Pre-production
An animatic is a rough, timed version of a film or ad: storyboard frames or simple images cut to a soundtrack, made to check that the idea works before the expensive part starts. Here is what the word means, how an animatic differs from a storyboard, why it matters for ads screened in the Philippines, and what AI has changed about making one.
What “animatic” means
Merriam-Webster defines an animatic as “a preliminary sequence of shots, images, or sketches (as for a movie or an animated television program) that is filmed or arranged usually with a sound track and viewed to determine its effectiveness before being finalized.” The dictionary dates the word’s first known use to 1977.
The end of that definition is the point. An animatic exists to be judged. It shows whether the story reads, whether it fits the length and whether the key moments land, while changing them still costs a redraw rather than a reshoot.
Storyboard, animatic, previs
| Stage | What it is | What it answers |
| Storyboard | Still frames, one per shot, with notes on action, camera and sound | What happens, and in what order |
| Animatic | Those frames timed and cut to a soundtrack or a scratch voice-over | Does it work in the time we have |
| Previs | Moving previews with rough camera and motion | How each shot will actually move |
Each stage costs more than the one before and answers a harder question. For how previs works as the sign-off stage in an AI pipeline, see how the AI video workflow runs.
Why it matters for ads screened in the Philippines
In the Philippines, TV and cinema ads are screened by the Ad Standards Council (ASC), and its Code of Ethics and Standard Manual of Procedures asks for them as storyboards. The storyboard must be landscape on letter or A4 paper, contain “only 6 frames per page”, show visuals “in full color or in the intended color of the final material”, and include “detailed audio in all frames, including music, SFX and incidental sounds”.
The storyboard is also what the finished ad is held to. The manual says ASC’s Ad Specialists review “all final produced materials vis-à-vis the approved storyboard or script or layout to check for consistency and compliance.”
Test before you submit
The manual asks for a storyboard, not an animatic. But the approved storyboard is what the final ad is checked against, so the time to find out a scene doesn’t work is before you submit it. An animatic is a cheap way to find out.
What AI changed
Making an animatic used to mean drawing every frame and cutting them together by hand. Video models now do part of that work. OpenAI’s launch notes for its Sora model said it could “take an existing still image and generate a video from it”, and “take an existing video and extend it or fill in missing frames.” For an animatic, that means storyboard frames can become moving previews, and an alternative version of a scene can be tried without redrawing it.
The limits are the ones that apply to AI animation generally. Motion, physics and continuity still need a person checking them, which is why what AI animation still can’t do matters here too. An AI animatic shows the idea moving. It doesn’t replace the direction that decides it.
How to make one that saves money
→ Lock the timing first. Write the script to the real length, 15, 30 or 60 seconds, and time the animatic to it.
→ One frame per shot. Not one per moment. The animatic tests the edit, not the drawing.
→ Use real sound. A scratch voice-over and a music track show whether the pace works in a way silent frames can’t.
→ Mark what will be generated. Note which shots will be AI-made and which will be shot, so the storyboard you submit describes the film you will make.
→ Keep it rough. Its job is to be changed. Polish belongs to the stages after it.
Where PUNX fits
PUNX makes AI-powered commercials in Makati, with P&G, San Miguel, Petron, GCash and KFC on our client list. As an AI production house, we plan previs into the same pipeline as the final production, so what gets approved is what gets made.
FAQ
What does animatic mean?
An animatic is a rough, timed sequence of storyboard frames or images, usually cut to a soundtrack, used to judge whether a film or ad works before it is finalised. Merriam-Webster records the word’s first known use in 1977.
What is the difference between a storyboard and an animatic?
A storyboard is a set of still frames showing each shot. An animatic puts those frames in time, cut to sound, so you can see whether the story works at its real length.
Does the Ad Standards Council screen animatics?
The ASC’s manual sets requirements for storyboards for TV and cinema ads, including six frames per page with detailed video and audio descriptions, and checks the finished ad against the approved storyboard. It does not mention animatics, so use one to test the idea before you submit the storyboard.
Can AI make an animatic?
Partly. OpenAI launched its Sora model with the ability to animate a still image and fill in missing frames, so storyboard frames can become moving previews. Motion, physics and continuity still need checking by a person.
Related
AI content production — commercials and content at volume
The AI video workflow — where previs sits in the pipeline
Disadvantages of AI in animation — what it still can’t do
Storyboard on the table?
Send it over. We will tell you which scenes to test in an animatic before anything is shot.
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