THE ULTIMATE GUIDE

STORYTELLING
for Brands and Agencies


What You Will Learn in This Guide

The major principles of storytelling

Tips & tricks to present enchanting stories to your audience

How storyboarding works

How to use mood boards

How to structure your ideas with the help of the story canvas

What to be aware of during the story creation process

Table of Content

The Story

The Art of Storytelling 5

12 Steps to Creating a Great Story 6

What Youve Learned in This Chapter 14

Methods & Techniques

Moodboarding 15

The Art of Moodboarding 15

How to Create Your Own Mood Board 17

What Youve Learned in This Chapter 20

Your Very Own Mood Board Template 21

Storyboarding 22

The Art of Storyboarding 22

How to Create Your Own Storyboard 24

Free Download: Storyboard Checklist 29

Your Very Own Storyboard Template 30

The Story Canvas 31

The Art of the Story Canvas 32

How to Use a Story Canvas 33

Free Download: Story Canvas Checklist 37

Your Very Own Story Canvas Template 38

Conclusion 39

THE STORY

The Art of Storytelling

What Exactly Is Storytelling?

Telling stories is something deeply enrooted in the history of the human being. A story is the
report of aneventworthtelling.Wenarratestoriesandsagaseversincethestartofourexistence.
But with the time passing by, the sort of medium we use to tell stories change. In fact, cave
paintings from the Stone Age can be considered as the very rst attempts of storytelling.

Nevertheless, the core of storytelling has never changed ever since: We use it to convey
information. No matter if on purpose or unconsciously,everyonethirstsforknowledge,especially
if it is wrapped in an interesting andentertainingstory.Fromcavepaintingspicturingadangerous
hunt tofairytalesaboutprincessesandwitches,untilthisveryday,weusedifferenttypesofforms
to give information and catch the listeners attention.

The reasons why we are so obsessed with stories is inter alia the fact thattheycontainmessages
andanswerquestionsweaskourselvesallthetime.Love,death,theperksofgrowingupormoving
into a new town whatever issue is handled in a story, we always nd a way to relate the events
happening in there to our own lives. The way some issues are handled in a movie for example
inspire us to nd our own answers to existential questions.

Another reason forourloveforstoriesisthattheyoffertheopportunitytoidentifyourselveswith

certain characters showing up in a narration. Its a completely natural thing to doasahuman.We
get faced with some personality traits and judge about whether we appreciate those traits or
whether we despise them. Perhaps there is one character we can especially relate to because
there are some similarities to our own character or the current life situation we nd ourselves in.

Where Is Storytelling Used?

There are countless scenarios where storytelling is used.Actually,everyoneusesitiftheywantto
impart something dear to them to other people. But if youre going into the more professional
direction, storytelling is mostly used in the areas of lm production, advertising and game
development. As already mentioned, stories are told to awake the audiences interest, to keep
them thrilled. So advertising campaigns are a welcome opportunity to use storytelling.

If a company has a certain product it wants to present to the customers, it has to be original and
entertaining. Especially nowadays where thousands of brands try to reach out to potential
customers, the audiences attention isnt easy to get. Being overwhelmed with tonsofads,people
dont want to waste their time to the same concept of advertising over and over again. So an
entertaining and catchy campaign idea is needed to make the audience prick up their ears. In the
following chapter, we show you some examples of how storytelling can be used in the world of
advertising in the most effective ways.

12 Steps to Creating a Great Story

Not everyone has the privilege to create advertising for exciting brands like Red Bull, Old Spice
and Nike. The truth is that most people in the advertising industry face clients who sell soap to
retirees. What storytelling techniques will work here? In this guide, you will learn how to use
storytelling techniques that work for every brand.

Why Storytelling Techniques Are Effective in Advertising

Campaigns
Allow me to present to you the longest,professionalcommercialinadvertisinghistory:TheLEGO
Movie. Yes, thats true.TheLEGOMoviesellsLEGOproducts.But,Idontmind.Why?Becausethe
movie is amazing and I enjoyed watching it. It all comes back to a basic human truth: We all love
stories. And thats why you should use the technique of storytelling in advertising. Lets dive in.

Expert Quote

People are 22 times more likely to remember and internalize a story than facts or bullet
points.

Jerome Brunner, Actual Minds, Possible Worlds

1. Understand Expert Storytelling Techniques

The rst step you have to take, is to understand what makes a great story. Everybody is a
storyteller, but the truth is, most of us suck at storytelling. If you are familiarwithtermslikeThe
heros journey, you are already an expert. Forthosewhoarent:Dontworry!Wewilldiscussalot
of elements in this chapter.

Shortcut to the Mechanics of Great Stories

Sadly, there is no shortcut to the mechanics of great stories. If you are serious aboutlearningthe
techniques of storytelling, I recommend reading The Anatomy of Story by John Truby. I will give
you a few introductory points to start with.

The key to every story is a characters unful lled desire.Ifthereisnodesire,thereisnostory.The

plot is simple: Its all about the needs and desires of a character, and what he or she is willing to
invest to get it.

2. Come up With a Colorful Idea

When you know how stories work, its time to get creative. Take everything youvelearnedabout
brainstorming, grab two friends, get a lot of coffee, pick up a notebook and a pencil and start
thinking. If that doesnt help, you can get inspiredbywatchingthevideosmentionedinthisarticle
on YouTube. Just make sure you dont end up laughing at cat videos for two hours. To avoid the
latter, I encourage you to read 1,000 Character Writing Prompts. It delivers exactly what it
promises.

3. Write a Premise
Once you have got the perfect idea, you should write a premise. A premise is your story in one
sentence. It helps you ensure that your story is interesting enough. Some examplesofgreatstory
premises:

Nike Football The Last Game. An ex-football player assembles the greatest football stars to
battle the clones that have taken over the football world.

New Bells South Africa TV Ad. An illiterate father takes classes to be able to read his sons
bestselling book.

Dove Men+Care Mission. Dove helps to reunite a US soldier who has been away for seven
months with his family.

Guinness basketball commercial. A group of friends make a disabled man feel part oftheteamby
playing basketball in wheelchairs.

Now, these are stories I want to see! When you write your own premise, you will gure out,
whether yours is a story people would love to watch.

4. Use Key Storytelling Ingredients: Heroes and Desires

Nike is taking storytelling seriously. They even renamed their corporate of cers brand
storytellers. In The Last Game they tell the story of men versus clones. The story of humanity
versus accuracy. Long story short: A scientist creates clones of football players who can play
football perfectly. They dont take any risks, and so its not fun anymore. This kills the spirit of
football. Now the hero steps onto the stage: He has the desire to save football. Thevideohit+88
million views on YouTube.

A hero doesnt have to be a single person. It can be a cause, acompanyoragroupofpeoplejust

to mention a few. If you take a look at the premises above, you can sense the hero andhisdesire.
For example, in the Bells TV Ad: The hero is the illiterate father, who has the desire to read his
sons book. The story shows what the hero will do to make his desire come true.

Expert Quote
Humans are wired for stories. Its part of our evolution as a species.Therefore, you want to

create a memorable story to support your brand in a real way that makes sense to the
audience members. Advertising of any kind without theproperinvestmentinbrandstoryonly
makes sense to the myopicclientwhothinkspeoplealreadycare.Peopledontcareaboutyour
brand, until you use story as a way to invite them in.

David Burn, Writer, Strategist and Brand Builder, Bonehook

5. Dont Sell Your Product

Nowadays, people can sense advertising immediately. When they do, the story isover.Theyclose
the tab and forget about you. Of course, you cant leave the brandoutcompletely,sothesecretis
tohideitfromthesurface.Thefast-foodchainChipotledidthisintheircampaignTheScarecrow.
They didnt advertise their brand. They advertised an app-based game. See for yourself how well
this works: https://youtu.be/lUtnas5ScSE

6. Deliberately Hide Information

Expert Quote
Withholding, or hiding information is crucial to the storytellers make-believe. It forces the

audience to gure out who the character is and what he is doing, and so draws the audience
into the story. When the audience no longer has to gure out the story, it ceases being an
audience, and the story stops.

John Truby, The Anatomy of Story

The Guinness commercial perfected this technique. In the rst half of the video, you see friends
playing basketballinwheelchairs.Thesurprisingelement,thefactthatonlyoneguyactuallyneeds
a wheelchair, isonlyrevealedintheend.ThiswholestoryonlyworksbecauseGuinnessdecidedto
hide this key information in the beginning.

7. Be Tremendously Human
Greeting cards are not the most impressive things these days. Peopledontgetexcitedwhenthey
see them. A tough place for storytelling?

Lets take a look at a commercial by Cardstone. The best stories address the basic human needs
that are easy to relate to: Like the fact that yourmomisamazing.SoCardstonecreatedafakejob
description, named it director of operations (aka. mom),publisheditinnewspapers,interviewed
every applicant on Skype and made a video about it. The got +24 million clicks and +1,5 million
social media shares.

Expert Quote
When we are talkingtoourfriendsandcolleagues,howarewetalkingtothem?Itisinstories.

Stories are our way to communicate. That makes storytelling so powerful.

Oliver Schwamb, Concept & Production, Grabow, Bartetzko Filmproduktion

8. Be Authentic
I seriously thought about writing this article about storytelling techniques as a frustrated ad guy,
who wants to learn how to tell great stories. Would that have been authentic? Absolutely not.
Make sure your story is real. The best way to do that is to base it directly on real life experience.

The Cardstone commercial WorldsToughestJobsdidsowellbecausetheSkypeinterviewslook

so real and authentic. Aim for the same in your story.

Cardstone lmed the Skype interviews of the faked job description: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2&v=HB3xM93rXbY

9. Go for the Laugh

DIRECTV is a direct broadcast satellite service provider. Their advertising is a great example of
how humor can reach millions of people. They tell stories about people getting into weird
situations because they usedcableTV.Thestoryhasasimplestructure,wheresituationAleadsto
situation B and so on. Their stories are kind of pointless but they drew millions of people into
watching it. Why? Because they are extremely funny.

10. Make it as Visual as Possible

Did you notice that every single example I showed to you was a video? Close to 80% of Internet
users remember the video ads they watched online. Nowadays websites are over lled with ads
and alleged quality content. Nobody can or wants to read everything. But if your ads are
moving images, they stick. If you want to read more about the power of video check out this
article: Why Video Marketing on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube is So Powerful.

Expert Quote
Storytelling is the key. You can indeed tell the whole story in just one frame. But its within

peoples DNA to listen tothestorytelleraroundthe replace.Hetoldthevillagepeoplewhatis
new in town, and what the hunters found coming back from traveling the unknownpartsof
the world.

Nowadays media technology turned the consumers into hunters and marketing professionals
into storytellers but video-marketing represents the moving ame at the replaceonallour
devices and screens around us.

Danilo Klfer, Senior Video Producer, Goodgame Studios

10


11. Stand out

Remember when Avatar was the rst movie ever to use 3D in cinema? Now its the most
commercially successful movie in human history. Why? It was new. It stood out. When you use
storytelling in advertising, its a good idea to make something unique. In 2011, the agency
BUZZMAN had the idea to create uncommon digital experiences on YouTube for their client
TippEx. They allowed viewers to rewrite the story of a hunter who is going to shoot a bear. The
results? Over 45 million views and +1 million shares on social media.

Expert Quote
You must aggressively go to the edges and tell a story that only you can tell

Seth Godin

The hunter and the bear go through a bunch of funny scenarios in the Tippex commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=103&v=RcGaTzFV-pw

11


12. Make it Easy to Relate to for Your Target Group

Every amateur soccer player loves toimaginehimselfashisrolemodel.Irememberplayingsoccer
in the backyard thinking I was Ronaldinho. Nike addressesthisbeliefintheircommercialWinner
Stays. Its about young football players, who envision themselves playing football as stars like
Neymar. The video hit +13 million views on YouTube.

Hulk letting out his rage in the Nike commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv09DRd4lsM

You need to speak your customers language. The story has to t into the existing worldview of
your target group. The best waytogetintotheheadofyourtargetgroupistousebuyerpersonas.
A buyer persona is a ctional character that representsasegmentofyourcustomers.Youcanuse
it for brainstorming story ideas. The easiest way to quickly create a buyer persona is to use this
template. You just have to ll out the boxes and print it.

12


What Youve Learned in This Chapter

Brands are complicated and in most cases they are replaceable by other brands. So people need
stories to remember what the company is all about. Storytelling makes people believe that one
product is better than another. When people believe that your product is superior they are more
likely tobuyit.Ifyousticktothese12stepsofgoodstorytelling,youreonthebestwaytoenchant
people with your own story.

12 Storytelling Techniques for Boring Brands

Learn the mechanics of great stories


Brainstorm and develop ideas


Write a premise


Include a hero and a desire



Dont sell your product


Hide information



Be human



Be authentic


Use humor


Make it visual


Stand out of the crowd


Make it easy to relate to

13


METHODS & TECHNIQUES

14


Moodboarding
The Art of Moodboarding
Have you ever thought you have an ideathatisbetterthananything?Everythingmakessensein
your head. But after pitching the idea to your co-workers, they just dontgetit.Theycantpicture
it.

There are severalpossiblereasonsforthis.Maybeyourideaisntthatbrilliant,oryoureextremely

bad at presenting. The solution to your problem could be a moodboard.Amoodboardgivesyour
idea a visual foundation. It describes yourvisionandyourfeelings.Itsalsoaperfectstartingpoint
for something great.

What Is a Mood Board?

A mood board is a collection of images, graphics, colors, material, words and emotions. It should
give insight into your mindsetandyourcreativethoughts.Althoughtherearenorulesforcreating
a mood board, there is still a distinction between doing it right and wrong. After reading this
article, you will have an idea of how to create an impressive mood board.

Who Should Use Mood Boards?

Mood boards are not only for designers. They are useful ineverykindofcontext.Somoodboards
can be used in:

The lm and video business, to envision lm sets.

Marketing and advertising, to visually de ne advertising campaigns.

Graphic design, to show your stylistic direction and idea of the nal
product.

Web design, to concretize and visualize your drafts.

Photography, to create mashups.

15


Whats the Purpose of a Mood Board?

Many creatives struggle to understand why mood-boarding is so vital tothedesignprocess.They
especially worry about the amount of time they spend on a moodboard.Butthemainobjectiveis
to create an atmospheric impression or feeling, to give your client or your team an idea of what
you are going to do. And if you do this well, you will save time instead of spending too much. You
dont have to stick to anything, just set your mindfreeandcreatesomethingthatisbothbeautiful
and useful. There are no limits to your creativity. Your moodboardshouldbethebasisforfurther
work.

Enhance Creativity

As a creative professional, youarealwaysonthehuntforinspiringstufforthelatest

things. Its about enhancing creativity. A mood board can cause a creativity boost,
too. By digging through somanyimages,videosandideasfromotherpeopleyouwill
de nitely nd some inspiration.

Give Creative Guidance

Take your client by the hand. In most cases, your clients are not as creative as you
are. And their creative comprehension is not as high as yours. Be aware of this. Do
not overcharge your client. Make it easy for him or her to follow your thoughtsand
imagination.

Get a Feeling for Your Clients Expectations

The more you include your client in your work ow, the fewer mistakes you can
make. Wrong! Its important to include him or her, but dont concede too much
power. People who are not in the creative industry often want to change things so
many times that its just annoying and not expedient. So listen as much as possible,
but do it yourself!

16


How to Create Your Own Mood Board

Step 1: Collect Ideas

First of all, you should think about the values of the company or client you are workingfor.Large
companies often have styleguidesthatincludeallvaluesordesignaspectsyoushouldbeawareof.
In case your client doesnt have one, there is still no reason to worry. Through investigation and
talking with your client, you should be able to get some ideas.

Work in Concepts
If there is no concrete ow to your mood board, it could be the case that your client just doesnt
understand what you want to tell or express. For that reason, itsnecessarytoworkinaclearand
structured way. In case your are going to collect random online pictures, yourmoodboardwillbe
confusing and useless.

Step 2: Sort Your Ideas

Now you have an overview of your clients expectations. In this step, you have to reduce the
number of your ideas and investigation results to a few expressive and powerful words or small
sentences. The words should be substitutes for the nal product. Avoid vague words like
awesome, lasting or quality-conscious. Everybody uses them and you want to create something
new.

17


Step 3: Investigate
Step 3 is the same as step 1, just replace words withimages.Itsimportanttospendsometimeon
investigation and communication again. In the end it will be worth it, I promise. Collect as many
images as you can. If you want to include your client in your work ow, he or she can search for
some pictures, too. This reduces the risk of you doing something totally wrong.

You dont have to worry about image copyrights, because mood boards are usual just for private
use.

Use the Power of Images

The internetisfullofinspiringpictures,videosanddesigns.Itsokaytotakeotherpeoplesideasas
inspiration and use them as a basis for your further work. So this is no encouragement to steal
other creatives ideas! But creativity is usually inspired by fresh input.

If there are no suitable pictures online, use your own. Take photos of everything. Interesting,
inspiring or even weird stuff. Become a hoarder of images. Anything may become useful some day.

18


Step 4: Arrange Your Images

Now its allcomingtogether.Choosethemostappropriateimagesandarrangethem.Thegoalisto
create a precise, expressive mood board thatmakesitpossibletoenvisionyourfurtherplans.This
is the hardest part and it requires experience to do it well. Although its just about collecting
pictures, there is a spectrum of doing it right or wrong. If you can get some advicebypeoplewho
are experienced in mood boarding, take the chance and talk to them.

Work in Details
To meet your clients expectations, you should work indetailduringtheearlystages.Itwouldbea
huge mistake to assume that your client will instantly understand all your thoughts. Especially, if
meeting in person is not possible. Make sure your client can get a clear vision of your idea.

Step 5: Create the Mood Board

The nal step. Now its all about creating themoodboarditself.Ifinvestigationandplanningwent
well, this should be the easiest part. Whether you do it digitally or analog doesnt matter. Take a
look at different sizes, dispositions and fonts. Everything should correspond with the values you
de ned earlier.

Use the Best Tools

There is no perfect tool for creatng a mood board. Whether you use Photoshop, Word,
Powerpoint, Evernote or Pinterest doesnt matter. The most important thing is that it supports
your creativity. Use something that allows you to include images, add text and move pictures
around. Use the toolthatmakesyoufeelthemostcomfortable.IpreferPowerpoint,butthatsjust
a personal preference.

19


What Youve Learned in This Chapter

To sum up, mood boards are agreatwaytovisualizeyourideasandmakeyourimaginationvisible.
In the end it will pay off, because clients areincludedintheearlystagesoftheprojectandtherisk
that your work is off target diminishes. You candownloadourchecklistlistingthemostimportant
points of moodboarding right here.

Spend time investigating and researching. Its de nitely worth it.

Get inspired by other peoples ideas.

Listen to your clients wishes, but dont cede too much power.

Work with a structured plan.

Use the power of images.

Work in detail.

Use the tool which is most convenient for you.

There are no rules. Have fun!

20


Your Very Own Mood Board Template

To test these techniques by yourself right away, we have created a moodboard template just for
you. You can download it for free!

21


Storyboarding
The Art of Storyboarding
Inmyjobasamarketer,Ineedtocommunicatewithpeopleonadailybasis.Sometimes,Idoagood
job and they understand me immediately. Sometimes, I failandtheydontgetit.Inmanycases,its
in the way I tell the story. Its about the metaphors I use and the way I structure my story.

The same goes for videos, lms and commercials. Its all aboutthestoryandthestoryline.Agreat
tool to structure the story of a lm is a storyboard.

What Is a Storyboard?
A storyboard is an illustration of all the elements that you want to include in your video. It often
looks like the panels of a comic strip, and it shows the key scenesofavideo,commercialormovie
shot by shot. A storyboard captures events, sets and characters that will appear in the video. It
tells who or what will be on camera. Its major purpose is to map out the ow of the nal
production. So the storyboard is usually a preparation of the actual video shoot.

What Is a Storyboard Good for?

Astoryboardisafastandeasywaytoshowandshareyourimagination.Itsavisualwaytopresent
a story, before actually producing a real video. It gives you a base to work out, orfurtherdevelop
an idea. Producers, directors and other team members can easily see, discuss and test the story
scene by scene. If there are disagreements, they areeasytoresolvebeforeactuallyproducingthe
video. This saves time and money,andhelpstokeepthebudgetlow.Soastoryboardisagreatway
to inspire new ideas.

A well-known storyboard-fan, or even fanatic, was Alfred Hitchcock.Heworkedouteveryshotof

a lm, before he went into the lms production. For Hitchcock, the storyboarding itself was the
process of lmmaking, not the lm production. Shooting the lm was then just a necessity.
Producing a movie was just the execution of creating live versions of his storyboard. (Videomaker)

22


What Makes a Good Storyboard?

Now that youve got to know the basics of storytelling in the previous chapter, you can start to
create your storyboard.

Keep Visuals Simple

By keeping it simple, you can win over clients and co-workers more easily to your
ideas. A simple storyboard offers theopportunitytochangethingswithlesseffort.It
also keeps the process of lmmaking lean, easy and exible.

Focus on the Big Idea

When creating a storyboard, it is easy to get lost in details. Be aware that there is a
lot of distraction out there. So make sure you concentrate on the big idea before
looking at anything else. When you gotthemainideastraight,youcancomebackfor
the details.

Be Visual & Avoid Text

Who likes to read a lot when there are greatpicturestofollow?Soinsteadofusinga
lot of text, you can use visuals to support your story. Metaphors and analogies,
especially, are a great way to tell a vivid story. Metaphors help us to make sense of
the world. They are the perfect way to communicate a visualmessage,becausethey
paint pictures in the watchers minds. Just like a video. (Visualthinkingmagic)

23


How to Create Your Own Storyboard

Step 1: Work out Your Story

Think About the Key Scenes in Your Story

The rst thing you should do, when you start to work out your storyboard, is to identify the key
scenes in yourstory.Whatarethemostessentialshots?Whendoyouhaveplottwistorimportant
changes? Do you have changes in the location? A good way is to brainstorm a list of all the key
moments of your story. Having a list makes it easy to decide how you like to include them.

Create a Narrative Timeline

After youve identi ed the key scenes, you should order the events chronologically. This makes it
easy tofollowyourstoryandpreventsyourteamfromgettinglost.Besidethechronologicalorder,
you should add parameters like the location and time when your story takes place.

We all know movies like Pulp Fiction that arent completelylinear.Manymoviesuseelementslike

time travel, shifting perspectives, deja vus or ash forward. Even in this case, you can still work
with a narrative timeline.

Decide About the Level of Detail

It happens to the best of us to feel overwhelmed by all the details that you need to cover. When
you are not strict enough about your level of detail, you can spend hours on every illustration. In
most cases, it is helpful to maintainapracticalperspectiveonthestoryboard.Youdontwantyour
team to get lost in trying to interpret the shots. So better keep it simple in your rst version.You
can always add more detail later on. Ideally, your storyboard contains all necessary information,
but is still easy to understand.

In case you are producing an entire lm and want to be more detailed about it, you can break it
down into individual scenes. For every scene,youcreateaseparatestoryboard.Thisallowsyouto
include important details, but still keep it clear and organized.

Write a Distinct Cell Description

The last step is to describe the action taking place in each of your illustrations. A good way is to
focus on the most important elements of each individual shot. What kind of setting do you have?
What action takes place? What emotions do your characters need to express?

24


Step 2: Work out the Design

Pen & Paper vs. Digital Storyboard

Now its time to design your storyboard. You basically have two options to workoutillustrations:
You can work digitally or you can work analogously. If you prefer to work digitally, you can use a
storyboard template. You can nd all kinds of templates for PowerPoint, InDesign and Word out
there.

Just download the storyboard and start drawing on your computer.Adigitaldrawingboardmight

be helpful. There are some online tools to create a storyboard as well. Storyboardthat.com is a
well-known web app that lets you create a storyboard easily.

If you prefer to draw a pen and paper based storyboard, I still recommend downloading and
printing out a storyboard template. This way, you save the timeitwouldtaketocreateatemplate
yourself, and cells will always look neat and accurate.

Before you start to work on your storyboard, you should be clear about the aspect ratio. Film
typically has a format of 16:9. TV used to be 4:3. (Howcast)

25


Work with Grids to Gain Perspective

An easy way to gain more controloverperspective,andyourstoryboarddrawings,istoworkwith
agrid.Usingagridwillsimplifyyourdrawingprocess,becauseithelpsyouhittherightperspective
more easily.

When working with grids, you should avoid at oors. It looks way more natural to work with a
three point perspective. The reason lies in the higher dynamics you gain through more depth
illustrations. This will result in better shots in the end.

Color the Objects and Add Levels of Perspective

This certainly belongs to one ofthebasiclessonsinphotographyandcinematography.Butwhenit
comes to illustrations, we forget about this trick easily. I am talking aboutdepthyougainthrough
playingwithaforeground,amidgroundandabackground.Itbringsasenseoftexture,locationand
dynamic to your illustrations. So, instead of drawing yourcharactersallononesinglehorizonline,
you can place them on different levels to add perspective. (Bloopanimation, No lmschool)

Another elegant trick to gain even more perspective is to color your objects. This helps the
watcher to differentiate them from the background. You will instantly gain amorecinematiclook
for your drawings.

Adding perspective to your drawings will support your videos, movies or commercials. The more
perspective you have in your illustrations, the better it works in the lmmaking process.

26


Step 3: Additional Information and Details

After the illustration part, its time to add some important information to you storyboard.

Shot Description
A good way to start is by adding adescriptionofwhatishappeningintheshot.Youshouldanswer
the question, how long a shot will take. And when there is dialog taking place, include that
information with the scene as well. But always keep in mind to keep it short and concrete.
Otherwise, you run the risk of overexerting clients and co-workers.

Use a Numbering System

To keep the overview over your story, it is important tonumbereachscene.Whenyouhaveshots
that take up multiple frames, you can work with secondary numbers like 2a, 2b and 2c. This will
help you to stay clear about the order.

Add Camera Movement

In case youwanttoindicatethewaythecamerashouldmoveinthe nalvideo,youcanputarrows
into your illustrations. The arrows simply point to the direction in which you want the camera to
move.

A more subtle way to indicate camera movement are motion lines. They emphasize the velocity
towards an object. Another way to show a camera movement is to work with multiple frames
showing the same object from a different angle.

Logically Group Characters

Incaseyoudealwithmultiplecharacters,youshouldlogicallygroupthem.Thisisespeciallyhelpful
when it comes to editing. Its way easier for your audience to cut back and forth between them.
Having a certain order prevents you from confusing your team. Another strategy is to label your
characters with A to D for example. (No lmschool)

27


Step 4: Revision and Fine Tuning

The last step in creating a storyboard should be the review andrevisionpart.Assoonasyouhave
the rst draft of your storyboard ready and you feel quite good about it, its time to get quali ed
feedback.

But before you ask somebody else, it is helpful to let your storyboard sit for some time. I hadthe
best experience, when I didnt touch it for a while and then went back to it with a fresh mind.
Sometimes, even one night can be enough.

When you have doneyourpersonalreview,youshouldgetfeedbackfromothers.Incaseyoudont

sit in the same room with your sparring partners, you can try our web app, Filestage, to discuss
your storyboard. It is an easy way to manage feedback and work collaboratively.

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Free Download: Storyboard Checklist

Once you are ready with your storyboard and you nally go into the videos production, your
storyboard will be a big help. But even if youve invested a lot of time andefforttoworkoutyour
storyboard, you should still be open tonewinput.Youcanalwayscomeacrossnewideasforshots
you couldnt imagine before. Thats what makes lming such an amazing thing.

To sum up the most important things torememberaboutstoryboarding,wevecreatedachecklist

so that you have every single important point listed in 8 steps.

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Your Very Own Storyboard Template

Togetstartedrightawaywithyourownstoryboard,wehaveafreestoryboardtemplaterighthere
and just for you. You can use our template as a foundation for your next movie or video. It helps
you to visualize your ideas and imaginations and contains a practical PowerPoint and a PDF
version. Feel free to adapt our storyboard template to your personal needs and requirements!

30


The Story Canvas

The Art of the Story Canvas
When you are a bit familiar with the startup world and development of new business ideas, you
probably know the business-model canvas. But have you ever heard about the story canvas
before? Its a great tool to develop enchanting stories, especially when you work in lm or
advertising.

31


What Is a Story Canvas?

A story canvas shows the points and goals of your story within a clearframework.Forexample,it
handles the key messages and objectives for your audienceand even more decisive factors. But
how do you structure it? Are there any main categories to consider?

Fortunately, a story canvas provides several sections, which already categorize the most
important variables for your story formula. During the process of creating your story, youshould
go through each part of the canvas, and make up your mind about every single frame. You just
write your ideas into the proper eld of the canvas. Then you can see your ideas actually take
form.

What Is a Story Canvas Good for?

Since you go through each section of your canvas as you make decisions, you get an increasingly
precisevisionofwhatyourstoryshouldcontain.Itsalsocompletelyokaytorejectorrethinkideas
during the whole processbecause thats exactly what the story canvas is made for.

You cant consider all of the relevant facts at once, especially at the start of your project. So you
have to write everything down rst before getting more in-depth.

Clear Structure
Due to the prede ned categories, a big bene t of the story canvas is the clear structure it
provides. You can see all of the affecting categories in one glance. Besides, every note isproperly
sorted in the appropriate framework eld.

Context
Since you can see everything at once, a story canvas gives you a great overview about how your
decisive factors are connected to each other. Each category has an impact on the other categories.

Thanks to the clear overview, you immediately recognize the consequences that the factorshave
on the nal result. You could also say that the story canvas gives you a sense of how the whole
underlying art of storytelling interlaces.

Agility
Another big plus of thestorycanvasisthatyoudonthavetostickwiththesamestoryduringyour
entire project. Ifsomethingsdontworkanymoreduetochangingcircumstances,youcanimprove
your story by just redesigning your notes right in the canvas. This exibility provides a way more
agile way of designing your story.

32


How to Use a Story Canvas

Similar to the Business Model Canvas, a story canvas is grouped into several segments, which
handle each different category. Every single category is an important factor in your story. To
develop a great story, you work on each category step-by-step and see how theyre connected.
When combined, they round up all the relevant variables for your story.

Purpose
The most important thing is the big reason why you want to tell a certain story to your

audience. What do you want to achieve? Whatimpactdoyouwantyourstorytohaveon
the lives of your customers? Why are you making the effort to visualize a story?

Your purpose belongs in the headline of your canvas, and can be emphasized in one
meaningful sentence.

Audience
The audience is one of the most important issues in your canvas. It is the audience you

want to reach out to, afterall.Mostofthetime,yourmainpurposeistogettheattention
of your audience. Its a group of people you aim for. You can also call it thetargetgroup,
as marketers would say.

You can break it down into two main kinds of people, your primary and your secondary
audience. The primary audienceisthemainkindofpeopleyouwanttogetacrossto.This
might be the target group of your product or anyone else.

The secondary audience are witnesses which are not necessarily interested in your
product, but may have an in uence on your primary audience. Those can be spectators
like relatives, children, friends, neighbors etc.

For example, if your company sells toys, your primary audience are children, but your
secondary audience would be the parents or relatives who buy the product for their kids.

Key Messages
Since most of the stories have some kind of message they want to convey, you should

think about that, too. What is your core message, themostmeaningfulvaluesyourstory
is supposed to contain? They can be inspired by the vision and image your company has
already gured out for itself.

33


Call to Action
After guring out your key messages, thenextstepistogetapictureofwhatexactlyyou
want your audiencetodoaftertellingthemthestory?Doyouwantthemtoshareit,shall
they visit your homepage, is there a giveaway waiting for them? The options are
countless. But after all, your story should trigger some kind of interaction in between
your audience.

Instead of just throwing in avideoclipaboutyourproduct,yourspectatorsaresupposed

to get excited to seek contact with you. Thats why the call to action partisessentialfor
creating a successful story for your campaign.

Story
In this part you writedownyourthoughtsaboutyouractualstory.Whatisitsupposedto
be about? What is the plot? Who is the protagonist and what kind of journey ishegoing
through?

While narrating a story, theprincipleofTheHerosJourneyisthemostpopularpattern

to stick with. As already mentioned in the rst part of the guide The Story,thiskindof
narration is rooted in the history of mankind. Even ancient stories and sagas have been
following this scheme ever since.

In most of the cases, we start identifying with the protagonist while listening to a story.
The hero happens to be in the main focus because hes the one going through an
adventure, learning new things. During his odyssey, he experiences achangebecausehe
has learned a meaningful lesson he will never forget.

Since you also want to get your very own key message across,theprotagonistshouldbe
no one else than your audience itself. Put your spectators intotheroleoftheherowhos
going through theadventure,letthembeapartofit.Eventually,itsthemyouwanttoget
your core message and feel the emotions the story is spreading.

Look & Feel

Since people tend to remember things due to emotions, it is a matter of fact that you
should think very well about how you want your audience to feel. It has to t with the
vision and the key messages youre aiming at to convey with your story. Everynarration
has its own mood and ambience. So its up to you what sort of ambience that should be.

34


Style & Tone

This part is closely connected to Look and Feel. In thepreviouspart,you've guredout

the emotions you want to pass on to your audience and also the general ambience the
story should have. Now, it's time to specify the instruments and techniques you're
planning to use.

What kind of design and what pitch is suited the best for your story? A sepia tone ts
better with a nostalgic scene than a bright and shiny tone which suits a happy mood.

If youre deciding to use a lm as your storytelling medium, the music plays a huge role
for the overall ambience you wanttopasson.Amelodyhasatremendousimpactonhow
people feel at the moment theyre listening. So how a story is wrapped using certain
colors, effects and tracks are the key to create an atmospheric tone.

People & Places

Every story has its own scenery and setting. Thus, you should think about what kind of
people and locations you want your story to take place in. No matter if its an idyllic
forest, a small picturesque village or a big crowded city, it should be appropriate to the
storys atmosphere which you determined in the previous part.

The kind of people interacting in your story shouldbealsogivenathoughtto.Sinceyour

audience is supposed to identify with the characters as much as possible, you should
think of your target demographic group as one of the protagonists. So if your main
audience is male and between 18 and 30 years old, you should consider a young manas
the main character.

35


Campaign
This step handles the channels you want to use while reaching out to your audience. To
get the story to your people of interest, it is essential to gure out how to get them to
interact with you.

Since youreseekingtheirattentionandputtheeffortintocreatinganicestory,youwant
some reactions and people to actually acknowledge your effort. Therefore the
communication channels you choose are crucial to the potential scope of your story.

They determine the success of your campaign and are able to boost the amount of
reactions you get by your audience. So the touch points of where, when and howyoure
going to share your story can be written down into this eld of the canvas.

A helpful thing to do is to specifytwoorthreemainchannelsyoucanfocusonandplana

strategy for each communication channel. This also gives you an overview of which
channels might work better than the other ones.

Goals & Objectives

The difference between goals and objectives is that goals de ne the bigger impact you
want to have. At the same time, your objectives are measurable goalswhichareactually
achievable.

The purpose of this separation is to describe your steps and milestones on the one side
and your bigger dreams and the impact you want to make on the other side.

It helps you to stayrealisticbutsimultaneouslythinkbig.Becauseafterall,toachievebig

things, you still need to think in realizable, little steps. So basically, your big goals and
your pragmatic objectives go hand in hand.

36


Free Download: Story Canvas Checklist

To round it all up, a story canvas is a great way to concretize your ideasandtogetanoverviewof
which criteria you need to stick with.

But there is one thing you should consider while creating a story canvas: the case that the rst
draft is the one youll stick to during the whole process is very rare. Its way more common to
create several versions of your story canvas where you get more precise from draft to draft.

And eventually, youll have a clear vision of what kind of story you want to tell and how youre
going to achieve that. The most important lesson you can learn from the pattern of the story
canvas is thateveryfactorgoesbacktotheaudienceyouwanttoreachoutto.Theyarethecenter
of your interest and thats why your concept is supposed to be tailored to them.

37


Your Very Own Story Canvas Template

Now that youve learned what to be aware of whilecreatingastorycanvas,youcantryityourself
by using our story canvas template. It provides an empty framework where you can write down
your ideas into the tting categories, but alsoanexplanatoryPowerpointofwhattoconsider.You
can download it right here for free!

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Conclusion
After allthethingsyouvelearnedwhilereadingthisguide,yougottoknowalotoftechniquesand
examples of storytelling and creating concepts. Maybe there were somethingsyoualreadyknew,
but hopefully you received some interesting inputaboutthetechniquesofcreatingastory.Please
be aware of the fact that there is not the onerightwaytodoit,butseveralgreatsolutions.Which
way works out the best for you needs to be gured out by no one else but yourself. After all,
creativity is nothing you can just read about in books or guides, it is something way more intuitive.

But nevertheless, a certain structure can be helpful to come up with inspirational ideas for
effective storytelling.

I hope you had fun while reading our guide and that you were able to widen your knowledge of
storytelling. What will your story be?

39


Imprint

Authors Publisher Layout & Design

Soukaina El Gharbaoui Filestage GmbH Soukaina El Gharbaoui

Tobias Brockow Heidehofstrae 9 Mal Frize

Caleb May eld 70184 Stuttgart Background image of book cover

designed by Freepik
Adrijana Lazarevic Email: niklas.dorn@ lestage.io

Julian Sieber

Niklas Dorn

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