30-second answer: Storyboards in Edits work when you plan the video’s structure before filming: a simple list or sketch of shots, in order, with the purpose, framing, and key line for each. Keep each panel rough — a stick figure and a few words are enough — and focus on the opening, the turning points, and the ending. A storyboard saves filming time, prevents missing shots, and makes editing faster, because the edit already has a shape before the first clip is cut.
On this page
- Decide the video’s shape first
- Sketch shots simply, in order
- Note framing, movement, and sound
- Use the storyboard while filming
- Edit from the storyboard
- Check the finished video against the plan
- Using this in a desktop workflow
Most videos that feel aimless were not planned; they were filmed and then assembled in the hope that a shape would appear in editing. Sometimes it does, but usually the result is a collection of clips searching for a structure, with a weak opening, a missing shot, and an ending that arrives by accident. A storyboard prevents that by forcing the structure decision early, when it is cheapest to change: on paper, before any filming or editing. That early clarity is the point: decisions made before filming save time later.
Edits runs on your phone, so storyboarding is a planning step you do before opening the app to edit, using notes, sketches, or a simple document. This tutorial covers how to make a storyboard that is useful without being elaborate, rather than promising a specific storyboard tool, because the value is in the planning, not the format. For turning a plan into cuts, see our trim and split clips tutorial.
Step 1: Decide the video’s shape first
Before sketching any shot, decide the video’s shape in one paragraph: what is it about, who is it for, what should viewers feel or do at the end, and what are its three or four main sections? That paragraph is the storyboard’s backbone. If you cannot write it, the video is not ready to storyboard yet, and filming will produce material without a purpose.
Break the shape into sections, each with a clear job: an opening that hooks, a middle that delivers the value in order, and an ending that resolves or calls to action. Note the turning points between sections, because those are the moments a storyboard must handle carefully — a change of location, a reveal, a shift in mood. A video with a clear shape can survive imperfect footage; a video without one rarely survives even good footage.
Step 2: Sketch shots simply, in order
Sketch each shot as a rough panel, in order, with a stick figure, a simple framing box, and a few words describing what happens. You do not need drawing skill: the purpose is to think through the sequence, not to produce art. Each panel should answer three questions: what does the viewer see, what is happening, and why does this shot exist? If a panel cannot answer the third question, it probably does not belong in the video.
Keep the panel count realistic. A short video may need only six to ten panels; a longer video may need more, but each panel should represent a shot or a short sequence, not every single frame. Number the panels, and write the approximate duration beside each, so the storyboard also functions as a timing plan. A storyboard that is too detailed becomes a burden and gets ignored; a simple, ordered list of shots gets used.
Step 3: Note framing, movement, and sound
Beside each panel, note the essentials: framing (wide, medium, or close), camera movement (still, pan, or follow), and the sound for that shot (speech, music, or natural sound). These notes prevent the most common filming problem: arriving at a location and realising you do not know what to film, or filming everything the same way and discovering in editing that you have no variety to cut between.
Note transitions and text where they matter, using our transitions tutorial and text and titles tutorial for the choices involved, but keep those notes brief. A storyboard is a filming and editing guide, not a full edit in advance. Its job is to ensure you capture the shots, sounds, and variety the edit will need, while leaving room for good ideas that emerge during filming.
Step 4: Use the storyboard while filming
Take the storyboard with you when filming, and work through it in order, checking off shots as you capture them. Film a little more than each panel needs — a few seconds before and after the action — so the edit has handles for cutting, and film each key shot at least twice, from slightly different framings, so you have options in editing. A storyboard followed loosely is still far better than no storyboard at all.
Be willing to deviate when reality offers something better: a better location, an unexpected moment, a shot that works more simply than planned. Note the deviation on the storyboard, so the edit reflects what was actually filmed, not what was planned. The storyboard is a guide, not a contract, and its value is that deviations are deliberate choices, not accidents discovered in editing when a planned shot is missing.
Step 5: Edit from the storyboard
When editing in Edits, lay out clips in storyboard order first, before refining cuts. That rough assembly — sometimes called a rough cut — lets you see whether the video’s shape works before you spend time on titles, effects, and sound. If the shape does not work at this stage, it is easy to reorder, cut, or add a missing shot; if you discover the problem after polishing, fixing it means undoing work.
Then refine in passes: first cuts and order, then titles and text, then music and voiceover from our voiceover tutorial, then effects and colour. Working in passes, guided by the storyboard, keeps editing efficient and prevents the common pattern of polishing the opening while the middle still has no structure. Check each section against its storyboard purpose as you go, and cut any clip that no longer serves that purpose, however good it looks on its own.
Step 6: Check the finished video against the plan
Before exporting, compare the finished video with the storyboard. Does it deliver the shape you planned: a clear opening, sections in order, turning points that land, and an ending that resolves? Are there shots in the video that were not in the storyboard and do not serve the shape — interesting footage that distracts from the purpose? Cut or shorten those, however much you like them.
Then export using our export settings tutorial and check the exported file, watching as a first-time viewer rather than as the person who planned it. A video that matches its storyboard is not necessarily rigid: it is a video whose creator knew what it was for, filmed what it needed, and edited with a purpose, and viewers feel that clarity even if they never see the storyboard itself.
Common storyboard mistakes
The most common mistake is skipping the storyboard for short videos, on the grounds that they are too simple to plan. Short videos benefit most from planning, because every second counts and there is no room for a missing shot or a weak opening. The second mistake is making the storyboard too elaborate — detailed drawings, exact timings, full scripts — so it takes longer than filming and gets abandoned.
Another mistake is treating the storyboard as fixed, and refusing to use better material captured during filming, or to cut a planned shot that does not work. A storyboard should guide, not imprison. Finally, many creators storyboard only the visuals and forget sound: a video planned without noting speech, music, and natural sound will be edited with audio as an afterthought, and it will sound like one.
Using this in a desktop workflow
Storyboarding is naturally a desktop activity, even though editing happens in Edits on your phone. Draft the storyboard on your computer, where a larger screen and a full keyboard make it easy to list shots, note framings, and revise the order by dragging or retyping. Keep the storyboard as a simple document — panels as a numbered list, or rough sketches scanned or photographed — so it is easy to update and easy to take with you when filming.
After editing in Edits, review the rough cut on a larger screen beside the storyboard, and check each section against its planned purpose. Note any section that drifted from the plan, and decide deliberately whether the drift improved the video or weakened it. If you edit on an emulator, the larger display helps with comparing the timeline to the storyboard, but the steps and the app are the same. Keep storyboards for recurring formats, so future videos start from a proven structure, adapted rather than reinvented.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need drawing skill to storyboard?
No. Rough panels with stick figures and a few words are enough. The purpose is to think through the sequence, not to produce art.
How many panels should a storyboard have?
As many as there are shots or short sequences: roughly six to ten for a short video, more for a longer one, but not every single frame.
Should I follow the storyboard exactly when filming?
Follow it as a guide, and deviate deliberately when reality offers something better, noting the change so the edit reflects what was filmed.
What should I note beside each panel?
Framing, camera movement, and sound — speech, music, or natural sound — plus any key transition or text where it matters.
Can a storyboard be too detailed?
Yes. A storyboard that takes longer than filming gets ignored. Keep it simple, ordered, and focused on purpose and sequence.
Does storyboarding help short videos?
Especially short ones, because every second counts and there is no room for a missing shot or a weak opening.
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