AI Storyboarding & Shot Planning.
Lock your visual language before spending a single video generation credit.
After this lesson you'll know
- How to generate production-quality storyboards with image AI
- Shot types, camera movements, and lens choices that AI video generators handle well
- How to build character reference sheets for cross-scene consistency
- The shot list format that feeds directly into video generation
Why Storyboarding Saves Money
Video generation credits are the most expensive part of the AI cinema pipeline. Kling Pro costs roughly $0.10-0.30 per 10-second clip. If you generate blindly, you will burn through $20-50 in failed attempts before landing on the right look. Storyboarding with image generation costs 1/10th as much. A single Midjourney or Flux image costs $0.01-0.03. You can iterate 50 times on a single frame for less than the cost of one video generation attempt. The workflow: generate storyboard frames until every shot looks exactly right, then use those frames as image-to-video inputs. This locks your visual language -- color palette, composition, character design, lighting -- before you ever touch the video pipeline. ``` COST COMPARISON: 8-scene short film Without storyboards: ~40 video generations x $0.20 = $8.00 With storyboards: ~80 images x $0.02 + 12 videos x $0.20 = $4.00 Savings: 50% fewer video credits, 3x faster production ```
Think of storyboards as your visual contract with yourself. Once approved, they become the ground truth. Every video generation attempt is measured against the storyboard frame. If it does not match, regenerate. No scope creep.
Cinematography for AI: What Works
Not all traditional camera techniques translate well to AI video generators. Here is what current models handle reliably versus what they struggle with: **Reliable (use freely):** - Static wide shots and establishing shots - Slow dolly forward/backward - Slow pan left/right - Medium shots of single characters - Atmospheric shots (rain, fog, light shafts) - Rack focus (foreground to background) **Unreliable (use carefully):** - Fast camera movements (whip pan, crash zoom) - Tracking shots following walking characters - Handheld/shaky cam simulation - Complex multi-character blocking - POV shots with hands in frame - Continuous shots longer than 5 seconds **Avoid entirely (for now):** - Steadicam orbits around subjects - Crane shots with vertical movement - Split-screen or multi-angle composites - Shots requiring precise physical interactions (handshakes, fighting) Build your shot list using the reliable column. When you need an unreliable technique, plan for 3-5x more generation attempts and budget accordingly. ``` SHOT LIST FORMAT: Scene | Shot | Type | Movement | Duration | Notes 1 | 1A | Wide | Static | 4s | Establishing, rainy city 1 | 1B | Med | Slow push-in | 6s | Character reveal 2 | 2A | Close | Static | 3s | Hands on photograph 2 | 2B | Med-W | Slow pan R | 5s | Room reveal ```This lesson is for Pro members
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