How to storyboard a Stickman survival video

Make the difficult choice visible

A survival premise works best when the viewer can see what the character might lose. A dying torch, one dry match or a closing gate provides a concrete limit. Establish the goal immediately, then let the character make a decision that changes the situation. Repeating that something is dangerous does not move the story forward.

For this original fictional example, a courier is trapped in a flooded station with one working torch. The exit sign points upstairs, but a tapping sound comes from below. The choice is whether to leave or find the source. The ending resolves the sound and the escape in the same sequence, so the story does not need a second subplot.

Write six beats with a complete payoff

This script is a new writing example, not the source script of a published Clippie sample. Each line introduces one change that can become a picture. Read it aloud in the chosen voice before deciding its runtime; a quiet pause before the reveal may matter more than fitting an arbitrary scene count.

The tapping first seems threatening, then turns out to be useful. That change gives the ending a reason to exist. If every scene merely raises the water level, the video has escalation but no discovery. Give the character new information and a decision, then show what follows.

Give the pictures a continuity plan

Use a small character sheet: Mara is a round-headed stick figure with an orange backpack and a yellow torch. The second courier has a blue backpack. Keep the station tiled, the maintenance door green and the water level consistent between neighboring shots. Reuse these details in the cast and scene instructions.

Put one main action in each picture: Mara at the flooded platform; Mara looking down the stairwell; the green door; a key on the floor; the open service stairway; both couriers outside. Keep the key visible in its scene. A wide shot full of unrelated debris makes the essential clue harder to understand.

Assemble the story before polishing the action

Start with the Stickman short template for a vertical story. Add the narration, define the recurring characters and generate the scenes. Review the still sequence with the voice first. Fix the wrong backpack, an unreadable key or a door opening too early before paying to animate those pictures.

Animate the moments that communicate a change, such as the key sliding or the door opening. Check the displayed AI credit cost before generating. Finish by checking captions against the actual voice and watching the export at phone size. The final tap needs enough time to register without extending an otherwise finished scene.

• The first scene explains the goal and the limit.
• Each scene adds a choice, consequence or new clue.
• The reveal is not visible before the narration reaches it.
• Character colors, props and locations match between shots.
• The ending resolves the opening situation.