Difference between Storyboard and Mood Board
Understanding the difference between a storyboard and a moodboard can be hard at first. Both storyboards and mood boards are tools everyone should consider before producing their TV advert. Furthermore, they can help by building the composition of the video and giving a certain consistency to what is going to be done.
The creation of audiovisual content requires fulfilling certain stages until you make the final product. Although it sounds like a cliché, it is essential to organise your TV advert and plan it before getting down to work with the cameras.
Creating a TV advert isn’t just about pointing a camera and filming. Behind every great video lies careful planning, creative collaboration, and visual storytelling. Two essential tools that help bring your ideas to life are storyboards and mood boards. While they might seem similar at first, each serves a distinct purpose in video production, helping your team communicate the vision, aesthetic, and emotional impact of your project.
In this blog, we’ll explore the key differences between storyboards and mood boards, how to use them effectively, and why they’re essential for producing a professional, polished TV advert.
What Is a Storyboard?
A storyboard is essentially a visual script. It breaks your video into individual scenes, showing what happens, who is involved, and how the story unfolds. Think of it as a blueprint for your video, it ensures everyone involved in production is on the same page, reduces misunderstandings, and streamlines the shooting process.
With a storyboard you can preview your idea visually, sketch out each scene, including camera angles, actions, dialogue, and transitions. As well as clarify complex scenes by drawing them, highlighting moments that may be difficult to film or explain with words alone. And even plan the flow of the story by arranging scenes sequentially, you can ensure your narrative develops naturally and logically.
How can I start preparing my storyboard?
1. Develop a timeline: Map out each clip from beginning and the end, identifying key moments where your message or product should shine. Then, each situation can be more easily moved to create a good story that develops smoothly.
2. Identify the key moments: especially where the message or the product you want to launch to the public stands out. Hence, in those moments you need to make an IMPRESSion on the audience so they recall the key message.
3. Choose the type of storyboard and represent the sketches: you don’t need to provide extensive details. But it does need to have enough information to convey an idea. There are different types of storyboards but the most common ones are:
- Traditional: freehand drawing which is then shown to the producer or customer.
- Miniatures: it is the traditional one, but in a smaller size, approximately one page.
- Animated: people give it time and movement, and even music and dialogue.
- Digital: instead of freehand, it is a digital drawing. You can do it using Canva.
A well-prepared storyboard acts as a roadmap for your shoot, reducing guesswork and helping you stay on schedule and budget.
What is a Mood Board (or Moodboard)?
While a storyboard focuses on story and sequence, a mood board captures the look and feel of your video. It’s a visual collection of images, textures, colours, fonts, actors, props, locations, and even music ideas that help the team define the aesthetic and emotional tone of the project.
So it will be easier to see where it is now. And what more needs to be done to get it where it needs to be.
Wondering why you need to create one if you already have it on your mind? A mood board helps bring your creative vision to life by providing a clear visual reference for everyone involved in the project, from directors and art designers to clients and stakeholders.
It allows the team to align on the overall style, guiding creative decisions such as wardrobe, set design, lighting, music, and graphics. Beyond aesthetics, a well-crafted mood board ensures emotional consistency throughout the video, helping it evoke the right feelings – whether that’s trust, excitement, or inspiration.
How can I start preparing my mood board?
To start creating a mood board, first define the project by:
1. Start writing the keywords and the title: first, you need to define what is the project about. For this, write down 5–10 keywords that capture the essence of your video. Then, analyse those keywords and include the most relevant in the title and the board.
2. Make an image brainstorming: Use all the elements that you feel comfortable with, that appeal to you because of their colours or that represent you. Let yourself go and combine everything that reflects your idea.
3. Choose where you are going to create your mood board: Are you going to do it on cardboard, a whiteboard, or digitally?
Storyboards vs Mood Boards: Key Differences
Both tools are complementary: the storyboard ensures your story is clear and actionable, while the mood board ensures it looks and feels right. Using both effectively can save time, reduce production errors, and create a more polished, professional final video.
| Aspect | Storyboard | Mood Board |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Tells the story scene by scene | Sets the visual and emotional tone |
| Focus | Action, sequence, camera angles | Look, feel, style, colours, music |
| Format | Sketches, digital drawings, animations | Collages, images, textures, colours |
| When used | Pre-production, planning shots | Early creative phase, guiding aesthetic decisions |
| Audience | Production team, director, client | Creative team, client, marketing stakeholders |
Bringing Concepts to Life: An Example
To illustrate how a clear concept, storyboard, and mood board can come together in practice, let’s take a recent TV advert we produced for BetGoodwin. The goal was to create a visually engaging campaign that showcased the excitement of sports betting while keeping the messaging authentic and relatable.
Our team started by developing a storyboard that mapped out each scene, from the opening moments to the final call-to-action. This allowed us to plan camera angles, actor movements, and key visual moments to ensure the story flowed naturally and kept viewers engaged. Alongside this, we created a mood board to define the aesthetic, including colour palettes, lighting styles, wardrobe choices, and music, which helped the team and client visualise the tone and feel of the advert before filming began.
By combining the storyboard and mood board, we were able to translate the concept into a production-ready plan, guiding the shoot efficiently while allowing room for creativity on set. The final TV advert highlighted the thrill of Bet Goodwin’s platform, conveyed excitement, and positioned the brand in a way that resonates with sports fans across the UK.
🎬 Produced by Impress Video, specialists in TV advert production, storytelling, and visual brand experiences that captivate audiences and drive results.
In short, storyboards and mood boards serve different but equally important purposes. The storyboard is your story’s roadmap; the mood board is its emotional compass. Together, they give your team clarity, save production headaches, and help deliver high-quality TV adverts that connect with audiences.
By understanding and applying both tools, you’ll be better equipped to create videos that are visually stunning, strategically effective, and fully aligned with your brand’s vision.
Thank you for having read the blog,
Impress Video’s Team
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If you would like to do a TV advert Video with video production and marketing professionals, or any other type of video, we can help you at Impress Video. We make video production for businesses, the ones that impress. Don’t hesitate to contact us here!