FAQ's

What's the difference between StoryBoard Quick, StoryBoard Quick Studio, StoryBoard Artist and StoryBoard Artist Studio?

StoryBoard Quick is great for creating quick shot setups and concept ideas to show crew and potential clients.
- Storyboard Quick is loaded with multiple artwork libraries of images to get you started quickly. Colorable Characters; Location Libraries, interior and exterior; and Prop Libraries.
- Storyboard Quick takes the focus off illustration skills and enables the user to focus on story enhancement using shot design. This is our entry-level product for writers and graphically-challenged directors.
- Professional print formats are quick and easy to choose, and each frame has its own Caption Window to add dialog, camera notes and script text from imported screenwriting documents.

StoryBoard Quick Studio has all the features of Storyboard Quick and more.
- Twice as many Character poses, adding Print-to-Sketch, and QuickShots Technology to make shot set up faster than fast! Additonal character poses include Phoning, Point/Shooting, Fighing, Driving, Typing/Dining, and Lounging.
- Print-to-Sketch renders your storyboards in an artistic line sketch style for presentation and sharing. Quick Studio now includes import options for Final Draft's new formats.
- QuickShots Technology generates storyboards automatically. Choose shot type, actors, and location, with the caption added for you!

StoryBoard Artist has all the features of Storyboard Quick and Storyboard Quick Studio and more: 30 times more artwork and a timeline for adding sound and image transitions.
- Create professional presentation-style storyboards with sound, motion, transitions (create runtime animatics or moving storyboards). The StoryBoard Artist Timeline adds the Pan and Zoom (a/k/a Ken Burns) in-frame motion, transitions between frames and four tracks of sound for music and effects.
- StoryBoard Artist also includes linking features for designing non-linear / branching storyboards for game development and simulation projects. Its print features are highly customizable to take advantage of the application's multiple captions per frame and integrated database. StoryBoard Artist exports to iBooks, QuickTime, HTML and XML. StoryBoard Artist project files can be opened on your iPhone or iPad using the new StoryBoard Artist Shot Assistant app available in the Apple App Store. The new Artist has import options for 3D images and videos frames, plus expanded Sketch modes for both printing and working, and image effects for imported graphics.

StoryBoard Artist Studio adds "montage" page layouts, additional Sketch Modes and QuickShot shot types, more Timeline features with 16 tracks of sound, and locking Timeline ranges to fine-tune edits.
- StoryBoard Artist Studio introduces onion-skin animation features, a new Paint Canvas layer, and automatic Image Effects shortcuts. - StoryBoard Artist exports to Avid MetaSync, non-linear editing systems, ePUB format, and Final Cut Pro.

View a side-by-side comparison of features and pricing here.

How easy is it to learn StoryBoard Quick?

StoryBoard Quick's learning curve is extremely short.
Download and install the software, and be productive within minutes. Most directors say they can easily board the next day's shoot faster than ever. A PDF User's Guide is included, and video tutorials are available online for registered users for extra tips and tricks!

How simple is it to use StoryBoard Artist?

StoryBoard Artist is also easy-to-learn. It is intuitive and if you're familiar with other graphic applications, its workflow will feel familiar. Designed by creative people who work in the entertainment industry, StoryBoard Artist keeps the technical aspects of the computer safely hidden, leaving only the most creative elements easily accessible. StoryBoard Artist enables you to add sound to your presentation and simple motion graphics.

How does the pre-drawn art work?

One of the most important pieces of information to communicate in storyboards besides your story idea is the spatial relationship between the elements in the frame. The pre-drawn artwork is integrated in built-in libraries that have been identified as "key elements." The categories are characters, props and locations. But you can also place text in the frame or other importable graphics such as logos or overlays. Each graphic remains on its own layer so the elements can be manipulated separately and the layers can be moved forward or back.

Using the Library grid, you can easily choose the character pose and position. Zoom with a click and the character comes into a close-up. Using the location library gives you choices of pre-drawn background locations that are automatically placed into the background layer. So with two clicks, you've created the beginning of your first board and shown some important information that your crew needs to know or that you'll need to impress your client.

Can I use my own pictures or photographs?

Yes!
In fact, directors find it valuable to import actual location-scouted images. We've made it extra easy when using StoryBoard Quick Direct mobile app (for iPhone, iPad, and Android). Take your photos with your mobile device, use the built-in stand-in characters and upload to the cloud. Open your boards in your desktop application

All of our storyboarding software applications import pictures for use as items in the frame. Take locations with a digital camera or search the Internet for location pictures. All imported elements can be layered, moved, and edited individually without disturbing your frame composition. Set your shots with built-inimages. After location scouting, substitute the backgrounds. It's easy and it stimulates your creativity! Using photos is a great shortcut to setting the scene and clearly demonstrating where you want your actors to be in the shot.

What if I need a reverse angle for a shot?

If you want an automatic reverse angle shot, Storyboard Artist Studio includes Reverse Shot as an automatic image effect! If you have StoryBoard Artist or StoryBoard Quick Studio, you can also use the new QuickShot feature to instantly build the type of shot you want. Now, really, how much easier can we make it?

If using Storyboard Quick, take a cue from professional filmmakers and make your reverse storyboard angles the easy way. Move the background element to see a slightly different view (or scale the previous shot's backgrond larger). The magic of filmmaking comes from the illusion created within the viewfinder. When the background is different but relevant or related, the audience fills in the differences.

- Filmmakers have long used the trick of shooting a character from a low angle against the sky…and can you tell where it is? No, but it looks like they're in the same location when there was a blue sky in the previous shot. Very often pickup shots or second unit directors use this trick when they no longer have access the original location. We provided the elements, you provide the creativity.

What about high and low angles?

In all our software, characters and elements are rendered in many angles and rotations, making them instantly accessible. Storyboard Quick characters come with three elevations (high angle, eye-level, and low angle), while Storyboard Artist adds overhead views as well as close-up facial expressions. Keeping your ultimate goal in mind while actually making your production will give you momentum to create the board. Storyboarding is a means to an end and with our software you can get to your production phase a lot quicker.

Can I put the pre-drawn characters into any pose?

In StoryBoard Artist & Artist Studio, you can pose characters down to the fingertips. All versions include universal representations of your actors. Some specialty libraries vary from these positions to accommodate the library style (ie. the Stuntman library). You can check out the Add-On Libraries to see if there's a character that is closer to your needs.
- StoryBoard Quick Studio and above also comes with twice the poses, adding Phoning, Point-Shoot, Punching, Driving, Typing, and Lounging to your Character Palette. Get creative and use the crop tool to combine parts of one character's pose with parts of another pose and come up with an infinite number of positions and actions. Use the Draw Toolbar to create a feature and then "group" it with the Character you choose. The characters are two-dimensional graphics: no rendering necessary or 3D to learn. Point, click and DIRECT them into their screen position.

How can my crew view my boards on the set?

Both StoryBoard Quick and StoryBoard Artist have companion iPhone and iPad applications that you can use to distribute your boards to your crew. If crew members aren't iOS mobile ready, you can save your storyboard in a PDF format, ready to be emailed or uploaded to the Internet. Of course, printing them out is also still a popular option!

Where do I put text or imported screenplay script text?

Each frame in a storyboard has captions or text areas. You can import your script from popular screenwriting application like Final Draft or Screenwriter. Or type notes directly into your caption window.

- When importing text from a screenwriting program, new frames are automatically created, ready for images to be added. Frames can be inserted and deleted as needed to expand some scenes and shorten others. Use the Script Layout to best view your import at a glance.

How many frames can I make?

There is no limit to the number of frames in a project. You are only limited by the amount of disk space on your computer.

If I have a screenplay script, will the storyboarding application create the boards for me?

When importing formatted screenwriting script text, blank frames are automatically created per your selection of elements. For example, you can instruct the application to make a new frame with each new slug line or with every new scene tag. After the blank frames are created and text stored in caption window, you can then start adding your visuals to the frames. You can also drag and drop a folder of images to create a series of frames as well.

With StoryBoard Quick Studio's new QuickShots Technology, you now also have the ability to define a few parameters (i.e. shot type, location and characters) and then sit back while QuickShots does the work for you! QuickShots is available in StoryBoard Quick Studio, StoryBoard Artist, and StoryBoard Artist Studio.

How can I store my own artwork?

You can drag and drop artwork directly into the frame from folders full of artwork or import using the menus. StoryBoard Artist and StoryBoard Artist Studio provide the ability to create your own libraries of artwork that can be accessed and manipulated instantly.

Who uses storyboarding software?

Directors, Writers, Producers, Independent Filmmakers and Educators worldwide find they benefit creatively by visualizing with our storyboard software. They can work out story ideas, help writer's block, plan out shot set-ups and sequence flow. Our software apps have been used at and by most of the major Hollywood studios and are used on productions worldwide including features films, Netflix series, cable serialized dramas, sitcoms, and thousands of freelance commercial production companies. We hope you'll join them.

Want to learn more? Chat with us! We're here to help you reach your production goals.