story board: Planning a 3D Animated Short Film with AI

How do you storyboard an AI animated short in 15-second segments?

This template breaks a 150-second episode into ten 15-second segments and generates one storyboard reference image per segment before any video is made. Each segment prompt opens with a fixed style line (a 3D family-animation look, warm saturated color, soft cinematic light) and then lists the beats in order, such as the brothers playing, one spotting a toy, and the argument that follows. Writing beats as a short sequence keeps each panel focused on a single story turn. The finished panels then act as starting frames for each clip, so pacing is locked in before motion is generated.

How do the characters stay consistent across all ten storyboard panels?

Consistency comes from 9 reference image nodes on the canvas that define the family: two toddler brothers, a mother with braided hair, a father in a blue shirt and an older brother in a white polo. Every segment prompt is generated with GPT Image 2.5 Flare at 2K in 16:9 while pointing at those same references. Because the faces, outfits and the colorful toy truck come from the references rather than the text alone, the cast reads as the same characters from the opening play scene to the closing logo. Change a reference image and the change carries through every panel.

What is inside the story board template and how do I remake it?

The template contains the 9 character and setting references, the image node set to GPT Image 2.5 Flare at 2K and 16:9, and the segment-by-segment prompt that lays out the whole sharing story with dialogue cues. To remake it, duplicate the template and replace the reference images with your own characters, products or backgrounds. Then rewrite the beats inside each segment to fit your story while keeping the style line consistent. Generate the panels, place them on the timeline and export to mp4 or FCPXML.

How to remake the story board template in Filmera

1. Duplicate the template — Open the story board template and duplicate it to get the canvas, reference nodes and prompts in your own project.
2. Swap the reference images — Replace the 9 reference image nodes with your own characters, products or settings so every panel uses your cast.
3. Rewrite the segment beats — Keep the shared style line, then edit the beats and dialogue cues in each 15-second segment to tell your story.
4. Generate the panels — Run the image node with GPT Image 2.5 Flare at 2K and 16:9 to produce one storyboard frame per segment.
5. Edit and export — Arrange the panels on the timeline as starting frames for your clips and export to mp4 or FCPXML.