Make them point at the shot
A scene, broken into shots your students can point at.
A student says the scene “feels tense” and then retells the plot. Analysis improves once the claim has to point back to a specific shot — its number, its duration, what is actually in the frame. Read the situation in full: teaching film analysis.
- Numbered, timed shots
- Correct what detection missed
- Your own template on every shot
The breakdown is the deliverable
A production course gates shooting behind a shot list. An analysis course grades a shot-by-shot reading of an extract. An exam task asks you to cite the moment, the duration, the camera movement. None of this claims to satisfy any particular exam board's syllabus — it is what a shot-by-shot reading already looks like in your own rubric.
Gates shooting behind a shot list and a storyboard before the crew is allowed on set.
Grades a shot-by-shot reading of an extract, not a plot summary.
Asks you to cite the moment, the duration, and the camera movement.
One file in. Numbered shots out.
Drop in the scene file you already teach from and detection returns one card per shot, with elapsed time and duration on each. A missed or false cut is common on dissolves and flashes — correct it by hand with the sensitivity slider, suggested cuts, Split and Join. Public-URL import exists, but a local file you already have the rights to teach from is the path this page is built around.
More on importing a local video file.
- Local file, not a public URL
- Elapsed time, HH:MM:SS,mmm
- Detection needs a review pass
Your rubric
Your rubric as fields
Custom fields carry the scene-analysis template you already hand out on paper: shot size, movement, who holds the frame, what changes, a sound note, a one-line claim. Students fill the fields against each shot; select several shots and one value writes across the whole run, except Tags, which edit one shot at a time. Custom fields are on every plan, and that is why the educator offer is Pro — the plan that adds Statistics and spreadsheet export on top of them.
See creating your own fields and the full template in teaching film analysis.
Read the rhythm
Total shots, average, median, longest and shortest, computed from a real film's exported shot list.
Statistics reads the shape of a scene: total shots, mean, median, longest and shortest duration, and duration over time. Checkbox and dropdown fields bucket into counts the same way. This is average-shot-length and cinemetrics-style reading, named as such — students still check the shot boundaries before quoting a number, which the article explains.
461
3.5s
2.3s
50.1s
0.4s
- Total shots
- Average
- Median
- Longest
- Shortest
- Charts · Pro
A breakdown tool, not a classroom platform
Disqualify honestly before you apply. StoryFolder breaks a scene into evidence. It does not create storyboards from drawings or staged photographs, manage a class roster, collect submissions, or grade — there is no LMS, no LTI, no Google Classroom integration. Detection needs review on dissolves and fades.
AI Autofill is a separate, optional, cloud feature that reads one frame per shot and is off by default.
| Does | Does not |
|---|---|
| Break a scene into numbered, timed, annotated evidence | Create storyboards from drawings or staged photographs |
| Ship a scene-analysis template as custom fields you edit | Manage a class roster, collect submissions, or grade |
| Export a shot document, a spreadsheet, images and clips | Function as an LMS — no LTI, no Google Classroom integration |
| Run detection you correct by hand on dissolves and flashes | Guarantee a boundary on every dissolve without a review pass |
| Run on macOS and Windows desktop | Run on a Chromebook or an iPad |
| Run AI Autofill as a separate, optional, cloud feature, off by default | Require accounts under 13 |
Accounts must be 13 or older.
Submit a link or a PDF
The link is view-only, and that is the whole point of sending it.
A student publishes a view-only link — no account needed to open it — or exports a PDF. You open shots, fields and notes in a browser. There is no commenting, no approvals, no grading inside StoryFolder; feedback goes back through whatever your course already uses.
- View-only
- No account needed to open it
- Password-protected link · Pro
The film stays on the student's machine
Video files are never uploaded to StoryFolder. Shot detection and transcription run on the computer that has the file; notes and fields sync to the account; publishing a link uploads only the thumbnails that link needs.
AI Autofill is a separate feature: it sends one frame per shot to a cloud model, is off by default, and is optional for the assignment.
- Scene filestays on the student's machine
- Shotsdetected and reviewed locally
- Notes & fieldssync to the account
- Published thumbnailsthe only images that reach the web
Free for educators while you teach
Educators: Pro at no cost for the academic year, renewed with a one-line re-application each year — no card needed. Students: Pro at a student rate for 12 months, re-verified yearly. Both go through one form — your institution, course and a proof of enrolment or employment — reviewed by a person, usually within one business day. Non-.edu institutions are welcome. Coursework, thesis films, portfolio and festival submission are allowed; client work is not, and your proof is deleted once a decision is made.
See what Pro includes.
Import the scene tonight
Download after signing in and import one scene from a film already on your syllabus. A single scene and a first assignment fit the free tier; apply for educator access once your template needs custom fields and Statistics.
Apply for educator or student access
One form for both, reviewed by a person, usually within one business day.
Prefer to try it first? Sign in and download for macOS or Windows.
FAQ