How Animatics Work
At their simplest, animatics are storyboard panels arranged on a video timeline. Each panel is displayed for its intended shot duration, and rough audio, including temp dialogue, sound effects, and music, is layered underneath. The result is a low-fidelity version of the final film that you can watch in real time.
More advanced animatics add camera movements (panning across a panel, zooming into details), limited character animation, and refined sound design. In animation production, animatics are often highly detailed and serve as the primary blueprint for the entire production.
The key value of an animatic is that it tests time. A storyboard tells you what each shot looks like. An animatic tells you how each shot feels at the intended duration and how the sequence of shots flows as a whole.
From Storyboard to Animatic
Creating an animatic from existing storyboard panels requires setting duration for each panel, adding rough audio, and exporting as video. The process should be quick and iterative, as the whole point is to test and refine timing before production.
Common timing guidelines: dialogue shots should match the spoken line's natural pace, establishing shots typically run 2 to 4 seconds, reaction shots 1 to 3 seconds, and action beats match the physical movement's natural timing. These are starting points, not rules.