Shortboard → About
About Shortboard
Shortboard is a free online shot list maker and video script planner. You write a video the way it will actually be shot — one shot at a time, each with its own timecode, its own line of dialogue, and its own music or sound cue — and the tool keeps the running time honest while you do it.
Why it exists
Most short-form video gets written in a notes app and timed by guessing. The result is familiar: a script that reads well, runs forty seconds long, and has to be hacked apart in the edit. The information a shoot actually needs — how long each shot is, what gets said in it, which shot the music starts under — never makes it out of the writer's head.
Traditional pre-production software solves this for film crews and prices itself accordingly. Storyboard tools solve a different problem, and solve it slowly: drawing frames is a poor use of an afternoon when the thing you are unsure about is pacing. What was missing was something in between — a shot list you can write as fast as you think, that does the arithmetic for you.
That is Shortboard. A card per shot, a timecode gutter, and a status bar that always says how long the video runs.
What it does
- Editable timecodes. Type
1:04,64or1:04.5— all three land in the same place. Durations calculate themselves. - Ripple timing. Stretch one shot and every later shot moves down the line, the way a real edit behaves.
- Dialogue and voice-over with speaker names, so a two-hander reads as a two-hander.
- Music, SFX, b-roll, location and prop cues per shot — the notes a shoot day actually runs on.
- A teleprompter that scrolls your lines at the speaking pace you set.
- Live runtime and spoken-word count, so the board tells you it runs long before a camera comes out.
- Export to PDF, CSV and JSON — a shot list for the crew, a spreadsheet for the editor, a file for you.
Who it is for
Creators shooting to camera for TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Small teams making ads and brand films who need one page everybody can read. Editors who want the plan as a CSV they can open beside a timeline. Anyone who has ever finished a shoot and realised they forgot the one insert shot that made the whole thing work.
How your work is stored
Everything you type is saved in your own browser, on your own machine. There is no account, no server, and nothing uploaded. That also means clearing your browser data clears your boards — so if a script matters, use Export → Script file (.json) and keep a copy. That same file imports back into any browser.
Common questions
- Is Shortboard free?
- Yes. No account, no sign-up, no trial.
- What is the difference between a shot list and a storyboard?
- A storyboard draws what each frame looks like. A shot list writes down what each shot contains and how long it runs. A shot list is faster to make, far easier to change, and is what most creators actually shoot from. If you need pictures, draw them after the list stops changing.
- Can I use it for TikTok, Reels and YouTube?
- Yes — pick a target runtime and the board tells you whether the script fits. See the rules of a good shot list for the pacing each format wants.
- Does it work offline?
- Once loaded, yes. Saving is local, so you can keep writing with no connection.
- Can I share a board with someone else?
- Export a PDF for people who need to read it, a CSV for the person cutting it, or the .json for someone who needs to keep editing it.
New here? Start with how to use Shortboard, then read the rules of a good shot list.