Storyboard Brief Template (2026)

Updated: May 2026 · Written by Seb Antoniou

TL;DR

Why use a template

Every freelance commercial production runs on the same handful of decisions: what’s the script, what’s the look, when do you need it, how do you want it. A template forces those decisions to the front of the conversation, where they’re cheap to fix, instead of letting them surface in revisions, where they’re expensive.

Three things change when producers brief from a template instead of a fresh email thread:

• Faster quote turnaround. A complete brief gets a quote within 24 hours. A scattered brief gets follow-up questions and a quote on day three.
• Fewer revision rounds. On most projects, a tight brief cuts revisions from the producer-norm of three rounds down to one. That’s roughly a day of saved time per project, both on the artist side and the agency side.
• Cleaner handover at pre-pro. The brief becomes the source of truth for what the boards were trying to do. When the director, the DP, and the agency producer all read the same brief, the pre-pro meeting is faster.

What’s in the template

Seven sections. Each one fits in a few lines. The whole template is one page, designed to print or screenshot.

1. Script or concept. State the version, paste in the relevant copy, or attach the latest PDF. Flag locked / draft / concept.
2. References. 3 to 5 visual or motion references, each labelled with one line of what to take from it.
3. Format and deliverable. B&W or colour, frame count, aspect ratio, file format, naming convention.
4. Timeline. Three dates: first pass, revisions, final. Plus the downstream anchor (pre-pro or shoot start).
5. Frame count expectation. Numeric or “recommend by length.”
6. Style. Pick one: rough sketch, clean B&W line, tonal greyscale, full colour.
7. Comms. Named decision-maker, primary channel, working hours.

That’s the whole template. Seven sections, one page, nothing extra.

Download the template

How to use the template

Fill it in once, in 30 minutes. Sit with the script open, pull your references into a folder, and write the brief end to end. Don’t half-fill it and send it. A half-filled brief gets a quote with assumptions you’ll regret. A full brief gets a quote you can sign.

Send it to one artist at a time, not three in parallel. If you’re pricing three quotes, send the brief to all three in the same email window and tell each of them you’re getting comparative quotes. Senior artists are fine with that. The thing to avoid is sending three different versions of the brief to three different artists and then comparing quotes that aren’t comparing the same scope.

Treat the brief as the contract spine. When you commission, your PO should reference the brief by version and date. If the brief changes mid-project, the PO needs to acknowledge the change. This is the cheap way to keep scope creep from quietly burning your budget — you don’t argue about whether a request is in scope, you check the brief.

What changes after the brief is signed off

Two things happen between brief sign-off and final delivery: revisions and scope creep. They’re not the same thing.

Revisions are agreed-upon changes inside the original scope. “The blocking on shot 4 needs the talent moving left to right, not right to left.” “Shot 12 should be a low angle, not eye level.” Industry standard is one round of amends included in the day rate or project fee. A second round is usually priced at half a day per 10 to 15 frames affected.

Scope creep is changes outside the original scope. “Can we add a 15-second cutdown?” “Can we get colour on the hero frames?” “Can you do an animatic too?” Each one is a new commission and gets a new quote. Most artists are happy to take the add-on; what they’re not happy with is doing it inside the original fee.

Lock points are dates after which structural changes get expensive. The most common one is the pre-pro meeting. After pre-pro, the boards are circulated to the production crew and the locations team. Re-blocking after pre-pro means re-circulating, which means everybody has to read the new version. Most artists charge a re-issuance fee on top of the drawing time for post-pre-pro restructures, because the cost isn’t the drawing, it’s the production overhead.

The simplest rule: lock the brief before commissioning, lock the boards before pre-pro, and treat anything after pre-pro as a separate small commission.

What to ask before you commit

• Have I downloaded the template and filled all seven sections?
• Have I quoted the script version (locked, draft, concept) on the brief?
• Have I labelled each reference with one line of what to take from it?
• Are my three dates real working-day dates, with the pre-pro or shoot date anchored?
• Have I picked one style, not three?
• Is the decision-maker named and reachable on the comms channel I specified?

Sources

1. APA — Advertising Producers Association. https://www.a-p-a.net/ (Accessed 2026-05-23). UK commercial production briefing standards.
2. BECTU — Freelance rate cards and working conditions. https://bectu.org.uk/ (Accessed 2026-05-23). Recommended revisions and amendment protocols for freelance commercial crew.
3. Boords — How to storyboard a TV commercial (2026). https://boords.com/how-to-storyboard/tv-commercial (Accessed 2026-05-23). Industry guidance on frame counts and brief structure for TVC storyboarding.
4. Frame.io — Review and approval for commercial production. https://frame.io/ (Accessed 2026-05-23). Standard tooling reference for asynchronous board review and sign-off.

About the author

Seb Antoniou is a London-based storyboard artist with 10+ years across Premier League, Bentley, Coca-Cola, Nike and BBC Sport campaigns. He boards for advertising agencies and production companies in the UK and globally, working from script, shot list, or a 20-minute call with the director. About →

Related

• Guide: How to brief a storyboard artist for a TVC
• Case study: Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid
• Service: TV Commercial Storyboards

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