Creating Storyboards

A complete guide to creating storyboard projects in DUTO.

Starting a New Project

From the Dashboard

1. Click New Storyboard on your dashboard
2. Enter a project name
3. Click Create

You can also browse public storyboards from other users for inspiration before starting your own.

Project Setup

After creation, you'll see the storyboard editor with the Story Setup panel on the left and the shot timeline on the right. The Story Setup panel contains:

• Quick Settings - Budget mode and sound toggles
• Concept - Your creative brief (the "idea" field)
• Goal - Project type selection
• Style - Visual style and format settings
• References - Upload reference images
• Model Preferences - Image and video model selection
• Advanced Mode - Toggle for additional controls (cinematography, research, etc.)

Writing Your Concept

The concept (called "idea" in the setup panel) is the foundation of your storyboard. Write a clear description of what you want to create.

Essential Elements

Include these in your concept:

Element	Example
What	"A commercial for running shoes"
Who	"Featuring a female athlete, mid-20s"
Where	"Urban environment, city streets at dawn"
Mood	"Inspiring, energetic, motivational"
Duration	"30 seconds"

Example Concept

A 30-second commercial for premium running shoes.

The story follows a female athlete in her mid-20s preparing
for and completing an early morning run through a quiet city.
She wakes before dawn, gets ready, and runs through empty
streets as the sun rises.

Mood: Inspiring, peaceful yet energetic
Style: Cinematic, warm color grading
Setting: Modern urban environment
Pacing: Starts slow, builds to energetic

Tips for Better Concepts

Be Specific

The more detail you provide, the better the AI can plan your video.

Instead of: "Person running" Write: "Athletic woman in her 20s running through empty city streets at dawn, determined expression, professional running gear"

Include Emotional Arc

Describe how the mood should change:

"Opens with quiet anticipation, builds through the preparation, reaches peak energy during the run, ends with satisfied accomplishment"

Mention Key Moments

Call out important shots:

"Key moments:

• Close-up of tying shoelaces
• Wide shot of empty street
• Hero shot of running past sunrise"

Configuring Settings

Goal (Project Type)

Choose a project type that best describes your content:

Goal	Description
Brand Ad	Commercial advertising content
Short Film	Narrative short-form film
TikTok/Reel	Social media vertical video
Explainer	Educational or explanatory content
Product Demo	Product showcase
Music Video	Music video (enables audio track upload)

Format and Style

Setting	Options	Description
Format	16:9, 9:16, 1:1	Output aspect ratio
Duration	Configurable (seconds)	Target video length (default: 10s)
Style Preset	Auto, Cinematic, Commercial, Anime, Gritty, Surreal, Ultra Clean	Visual approach
Energy	0-100 slider	Energy level of the video
Realism	0-100 slider	How realistic vs. stylized

Model Preferences

Setting	Options	Description
Image Model	Auto, SeedDream v4.5, SeedDream v5 Lite, Nano Banana Pro, Nano Banana 2, Kie Nano Banana, Flux Kontext	Model for hero frame generation
Video Model	Auto, Veo, Hailuo, Wan, Kling, Kling 2.6	Model for video generation
LLM Model	Gemini 2.5 Flash, DeepSeek Chat, Gemini 2.5 Pro	LLM for story planning
Require Sound	On/Off	Use video models with audio support
Single Model Consistency	On/Off	Use same model across all shots
Budget Mode	On/Off	Use cost-effective models (~90% savings)

Budget Mode

When enabled, Budget Mode uses SeedDream 4.5 for images and Kling 2.6 Pro for video, significantly reducing credit costs compared to premium models like Nano Banana and Veo 3.

Advanced Mode Settings

Toggle Advanced Mode in the Story Setup panel header to access additional controls:

Setting	Description
Cinematography Mode	Auto, Presets, or Manual camera control
Cinematography Presets	Pre-defined camera, lens, lighting, and motion styles
Manual Cinematography	Full control over camera angle, motion, lens, framing, lighting, environment FX, and motion intensity
Research	Enable AI research for visual references (basic, advanced, or news depth)
Use Source Material	Pass reference images directly to the image editing model
Auto-Generate Images	Generate hero frames automatically after storyboard creation, or manually per shot
Auto-Save to Library	Automatically save generated media to your Content Library

Reference Images

Upload reference images to guide the AI:

1. Click the References section in Story Setup
2. Upload images for:
   • Character faces (for consistency)
   • Style inspiration
   • Environment examples
3. Reference images are stored as URLs in the project

Generating the Storyboard

Once your concept and settings are ready:

1. Click Generate Storyboard
2. Wait for the AI pipeline to complete (1-3 minutes)
3. Review the generated shots

What Happens During Generation

The 11-worker orchestrator pipeline processes your concept sequentially:

Your Concept
    |
[Character Reference] --> Establish character consistency
    |
[Research] --> Gather visual references
    |
[Reference Digest] --> Synthesize research
    |
[Story Bible] --> Create narrative structure
    |
[Storyboard Plan] --> Break into shots
    |
[Consistency Validator] --> Ensure continuity
    |
[Cinematographer] --> Plan camera work
    |
[Lighting] --> Design lighting
    |
[Sound] --> Plan audio
    |
[Music] --> Design soundtrack
    |
[Output Storyboard] --> Generate final plan

A progress modal shows you the current worker and its status as generation proceeds.

After Generation

The pipeline produces:

• A Story Bible with hero subject description, style rules, lighting design, camera language, and negative constraints
• A Subject Registry tracking characters, products, and objects for consistency across shots
• Shot Generation Context preserving color palettes, visual motifs, style signatures, and character traits for adding shots later
• Individual shots organized into scenes, each with cinematography, prompts, and model assignments

If Auto-Generate Images is set to "on_create" (the default), hero frame images will begin generating automatically for each shot.

Understanding the Output

Scenes and Shots

Storyboards are organized into scenes, each containing multiple shots:

• Scene: A logical grouping with a title and optional target duration
• Shot: An individual frame/clip with full generation details

Shot Details

Each generated shot includes:

Field	Description
Description	What happens in the shot
High-Level Prompt	The creative prompt for generation
Hero Frame	AI-generated preview image
Cinematography	Camera angle, motion, lens, framing, lighting, environment FX, motion intensity, and vibe tags
Duration	Target length in seconds
Negative Prompt Hints	What to avoid in generation
Model Preferences	Assigned image and video models
Status	Current state (pending, generating_image, image_ready, generating_video, complete, error)

Click any shot to see its full details, including the generated prompts, LLM context, and version history.

Shot Statuses

Status	Meaning
pending	Awaiting generation
generating_image	Hero frame being generated
image_ready	Hero frame complete, video not yet started
generating_video	Video being generated
complete	Both image and video ready
error	Generation failed (retry available)

Iterating on Your Storyboard

Regenerating Shots

If a shot doesn't match your vision:

1. Click the shot to select it
2. Click Regenerate (optionally add keywords to refine)
3. A new hero frame generates

Previous versions are saved in the shot's version history, and you can revert to any earlier version.

Changing Shot Style or Model

• Change Style: Apply a different visual style to a specific shot
• Swap Model: Switch the image or video model for a shot
• Add Effect: Apply visual effects to a shot

Editing Shot Details

Modify any shot:

1. Click the shot to select
2. Edit the description or prompt
3. Adjust cinematography settings (per-shot override available)
4. Regenerate if needed

Reordering Shots

Change shot sequence within a scene by dragging and dropping shots to reorder them.

Adding Shots

Insert new shots into an existing scene:

1. Click the Add Shot button
2. Enter shot description
3. The shot is inserted at the specified position
4. Generate its hero frame

New shots benefit from the stored Shot Generation Context to maintain visual consistency with existing shots.

Auto-Adding Shots

Use the Auto Add feature to let the AI suggest and add a contextually appropriate shot based on the existing storyboard.

Duplicating Shots

Duplicate an existing shot within its scene to use as a starting point for variations.

Removing Shots

Delete unwanted shots:

1. Select the shot
2. Click Delete
3. The shot is removed from the scene

Managing Scenes

• Add Scene: Create a new scene grouping
• Delete Scene: Remove an entire scene and its shots

Saving and Loading

Cloud Save

Storyboards are saved to the cloud (Supabase) and can be accessed across sessions:

• Auto-save tracks changes and saves automatically when the storyboard is dirty
• Save status is shown in the UI (saving, saved, error)
• Each storyboard gets a unique cloud ID

Local Storage

Storyboards are also persisted to localStorage for offline access. The store handles migration from legacy format (v1.0.0) to the current v2.0 format automatically.

Duplicate and Rename

• Duplicate: Create a copy of an existing storyboard with all its content
• Rename: Change the name and description of a storyboard

Categories

Organize your storyboards by assigning categories for easier management.

Video Extensions

Extend a shot's video beyond its original duration:

1. Select a completed shot with video
2. Click Extend Video
3. Choose model, resolution, and optional prompt
4. The extension chains onto the existing video

Extensions are tracked as a chain, allowing multiple extensions on a single shot.

Narrative Tree (Infinite Canvas)

Shots support narrative branching for non-linear storytelling:

• Forward: Continue the story from this shot
• Backward: Add a prequel shot
• Alternate: Create an alternate version/path

Each branch includes narrative context (protagonist state, setting, mood, narrative progression) to maintain story coherence. Use the Narrative Tree View to visualize and navigate branching story paths.

Best Practices

1. Start with a Strong Concept

Spend time on your concept -- it drives everything else.

2. Review All Shots Before Video

Generate video only after approving all hero frames. Video generation is more expensive than image regeneration.

3. Use References

Upload reference images for:

• Character faces
• Style inspiration
• Environment examples

4. Iterate on Problem Shots

If a shot keeps generating wrong:

• Rewrite the description more specifically
• Add reference images
• Try different camera angles
• Use per-shot cinematography overrides

5. Consider Pacing

Review shot durations:

• Action shots: shorter (2-3 seconds)
• Establishing shots: longer (4-6 seconds)
• Emotional moments: variable based on impact

6. Use Budget Mode for Drafts

Enable Budget Mode during the ideation phase to save credits, then switch to premium models for the final version.

Next Steps

• Project Settings - Detailed settings guide
• Reference Images - Using references effectively
• Generation Pipeline - How the AI works
• Reviewing Shots - Working with generated shots