FicReel does not have a storyboard feature, and this guide does not pretend otherwise. It is a workflow for planning a shot on paper or in any tool you already use, then turning that plan into one keyframe and one short shot here.
First, the honest part: there is no storyboard tool here
FicReel is a shot tool. There is no storyboard generator, no shot-list editor, no timeline and no scene assembly. What you get is one keyframe and one five- or ten-second shot, generated one press at a time.
So the storyboard lives outside the product. A notebook, a notes app, a drawing program, or a spreadsheet with one row per shot all work, and none of them needs to be pretty. What matters is that each panel answers four questions: how much of the subject is in frame, where the camera sits, what the subject is doing, and what the light is doing.
Why plan a shot you can regenerate in 90 seconds
Because the second generation is not the expensive part; the tenth is. A frame costs 6 credits and about 15–35 seconds. A 5-second shot costs 45 credits and about 3–6 minutes. The cost that hurts is not one take — it is discovering after the shot that the framing was wrong for the scene.
Planning also makes shots comparable. When each panel records framing, action and light, six shots read as one scene instead of six unrelated pictures. That is the difference between a short film and a folder of clips.
Turn a panel into an image prompt
A storyboard panel is already most of a prompt, and the mapping is direct. It follows the same six-part structure the product's guide uses, so a panel written well becomes a prompt with almost no translation:
| Panel note | Prompt slot | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Framing: shot size and angle | Camera and framing | Medium close-up, slightly low angle |
| Subject pose | Subject and action | Grey coat, turned three-quarters, looking off-frame left |
| Light | Light | Soft overcast window light from the left |
| Mood and era | Atmosphere | 1990s cel look, warm grain, muted teal |
| Avoid list | Avoid | No text, no logos, no extra characters |
From panel to keyframe, with the panel beside you
Open Create and generate the frame the panel describes. Keep the storyboard visible while you prompt; the quiet failure is drifting from the panel without deciding to, because a new idea looked good in the prompt box.
Attach the reference first
The reference decides who is in the frame; the prompt decides the framing and the light.
Write only what the panel says
Shot size, angle, pose, light. One subject, one moment.
Generate and compare
A frame is 6 credits. Put it next to the panel: does it do the job the panel was written for?
Update the panel or reject the frame
If the frame is better, keep it and update the panel. If the panel was right, change the prompt framing before anything else.
Decide the move on the storyboard, not later
The motion prompt is not a second storyboard. By the time you generate the shot, the framing is fixed; you are choosing how the camera and the subject move inside that frame. Write that choice on the panel too — one line is enough: slow push in, hold, pan right.
Five seconds is the default and the reliable choice at 45 credits. Ten seconds costs 90 and suits a beat that needs time; a move that needs more than that is two shots, not a longer take. The 5 vs 10 guide compares the two honestly.
When the keyframe disagrees with the storyboard
It happens constantly, and it is not a failure. A generated frame interprets the panel, and sometimes the interpretation is better than the plan. The rule that keeps the project moving: decide which one the scene needs, then update the other.
- If the frame is better: keep the frame, update the panel, and use that frame as the reference for the next shot in the same location.
- If the panel was right: change the prompt framing first. Shot size and angle are the cheapest fix; do not rebuild the character.
- If both are wrong: the panel probably held two ideas. Split it into two shots.
- If the face is wrong: that is a reference problem, not a storyboard problem. Fix the reference image.
A seven-step workflow, start to finish
This is the whole loop as a checklist. It is intentionally analogue until the last three steps, because that is where credits are spent and where a plan pays for itself. For the prompt side, the guide has the full image and motion structures.
Write the scene in one sentence
What changes between the first shot and the last? That change is the scene.
Split it into shots
One idea per shot. A five-second shot holds one action and one camera move.
Draw the boxes
Stick figures are enough. Record framing, angle, action, light and the move.
Write the prompts from the panels
One anchor line for the character, reused in every panel.
Generate the frames
6 credits each. Judge each one against its panel before moving on.
Animate the keepers
45 credits per five-second shot, 90 per ten-second shot.
Edit outside the tool
FicReel has no timeline; the cut, music and titles happen in another program.
Questions
Common questions
- Does FicReel generate storyboards?
- No. There is no storyboard generator, shot-list editor or timeline. Planning happens outside the product, in a notebook or any app you like; FicReel starts at the keyframe.
- Do I need to be able to draw?
- No. Boxes with labels are enough: shot size, angle, what the subject does, where the light comes from, and one line for the camera move. The drawing is a note to yourself, not an illustration.
- How detailed should one storyboard panel be?
- One shot per panel, with four decisions: framing, angle, action and light. Add the camera move if you already know it. If a panel needs two actions, it is two shots.
- Will the generated frame match my storyboard?
- Approximately, not exactly. The panel guides the prompt and gives you something to compare against. That is the point: mismatches become visible before you pay for motion, not after.
- Is a storyboard worth it for a single shot?
- For one shot, a sentence and a mental image are usually enough. The planning pays off from about three shots upward, when framing, light and camera direction have to stay consistent across generations.
Try the workflow on one frame.
New devices start with free credits; nothing spends without your press.
FicReel is an AI anime image and video studio. Prices and wait times on this page come from the same credit table the product uses; if the product disagrees with this page, that is a bug — write to admin@mail.ficreel.com. More: beginner guide, pricing, all guides, glossary, about FicReel. Canonical source: https://ficreel.com/learn/anime-storyboard-to-keyframe.