Storyboard v1 · for approval before anything is generated

Film title: what the viewer will learn in one line

Purpose

What the product is for: the problem it solves, in plain words.

Who it is for: the audience, where they watch, what they already know.

Afterwards the viewer can: the one thing they will understand or be able to do.

Term one
Its question in plain words, then three everyday words that describe it.
Term two
Its question in plain words, then three everyday words that describe it.

How it teaches

One everyday example anyone can judge in a second. Two cases that fail in different ways, seen before they are named. One change at a time. A question, a silent pause, then the answer. A worked example, then the same idea on other things. A takeaway that stays on the last card. The product comes last.

The two ahas

Aha 1 at 0:19. Before: one sign is good and one is bad. After: each sits somewhere on a map, and where it sits says which way to move. Flip: the empty goal corner lights after two seconds of silence. Plant: the motif in the corner of frame 2, which becomes the goal corner.

Aha 2 at 0:44. Before: this is about signs. After: it is how to write anything people skim. Flip: the passing car becomes a thumb scrolling past an email subject line. Plant: the car that passes both signs without slowing.

Narration

  1. Line one, exactly as it will be spoken.
  2. Line two.
  3. Line three.

Questions for you

  1. Length: 60 s with a 15 s cut, or 45 s? Recommended: 60 s, so the pause can breathe.
  2. Is the example right for this audience? Alternative: a menu or an invitation.
  3. Voice and music: calm and warm, or brighter? Recommended: calm narrator, light piano and pizzicato.

Act 1 · See it, name it

0:00 to 0:15

1 · Beautiful. Nobody stops.

“This sign is beautiful. Nobody stops.”

Role
Pose: the first case.
Picture
A polished sign on a fence post; a car passes without slowing.
Teaches
Nothing named yet: polish was not enough.
Motion
Slow push on the sign; the car passes on “Nobody stops.”
Sound
Quiet piano, one passing car.

2 · Right words. Nobody can read it.

“This one says the right thing. Nobody can read it.”

Role
Plant: the opposite case. The motif in the corner is the plant for aha 1: it returns as the goal corner.
Picture
Same fence, same car, a crowded cardboard sign. The motif sits in the top corner, clear of the text.
Teaches
The opposite failure. Frames 1 and 2 are contrasting cases.
Motion
The camera tries to read the list and blurs as the car passes.
Sound
Same piano, same car: only the sign changed.

3 · Frame title

“The exact voice line.”

Role
What the frame does in the story. For a flip: aha 1 or 2, before, after.
Picture
What is on screen.
Teaches
What the viewer knows or feels now that they did not before.
Motion
What moves, and how it helps the viewer understand.
Sound
Music section, effects, silence.

Act 2 · Place it, move it

0:15 to 0:30

4 · Put them on a map

“Put them on a map. Which way should each one move?”

Role
Pose, then flip (aha 1) at 0:19, when the empty goal corner lights. Before: one sign is good and one is bad. After: each sits somewhere on a map, and where it sits says which way to move. In the full storyboard, draw the lit corner as a second panel.
Picture
Two axes; each sign in its corner; the goal corner waits empty.
Teaches
Where you are tells you which way to go. Two seconds of silence so the viewer answers first.
Motion
The signs drop into place, then everything holds still.
Sound
Music thins to one held note.

5 · Frame title

“The exact voice line.”

Role
What the frame does in the story. For a flip: aha 1 or 2, before, after.
Picture
What is on screen.
Teaches
What the viewer knows or feels now that they did not before.
Motion
What moves, and how it helps the viewer understand.
Sound
Music section, effects, silence.