Storyboard vs Animatic — Which Does Your Production Need?
Both tools answer "what will the film look like?" Storyboards are still images. Animatics are moving images with timing, sound and pacing. Different jobs, different costs, different decisions.
Storyboard, in one sentence
A sequence of static drawings, panel by panel, showing each shot's composition. Think of it as the architectural blueprint of your film.
Animatic, in one sentence
The same drawings, given timing, motion, voice-over and sound effects, exported as a video. Think of it as a low-fi rough cut you can play in real time.
Quick decision matrix
Storyboard
Use when you need to align a director, DOP, agency and client on what each shot looks like and where the camera goes.
Output: PDF / JPEG sequence.
Cost: Lower.
Turnaround: Days.
Animatic
Use when you need to test pacing, music sync, edit length or audience response before committing to the shoot.
Output: Video file (MP4 / MOV).
Cost: Higher (1.5-2x storyboard alone).
Turnaround: Days to a week.
When animatics earn their cost
- Comedy. Whether a joke lands depends on timing. A static storyboard can't tell you if the punchline will work; an animatic can.
- Music videos. Sync is the whole game. An animatic locks edit cadence to the track.
- VFX-heavy spots. Animatics let you test transitions and CGI flow before paying for actual VFX.
- Pre-test marketing. Brands testing concepts with focus groups need motion to get useful feedback.
- Pitch decks. Some agencies use animatics to win pitches, then deliver the real spot to the same edit.
When a storyboard alone is enough
- Most TV commercials below ~£500k production budget.
- Single-set dialogue scenes.
- Internal pre-vis where the director just needs a shot map.
- Talking-head corporate films.
How they're built
Animatics are usually built from a storyboard, not as a separate process. The storyboard gives you the panels; the animatic adds:
- Timing each panel against the script (or scratch VO).
- Simple in-frame motion (pans, push-ins) where it matters.
- Music or sound effects (often library tracks).
- Optional voice-over (sometimes scratch by the director).
So if you might want an animatic later, it's worth telling your storyboard artist upfront — they'll structure the boards to make animatic conversion painless.
Cost comparison (2026 UK)
- Storyboard alone (30s ad, 20 frames tonal): ~£1,500-£3,000.
- Animatic from existing boards (30s): +£500-£1,500.
- Storyboard + animatic together: ~£2,000-£4,500 for a 30s spot.
Still not sure?
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