storyboard-creation

name	storyboard-creation
description	Film and video storyboarding with shot vocabulary, continuity rules, and panel layout. Covers shot types, camera angles, movement, 180-degree rule, and annotation format. Use for: video planning, film pre-production, ad storyboards, music video planning, animation. Triggers: storyboard, storyboarding, shot list, film planning, video planning, pre production, shot composition, camera angles, scene planning, visual script, animatic, storyboard panels, video storyboard
allowed-tools	Bash(belt *)

Install the belt CLI skill: npx skills add belt-sh/cli

Storyboard Creation

Create visual storyboards with AI image generation via inference.sh CLI.

Quick Start

Requires inference.sh CLI (belt). Install instructions

belt login

# Generate a storyboard panel
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "storyboard panel, wide establishing shot of a modern city skyline at sunset, cinematic composition, slightly desaturated colors, film still style, 16:9 aspect ratio",
  "width": 1248,
  "height": 832
}'

# Stitch panels into a board
belt app run infsh/stitch-images --input '{
  "images": ["panel1.png", "panel2.png", "panel3.png"],
  "direction": "horizontal"
}'

Shot Types

Abbreviation	Name	Framing	When to Use
ECU	Extreme Close-Up	Eyes only, a detail	Intense emotion, revealing detail
CU	Close-Up	Face fills frame	Emotion, reaction, dialogue
MCU	Medium Close-Up	Head and shoulders	Interviews, conversations
MS	Medium Shot	Waist up	General dialogue, action
MLS	Medium Long Shot	Knees up	Walking, casual interaction
LS	Long Shot	Full body	Character in environment
WS	Wide Shot	Environment dominant	Establishing location, scale
EWS	Extreme Wide Shot	Vast landscape	Epic scope, isolation, transitions

Generating Each Shot Type

# Close-Up — emotion focus
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "close-up shot of a woman face showing concern, soft dramatic lighting from the left, shallow depth of field, cinematic film still, slightly desaturated",
  "width": 1248,
  "height": 832
}'

# Medium Shot — dialogue scene
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "medium shot of two people talking across a table in a cafe, warm afternoon light through windows, natural composition, cinematic film still, 35mm lens look",
  "width": 1248,
  "height": 832
}'

# Wide Shot — establishing
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "wide establishing shot of a futuristic laboratory interior, dramatic overhead lighting, long corridor with glass walls, sci-fi atmosphere, cinematic composition, anamorphic lens style",
  "width": 1248,
  "height": 832
}'

Camera Angles

Angle	Effect	When to Use
Eye Level	Neutral, natural	Default for most scenes
High Angle	Subject looks small, vulnerable	Showing weakness, overview
Low Angle	Subject looks powerful, dominant	Authority, heroism, threat
Bird's Eye	God-like overview	Maps, establishing geography
Worm's Eye	Extreme power, awe	Architecture, towering figures
Dutch Angle	Unease, disorientation	Tension, madness, action
Over-the-Shoulder (OTS)	Viewer positioned with character	Conversations, POV

Camera Movement

Movement	Description	Emotion
Pan	Camera rotates horizontally (on tripod)	Scanning, following, revealing
Tilt	Camera rotates vertically (on tripod)	Revealing height, power
Dolly	Camera moves toward/away from subject	Intimacy (in), distance (out)
Truck	Camera moves laterally	Following alongside, revealing
Crane/Jib	Camera moves up or down vertically	Grand reveals, transitions
Zoom	Lens focal length changes (camera stays)	Focus shift, dramatic emphasis
Steadicam/Gimbal	Smooth handheld tracking	Immersion, following action
Handheld	Deliberate camera shake	Urgency, documentary feel, chaos
Static	Camera doesn't move	Stability, observation, tension

In storyboards, indicate movement with arrows drawn on panels.

Continuity Rules

The 180-Degree Rule

Imagine a line (axis) between two characters in conversation. The camera must stay on ONE side of that line.

         Character A        Character B
              ●─────────────────●
             /                   \
           /     CAMERA ZONE      \
         /     (stay on this side)  \
       📷          📷          📷
     Camera 1   Camera 2   Camera 3

Crossing the line confuses the viewer about spatial relationships. Only cross intentionally (with a neutral shot in between or a visible camera move).

Match on Action

When cutting between two angles of the same action, the action must continue seamlessly:

Panel A: Hand reaches for door handle (medium shot)
Panel B: Hand grabs door handle (close-up)
         ↑ Action continues from same point

Eyeline Match

When a character looks at something, the next shot should show what they're looking at, from their approximate point of view.

Panel A: Character looks up and to the right
Panel B: The object they see, framed from slightly below-left

Screen Direction

If a character moves left-to-right in one shot, they should continue left-to-right in the next. Reversing direction implies they turned around.

Panel Layout

Standard Formats

Layout	Panels	Use For
2x3 (6 panels)	6 per page	Detailed scenes, dialogue
3x3 (9 panels)	9 per page	Action sequences, montages
2x2 (4 panels)	4 per page	Key moments, presentations
Single	1 per page	Hero shots, critical moments

Panel Annotation Format

Each panel should include:

┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SCENE 3 — SHOT 2                   │ ← Scene and shot number
│                                    │
│   [Generated image here]           │ ← Visual
│                                    │
├────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Shot: MS, eye level                │ ← Shot type and angle
│ Movement: Slow dolly in            │ ← Camera movement
│ Duration: 4 sec                    │ ← Estimated duration
│ Action: Sarah opens the letter     │ ← What happens
│ Dialogue: "This changes everything"│ ← Any spoken lines
│ SFX: Paper rustling, clock ticking │ ← Sound effects
│ Music: Tension builds              │ ← Music cue
└────────────────────────────────────┘

Storyboard Workflow

Step 1: Shot List

Before generating images, write a shot list:

SCENE 1 — OFFICE, DAY

1.1  WS  - Establishing shot of office building exterior, morning
1.2  MS  - Sarah walks through office, carrying coffee
1.3  CU  - Sarah's face, notices something on her desk
1.4  ECU - An envelope on the desk, unfamiliar handwriting
1.5  MS  - Sarah picks up envelope, opens it
1.6  CU  - Sarah's eyes widen as she reads
1.7  ECU - Key phrase on the letter (insert text)

Step 2: Generate Panels

Use consistent style across all panels:

# Establish a consistent style prompt suffix
STYLE="cinematic film still, slightly desaturated, warm color grade, 35mm lens, shallow depth of field"

# Panel 1.1 — Wide establishing
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input "{
  \"prompt\": \"wide shot of a modern glass office building exterior, morning golden hour light, people entering, $STYLE\",
  \"width\": 1248, \"height\": 832
}" --no-wait

# Panel 1.2 — Medium shot
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input "{
  \"prompt\": \"medium shot of a professional woman walking through a modern open office, carrying coffee cup, morning light through windows, $STYLE\",
  \"width\": 1248, \"height\": 832
}" --no-wait

# Panel 1.3 — Close-up
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input "{
  \"prompt\": \"close-up of a woman face looking down at her desk with curious expression, soft office lighting, $STYLE\",
  \"width\": 1248, \"height\": 832
}" --no-wait

Step 3: Assemble Board

# Stitch panels into rows
belt app run infsh/stitch-images --input '{
  "images": ["panel_1_1.png", "panel_1_2.png", "panel_1_3.png"],
  "direction": "horizontal"
}'

belt app run infsh/stitch-images --input '{
  "images": ["panel_1_4.png", "panel_1_5.png", "panel_1_6.png"],
  "direction": "horizontal"
}'

# Then stitch rows vertically for full page
belt app run infsh/stitch-images --input '{
  "images": ["row1.png", "row2.png"],
  "direction": "vertical"
}'

Style Consistency Tips

• Use the same style suffix across all panels (lens, color grade, lighting)
• Use FLUX LoRA if you need consistent characters across panels
• Keep the same aspect ratio for all panels
• Generate more panels than you need and select the best
• If a panel doesn't match the style, regenerate with adjusted prompt

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Problem	Fix
Crossing the 180-degree line	Confuses spatial relationships	Stay on one side or use neutral shot
All same shot type	Visually boring, no rhythm	Vary between CU, MS, WS
No establishing shot	Viewer doesn't know where they are	Start scenes with WS or EWS
Too many shots per scene	Pacing drags	5-8 shots per scene is typical
Inconsistent style between panels	Looks like different projects	Use same style prompt suffix
Missing annotations	Panels are ambiguous	Always note shot type, movement, action

Related Skills

npx skills add inference-sh/skills@ai-image-generation
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@ai-video-generation
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@video-prompting-guide
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@prompt-engineering

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