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User manualSketches and previz frames

Make a film · Chapter 11

Sketches and previz frames

Every shot can have two kinds of frame. A **previz frame** is a realistic still of the shot’s opening moment: the animatic plays it and the video take starts from it. A **pencil sketch** is a quick drawing for the client board and the PDF; sketches are never sent to the video model.

Previz framesLink to Previz frames

  • Render them from the Board: Render previz · N for every shot without one, or Render on a card.
  • The dialog explains how frames are made for your render flow, lists the shots, and quotes the job: N frames × X credits, the total and your balance after.
  • Hero quality renders every frame at full quality; Fast renders non-hero shots about 3× faster and 60 % cheaper (BytePlus flow). The product beat, the end card and shots with supers stay Hero.
  • A shot already rendered from the same sketch is reused at no cost.
  • Approve the frame you want (one approved previz frame per shot).

When a shot changes after its frame was made, the card says Frame outdated and the board offers Re-render outdated · N. Nothing re-renders by itself.

When previz frames are madeLink to When previz frames are made

Choose in the Board’s … menu → Previz and sketch style…:

  • Always: a frame for every beat of every shot once the boards are approved.
  • Ask me (default): the Director recommends rendering or skipping, quotes it and asks.
  • Off: no previz credits; the animatic plays sketches or placeholders.

You can always render a frame yourself, whatever this setting.

Fix one area of a frameLink to Fix one area of a frame

  1. Open Fix this area

    From a previz card’s … menu, or from Annotate.

  2. Mark the spot

    Draw over what is wrong (fine or bold pen, ⌘Z to undo).

  3. Say what should change

    One change, for example “the lamp on the desk is switched off”.

  4. Check the price and fix

    Check price, then Fix area. The result is a new frame; the old one stays in its history.

Pencil sketchesLink to Pencil sketches

Sketch mode with pencil drawings for every shotFull size
Sketch mode: a pencil storyboard to share.
  • Switch the Storyboard to Sketch. Pick a style: Pencil, Charcoal, Marker or Clean line.
  • Draw N frames draws one image per segment of every shot without an approved sketch, quoted first. An unchanged shot is reused at no cost.
  • On each card: Approve (↵), Annotate, Compare takes, Upload your own drawing (PNG or JPEG up to 25 MB, or drag it onto the card) and Redraw.
  • Annotations (arrows and notes) are saved as a layer and play in the animatic.
  • Sketches are drawn only when you ask; the Director does not draw them unasked.

Compare and approve takesLink to Compare and approve takes

Each lane keeps every frame it has made. N takes (or Compare takes) shows any two side by side; approving one un-approves the others in that lane. A shot has one approved sketch and one approved previz frame.

Export the storyboard as a PDFLink to Export the storyboard as a PDF

The Export storyboard PDF dialog with layout options and a page previewFull size
Sketch → Export PDF, with a live preview of the pages.
  • Layout: 3-up (big frames, room for notes) or 6-up (a whole scene per page). Paper: A4 or Letter. Orientation: Wide or Tall. Optionally Include shot grammar.
  • Each panel prints the frame, timecodes, camera, action, audio and dialogue.
  • If some shots have no sketch, draw them first (quoted) or Export with placeholders.
  • The PDF itself is free. The same export is in the Deliver tab.