Skip to content
What's After the Movie?

Jump to
What's After the Movie?
Filmmaking Camera, lighting, sound, editing and the crew roles behind every shot.

Storyboard: Meaning & Definition in Film

A sequence of illustrations that previsualizes the film’s shots and camera movements.

  • 4 sections
  • 1 min read
  • Updated
On this page 4 sections

Origins and Purpose

Storyboards originated at Disney in the 1930s to map out animated sequences. They translate scripts into visual panels, indicating framing, action and motion.

Components and Notation

Each panel includes sketches, camera directions (e.g., PAN, ZOOM), dialogue snippets and timing estimates, guiding directors and cinematographers.

Storyboard: Workflow Integration

Storyboard artists work closely with directors and production designers, revising boards during pre-production and on set to adapt to location and budget constraints.

Impact on Production

Effective storyboards streamline shooting schedules, reduce costs and help departments visualize complex sequences before committing resources.

See the vocabulary at work in real films

Look up any movie for its ratings, cast and crew, box office run and where to watch, or read the full plot with the ending explained.

Browse movies
Filmmaking

More Filmmaking Terms

Entries filed on the same shelf as Storyboard, each with the one-line answer first. They are the words that usually come up in the same conversation.

All 913 terms

  • Clean-Up Animation

    Clean-up is the stage in 2D animation where an animator's rough drawings are refined into final, consistent, and on-model line art.

  • Black Magic

    'Black Magic' is on-set slang for the process of using black flags and materials to block or subtract unwanted light from a scene.

  • Prosthetics

    Custom sculpted appliances used to alter an actor’s physical features.

  • Dry for Dry

    Dry for Dry is an editing style for dialogue scenes that exclusively uses clean single shots of each character, which can create a sense of emotional distance.

  • Zoom Lens

    A zoom lens is a variable focal length lens allowing smooth magnification changes without moving the camera.

  • HDR Reference Monitor

    A professional display designed to accurately reproduce high dynamic range content for grading and QC.