For Windows 10+ and Linux (not sure about Mac, feel free to try).
ShotBoard is a Python application designed for filmmakers, editors, storyboarders and enthusiasts alike, who want to explore the structural breakdown of a movie.
With ShotBoard, you can:
- Open a movie file (MP4) and detect its individual shots automatically.
- Display those shots as thumbnails in a grid-style storyboard for quick navigation.
- Hover over thumbnails to preview the corresponding shots instantly.
ShotBoard offers a seamless way to explore film storytelling.
"Video" version of the board
"Line drawing" version of the board
ffmpeg is required for video processing. Here's how to install it on Windows 10+:
Windows users will find more visual installation instructions on this page.
- Download ffmpeg:
- Go to the ffmpeg official website.
- Under "Get packages & executable files", select a pre-built version for Windows.
- Download the ZIP file for your system (e.g. ffmpeg-release-essentials.zip).
- Extract the ffmpeg files:
- Extract the ZIP file contents to a folder of your choice (e.g. C:\ffmpeg).
- Add ffmpeg to the PATH environment variable:
- Open the Start menu, search for "Environment Variables", and select "Edit the system environment variables".
- In the "System Properties" window, click Environment Variables.
- Under System variables, find the PATH variable and click Edit.
- Click New, then enter the
binfolder path where ffmpeg is located (e.g. C:\ffmpeg\bin). - Click OK to save your changes.
- Test the installation:
- Open Command Prompt and type
ffmpeg --version. - If ffmpeg is installed correctly, you’ll see version information displayed.
Ensure Python 3.10.6 is installed on your system (although it might work on newer versions as well).
- Download Python:
- Go to the official Python website.
- Download the installer for your system (e.g. Windows x86-64 executable installer for Windows 10+).
- Install Python:
- Run the installer and check the box for Add Python to PATH.
- Complete the installation.
- Verify Python installation:
- Still in Command Prompt, type
python --version. - If Python is installed correctly, it will display the version number.
-
Still in Command Prompt, type the following command:
pip install PyQt5 opencv-python ffmpeg-python numpy scikit-image pyaudio matplotlib -
If you encounter permission issues, try:
pip install --user PyQt5 opencv-python ffmpeg-python numpy scikit-image pyaudio matplotlib
You're now ready to run ShotBoard! 🎉
- Click on File > Open Video.
- Select the desired video file. The first frame of the video will be displayed at the top half of the interface (the 'video'). As no shots have been detected yet, a single shot will be listed at the bottom half of the interface (the 'board'), representing the entire video.
Use the slider/spinbox or the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate the video frame-by-frame or jump by larger intervals:
- Left/Right Arrow: Move backward or forward by 1 frame.
- Shift + Left/Right Arrow: Move backward or forward by 4 frames.
- Ctrl + Left/Right Arrow: Move backward or forward by 1 second.
- Alt + Left/Right Arrow: Move backward or forward by 4 seconds.
To detect all shots in the video:
- Select the only available shot in the board (if not already selected).
- Click Scan selected shots.
- ShotBoard will analyze the video and display the detected shots as thumbnails.
Tip: To display a detection graph in realtime, unable the Monitor checkbox BEFORE starting the detection process. You will be able to monitor when and why shots are detected (or not) by observing shot similiarities returned by the SSIM algorhythm. The lower the value, the less similar the current frame is to the previous one. Just remember to close the popup window when you're done.
- To save detected shots for later, click on File > Save or File > Save As.
- To load a previously saved shot list, click on File > Open Shot List.
- To preview a shot, hover the mouse cursor over a shot thumbnail. The thumbnail will animate and play the shot as long as you hover it.
- To display a thumbnail as 'line drawings', check the Lines box and hover the thumbnail again. The greater the number, the darker the lines.
- Disable Lines to display thumbnails as video frames again.
Tip: check Lines BEFORE loading a saved shot list to display all thumbnails as 'lines'.
- Click on a shot thumbnail to set the video to the start of that shot.
- Select the incriminated shot (Shift + Click to add more shots to the selection).
- Decrease the similarity threshold from 0.25 to around 0.10 and click on Scan selected shots again. New detected shots will automatically be added to the list.
- If a shot still incorrectly contains multiple shots:
- Use the slider/spinbox or arrow keys to locate the frame where the first undetected shot begins.
- Click Mark current frame as new shot. A new shot will be added to the list.
- Repeat until all shots are correctly separated.
- Select multiple shots using Shift + Click.
- Click Merge selected shots.
Although ShotBoard will successfully detect most of the shots, it may struggle when:
- Transitions are blurry (e.g. fading to white or black, crossfading, strong motion blur)
- The lighting is stroboscopic (e.g. lightning, flashing lights)
- Images are choppy (e.g. faked slow motion in post) To avoid overdetecting shots:
- Start by scanning at a similarity threshold around 0.25.
- Merge overdetected shots.
- Decrease the similarity threshold to around 0.10, then re-scan the underdetected shots as you see fit.
ShotBoard provides an intuitive way to analyze movies, study cinematic storytelling and explore editing techniques. Displaying shots as animated 'line drawings' can tremendously help studying storyboarding.
We hope you enjoy using ShotBoard and find it helpful in your creative or analytical endeavors. If you have any feedback, suggestions, or run into issues, please don’t hesitate to reach out or contribute.