[MUSIC] Storyboards are a key component of the storytelling process. And in this section we'll try to answer some of the basic questions about storyboards, including what they are, why they're important, what are the key elements, how they may be created. And also at the end we'll provide some tips on creating an effective storyboard. So what is a storyboard? Well basically a story board is a written or graphical overview of all of the elements that you plan to include in the digital story that you are going to create. A story board serves as a blue print or an advanced organizer that will help you as you being to construct your digital story. The reason it's important is because storyboards allow you to visualize what your story's going to look like in advance. There, you can determine the timing and the sequence of all of the elements of the digital story, such as the script, the images, other media, music, etc. Probably the most important thing to understand is that storyboards allow you to make changes while you're in the development process before you actually set down at the computer to put your digital story together. And this is really helpful, because having this advanced, organized overview of your digital story will help you see what it's going to look like, and you can move things around. You can change images. You change pieces of the script. And you can do all of these things at the stage where it's much easier to make changes than after you are using a computer and software to put the story together. So how are storyboards created? Well, you can do them very simply with just pencil and paper, or you can also use a computer, use software such as Word, Powerpoint, or Excel. And, there are many storyboard templates available that are blank versions of storyboards where you fill in the material with your script and your descriptions, your images, etc. On our educational uses of digital storytelling website, you will find downloadable templates for storyboards as well as a tutorial on how to create a storyboard using Microsoft Word. So here's an example of a text only storyboard. It uses sections of the script that will be narrated later, and it shows a description of the images and other media that might be included in this story. Also, you'll find lots of examples of storyboards that include Thumbnail Images. These are small versions of images that you plan to include in your final version of your story. And it also includes the script that's going to be narrated. And sometimes you can add additional details, such as transitions or effects or anything that you want to serve as a reminder of what you'll need as you put your story together. Storyboards can be fairly simple, or they can be more detailed as in this example. And some tips for creating successful storyboards include presenting your information in the right order, in a logical and coherent fashion. Always try to include as much of the script as possible, so you should really write your script first. And then put your storyboard together with the descriptions of images or thumbnails. Try to keep the visual element simple, appropriate to what is being said in the script. And images can be clip art, they can be thumbnails, they can be just written descriptions. Anything that shows the images that you either will create yourself, take with a digital camera, find on the web, etc. And finally, there's a lot more information about storyboards that you can find on our Educational Uses and Digital Storytelling website. [MUSIC]