information where it helps explain the shot.
Avoid filling every box with production detail. The board still needs to read quickly in a treatment, review or client call.
See also: the commercial guide
A simple 30-second worked example
Imagine a six-frame drinks commercial.
- What happens
- wide location opener. Talent enters frame.
- What happens
- medium shot as the bottle is taken from the table.
- What happens
- close detail of the cap opening. Sound moment noted.
- What happens
- match cut into a cleaner product setup.
- What happens
- product hero with condensation and controlled background.
- What happens
- end frame with negative space for campaign copy.
The finished job may need more coverage, but those six frames establish the visual route through the film and the moments that need agreement before the shoot.
See also: Storyboard Examples
Client and agency review
For agency or direct-to-client work, make it obvious which version is current.
A PDF can be useful for a treatment or formal deck. For active review, a shared board keeps comments attached to the relevant frame and reduces the chance of feedback landing on an old export.
Internal notes do not all need to be visible to the client. Keep the presentation clear and move practical production detail into the shot information where appropriate.
See also: Storyboard App
Landscape, vertical and campaign deliverables
Most commercial boards are still built around a primary delivery ratio, often 16:9 or 9:16.
If the campaign needs several formats, identify the shots that will not crop comfortably. Product placement, eyelines, text space and two-shots are common places where a second composition is worth planning.
Storybrdr supports 16:9, 9:16, 2.39:1, 4:3 and 1:1 boards.
See also: 16:9 Template · 9:16 Template
From approved board to shooting order
The approved commercial normally follows edit order.
The shooting day probably will not.
Once the frames are agreed, group the shots by the setups that make sense for production. That may mean completing the product table before moving outside, keeping a lighting state together or finishing all of one location before the company move.
Storybrdr can keep the original board order while the same shots are arranged separately for the shoot.
Download or build the board
Use the PDF when you want a clean printable commercial storyboard sheet.
Use Storybrdr when you want to add references, rearrange frames, collect feedback and carry the approved shots into the shot list.
Boards share by link, export as a PDF, and open on a phone on the day.
The exported PDF is printed by the same engine that printed the blank sheet at the top of this page, which is why the two are the same document.
More on what that looks like: the features tour.