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Storyboard

The storyboard is where you lay out panels in story order, scene by scene (image plus note per beat). It is separate from the Lookbook (the DP’s visual reference) and the shot list (what you plan to shoot on set). Open it from Visual then Storyboard. If the project does not have a storyboard yet, you will see an option to create one. For a step-by-step workflow from blank project to export and share, see How to make a storyboard. Panels you add here can also appear on a Lookbook scene page when you set the scene page to Storyboard and choose Project storyboard for that slide.

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What the storyboard is for

A storyboard in Spell Slate gives you one place to:
  • Upload an existing storyboard PDF made in another tool, so editors can open it from the storyboard page and from the Day Bible when they have storyboard edit access.
  • Build the storyboard panel by panel inside the app: upload a frame image, add a description, and assign it to a scene.
  • Group panels by scene automatically, in script order.
  • Export a storyboard sheet PDF (3 panels per row, up to 9 panels per printed page in a 3×3 grid, then the next page), with optional layout controls for headers, scene groupings, borders, images, numbers, and notes.
  • Share a view-only link so collaborators can view the storyboard without signing in.
One storyboard per project. Free plan: first project only. Solo, Indie, and Company plans: all projects. See Plan limits for details.

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Creating a storyboard

  1. Go to Visual then Storyboard.
  2. Click Create storyboard. The storyboard is created and you land on the edit page.
  3. From here you can upload a PDF or start adding panels.

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Uploading an existing storyboard PDF

If you have already made your storyboard in another app (Procreate, Canva, ShotPro, etc.):
  1. Open Edit storyboard.
  2. Under Upload your storyboard PDF, click Upload PDF and choose your file.
  3. Click Save PDF.
  4. The uploaded PDF appears on the storyboard show page. On the Day Bible, it appears for team members who can edit the storyboard (same permission as downloading exported PDFs).
You can also build panels at the same time. The uploaded PDF and the panel builder work side by side.

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Building panels

  1. Open Edit storyboard.
  2. Scroll to the Build panels section.
  3. Click Add panel (top right). In the default one scene at a time view, the new panel belongs to that scene. With Show all scenes on, it belongs to the scene highlighted in the jump control if you picked one; otherwise it is Unassigned.
  4. Use + Add panel to Sc. N under a scene heading when that row is visible. When more than one scene is on the page (or Show all scenes is on), the Scene picker below the strip also lets you jump or add a panel from a chip.
  5. On each panel card:
    • Click the frame area to upload an image from your device.
    • Click the description field and type your notes.
  6. To remove a panel, click Remove on its card.
Within each scene (and under Unassigned), panels are numbered 1, 2, 3 in left-to-right order. That number updates when you drag to reorder. Behind the scenes, the app also keeps a single story order for the whole storyboard so exports and the Day Bible stay consistent.

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Organizing panels by scene

When you add a panel to a scene, it appears under that scene’s heading on the storyboard. Panels without a scene show under Unassigned. With Show all scenes on, every filtered scene appears on the edit page in order, even when it has no panels yet. In the default one scene at a time view, you only see one scene’s column until you jump or turn on show all. If you import a new script revision, scene rows from the latest import replace the old list. Panels that were tied to the previous revision can show under Unlinked panels until you assign each one to a current scene again. Your frames and notes are still there.

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Filters and focus (like breakdown)

On the View storyboard page, Filter scenes (locations and scene subset) stays available even in one scene at a time mode so you can narrow which locations or scenes appear before you export or share. On Edit storyboard, when you work on one scene at a time, the bar under the scene jump hides Show all scenes and Filter scenes. Use View storyboard to filter by location or scene; turn on Show all scenes on the edit page to bring those controls back for the full strip. Open Filter scenes for both filter types in one panel:
  • Locations: Show only scenes linked to one or more breakdown locations. Scene numbers stay visible everywhere so repeated headings (many INT. HOUSE scenes, for example) stay distinct.
  • Scenes: Check specific scenes to hide the rest. Leave all unchecked to show every scene that passes the location filter.
Reset filters (at the bottom of the same panel when something is filtered) removes location, scene subset, jump focus, and show-all. Filter choices are kept when you add panels (including from Turbo updates).
  • One scene at a time (default): The strip shows one scene’s panels at a time. The URL includes focus_scene_id so links are shareable. Open the jump control at the top of the view bar to search by name or number and jump to another scene (similar to the shot list scene jump).
  • Show all scenes: Turn this on to stack every filtered scene on one long page. Turn it off to go back to one scene at a time.
  • Scene picker: When you are not in the default one-scene-at-a-time view, a row below the strip lists scenes: click Sc. N or the slugline to jump with the same filters, or use + on a chip. In one-scene-at-a-time mode, use the jump control in the view bar, Add panel at the top of Build panels, or + Add panel to Sc. N under that scene (the picker row is hidden).
To move a panel to a different scene, remove it and re-add it to the correct scene. Shared view links respect the same URL filters so collaborators can open a narrowed storyboard view.

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Exporting a PDF

This works like the shot list: use Filter scenes, jump focus, or Show all scenes / one scene at a time so the on-page strip shows exactly what you want, then export. The generated sheet PDF only includes panels in that view (one scene, one location’s scenes, or a hand-picked subset). Panels render three per row by default, with optional scene headings and notes.
  1. Scroll the storyboard strip and use Filter scenes, Show all scenes or one scene at a time, and the scene jump control on the edit page until the panels above match what you want in the PDF.
  2. On the show page, optional layout toggles (header, footer, scene groupings, borders, images, numbers, descriptions) live under More, then Sheet PDF layout. Same idea as Adjust columns on the shot list. Changes save automatically when you change a checkbox.
  3. Click PDF in the header, then Export storyboard sheet PDF. The app sends your current filters with the export.
  4. When the file is ready, use PDF then Download storyboard sheet PDF. The download matches the same filters as the page URL. If you change filters or panel order after exporting, export again before downloading.
If panels or layout options changed since the last export, or your filters no longer match the last export, the UI will ask you to export again. Note: if you only uploaded a storyboard PDF, use Download uploaded PDF instead of the generated sheet.

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Sharing the storyboard

  1. Click Share on the storyboard page.
  2. Click Create view-only link to generate a shareable URL.
  3. Copy the link and send it to anyone who needs to see the storyboard. They do not need a Spell Slate account.
  4. To remove access, click Revoke link in the same modal.
The shared view shows both the uploaded PDF (if any) and the panel strip.

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Storyboard on the Day Bible

If your project has a storyboard and you can edit the storyboard (owner, org admin, or member with shot list edit permission), a Storyboard card appears on the Day Bible for each shoot day. This matches who can download the exported PDF from the storyboard page, so you do not see a Day Bible link that then fails with an error. The card links to:
  • The uploaded PDF, if one is attached.
  • The exported panel PDF, if panels have been exported.
  • The storyboard show page otherwise.
If you only have view access to the project, open the storyboard from Visual then Storyboard, or use a Share link if someone sent you one.