The one scene short film
A short film's key scene drawn in nine panels becomes fifteen seconds of film, enough to test the breakdown with the crew before shooting or generating everything.
Turn a 3x3 storyboard into a video with AI
Your hand-drawn nine panel storyboard grid becomes nine film stills, then a fifteen second film that follows the panels in order. Workflow visible here, no account needed.
Real workflow: a scribbled nine panel storyboard set in a single hotel room, where every panel leads to the next, the same grid redrawn as film stills with the actor's photo as a reference, then fifteen seconds of film playing the nine shots in order, 80mm lens and strong bokeh.
At a glance
- You provide
- 2 photos · a text or a brief
- What the workflow produces
- 1 image in 16:9 · 1 video of 15s in 720p, 16:9
- Canvas structure
- 7 nodes wired by 5 connections
- Models wired in
- Nano Banana Pro, Wan 3.0
- Cost of one full run
- about 199 credits, roughly $2.39
- Account
- The demo is visible without an account; generating requires a free account, trial credits included
The 3x3 grid has become social media's storyboard format: nine panels on a single image, handed to a video model to turn into a film. This workflow starts from your drawn storyboard and delivers a fifteen second film that plays the nine panels in reading order.
The hard part is measured: given as is, a drawn grid comes out as a half drawn film, some shots real, others still in marker. Nano Banana Pro therefore first redraws the grid as nine film stills, panel by panel, same framing and same action, then Wan 3.0 plays it.
The grid goes in as a reference, not a start image, and one image carries the whole breakdown: that is what keeps the character from shot to shot. For a storyboard that keeps its line, see the animatic. The grid and the film cost a hundred and ninety nine credits.
Actual renders from the demo
These are the files of the workflow above, exactly as the models produced them, unretouched. The starting point is shown when there is one.
Starting point
Render
Who it is for
Directors, storyboard artists, ad and music video makers who want to see their breakdown as a film before shooting.
Which files to provide
A storyboard as a three by three grid, one image, plus a photo of the actor to keep from panel to panel.
How it works
- 1
Draw one logical scene in nine panels
Three rows of three, each 16:9, with thin gutters. One scene, in one place, where every panel follows from the previous one: otherwise the film is just a string of pretty images. A scribble is enough, the model reads framing and action, not the quality of the line.
- 2
Add your actor's photo
A character sheet or a sharp photo, wired into the same reference port as the storyboard: the face stays the same across the nine stills, so across the whole film.
- 3
Redraw the grid as film stills
The Image node keeps the layout, the shots and the order, and only changes the rendering. Compare the two grids panel by panel before paying for the video.
- 4
Wire the grid in as a reference
The photo grid goes into the Video node's reference port, never the start image. Fifteen seconds for nine panels, about a shot and a half per second.
Variations and use cases
The same canvas, tuned for different needs: each variation is two or three lines of prompt away.
The ad
Nine panels tell a product from problem to solution, and the film comes out in fifteen seconds, the length of a social media ad.
The music video
One grid per chorus, nine strong images, then the films edited end to end on the track: a whole video that keeps the same character.
A series pitch
The first episode summed up in nine panels shows the world, the hero and the tone in fifteen seconds, far more telling than a synopsis.
The shot breakdown class
Students each draw the same scene in nine panels, then compare the films: they see what a close up placed elsewhere changes.
After the canvas storyboard
The six panels of storyboard from a chapter, assembled into a grid, follow the same path to a real film.
Common mistakes
Filming the drawn grid as is
Measured: the film comes out half drawn, some shots real and others in marker. Redraw the grid as film stills first.
Wiring the grid as the start image
The film then opens on the grid itself, gutters included. The grid goes into the reference port.
Changing character from panel to panel
Without the actor's photo as a reference, the model invents a new face in each panel and the film turns him into several people. Wire a character sheet in with the storyboard.
Writing text in the panels
Numbers, dialogue, annotated arrows: the video model copies them into the film. The grid carries images only.
Recommended models
Wan 3.0
Nano Banana Pro
Seedance 2.5
Kling V3Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know how to draw?
No: stick figures and arrows are enough, as long as framing and action read. You can also make the grid in the canvas from text, as on the 2x2 grid.
Can I keep the drawn style?
Not with this workflow, which aims for a real film. For a storyboard that moves while keeping its line, the animatic is made for that.
What about a 4x4 grid?
Sixteen panels in fifteen seconds is under a second per shot: the model merges some. Beyond nine, split into two grids and edit the two films together.
How much does the film cost?
A hundred and ninety nine credits: nineteen to redraw the grid on Nano Banana Pro, a hundred and eighty for fifteen seconds of Wan 3.0 at 720p.
Why Wan 3.0 and not Seedance?
Seedance 2.5 refuses a grid of realistic photos, reading it as a real person, and on the drawn grid it keeps the drawing and skips a panel. Wan 3.0 plays the nine panels in order.
Are all nine panels in the film?
On the demo, yes, in reading order, with the same man from the first shot to the last. A panel too close to the next one can melt into the neighbouring shot: keep nine distinct actions.
Does the film have sound?
No, the demo is silent. Add a Music or Voice-over node and a Montage for the soundtrack.
What format?
16:9 at 720p, panels included. For a vertical film, draw vertical panels and set the grid and the video to 9:16.
Turn a 3x3 storyboard into a video with AI
Use this workflowFree account, no card required. The workflow opens pre-filled in your canvas.