Turn the reference into a plan
See reference videos broken down shot-by-shot. Add custom notes for direction, cost estimates, logistics, meeting notes or whatever your workflow needs.
Record what each shot needs
The fields for this job are already in the box, and the ones that are not take a minute to add.
A new board ships with Story, Action, Messaging, Visuals / Cinematography and Sound & Music, plus dropdowns for Shot Size, Movement and Content Type. Type into those on any plan. On Pro you add your own: Location, Talent, VO, On-screen text, an Achievable checkbox. Select several shots and the inspector writes one value across the whole selection, except Tags, which edit one shot at a time.
See the fields that ship with StoryFolder and creating your own, or making a shot list from a reference video.
Break down production requiremets, shot by shot.
show them comps you can recreate on their resources and budget.
Work out the location, the crew skill, the rig, the lighting and the post work behind reference videos, shot by shot.
Mark scope. Read the count.
Scroll the board and mark the shots that need a crane, and the ones you would simplify. Filter to what you marked. Then read the count off Statistics and take it to your estimating spreadsheet. The conversation those counts feed is turning a client's idea into something you can quote.
Needs crane · Yes / NoNeeds light kit rental · Yes / NoAchievable is Yes
Where the breakdown stops
At the numbered, timed, annotated document. Everything after it belongs to another tool, and which tools turn a finished video into a shot list sorts out which one.
| Does | Does not |
|---|---|
| Cut the reference into timed, numbered shots | Read source timecode, a reel, or drop-frame |
| Record what each shot needs, shot by shot | Estimate, schedule, or build a call sheet |
| Print a shot document, two shots to a page | Design the treatment. Milanote, Canva and Keynote do that |
| Analyse the reference they sent you | Find analogous references. ShotDeck and Shot.cafe do that |
| Export XLSX, CSV, PDF, images and clips | Write an EDL, XML, AAF or FCPXML |
Dissolves and fades need a pass with Split.
Return the reference, annotated
The link is view-only, and that is the whole point of sending it.
It carries no comments, approvals, picks or timecodes, and a board built from a local file shows the exported frames rather than a player. What the client opens, without an account, is their own reference with your notes on it, in Storyboard, Thumbnails or Shot List. The PDF prints the same board two shots to a page. The Spreadsheet / Shot List writes XLSX and CSV together. Password protection is Pro.
- View-only · three layouts
- No account needed
- Password · Pro
Import the reference
Drop in the file and it comes back as numbered shots. Write the requirements onto them, then hand back a PDF, a spreadsheet or a link. Desktop only, macOS and Windows.
Sign in and download for macOS or Windows, then drop in the video the client sent you.
FAQ