A documentary outline board: the story you hope to tell, and what you still need to get

What this board doesn't do, and where Celtx, StudioBinder, Boords and Storyflow are better

Read on November 11, 2026 from each tool's own pages. Celtx's pricing page lists a multi-column AV script editor next to its screenplay editor, along with a beat sheet, storyboard, shot lists and production planning tools; its plans differ on which of those are included, and prices were not read. StudioBinder's pricing page says its Free plan is "free forever", and lists script outlines, storyboards, shot lists, call sheets and a production calendar among its features on paid plans.

Boords' pricing page lists a Free plan with 5 active storyboards and 3 active scripts, and says unlimited clients can review and comment without an account on every plan. Storyflow has a page for documentary storyboards, which describes boarding the narrative spine, planning interviews and b-roll, and keeping research and transcripts on the same canvas with an AI that lays out a spine from a treatment. Its pricing page, read the same day, says Storyflow is "paid-only during early access" and its Free plan "launches before the end of 2026", and that anyone invited to a board by a paid member signs up at no cost.

How to outline a documentary on the board

A 2023 thread in r/documentaryfilmmaking asks for a pre-production documentary outline template. A documentary editor answers that the outline starts from the dramatic beats that will drive the story, that you should plan the film as if you could tell it any way you want, and then stay flexible, because documentary changes at every stage. Another reply keeps a spreadsheet listing each scene, its purpose, an estimated time and the elements needed, and treats it as a guide, not a template for the film. These are two people's methods, not rules. NYFA's guide to writing a documentary script describes the same step as a sequence outline that follows the story's acts.

1. 1Start with the three act lists. One card per sequence, in order, in your own words. This is the story you hope to tell, so write it as if you could have anything.
2. 2List interviews separately, then join them. One card per person with the one thing you need them to say. Draw an arrow from each interview to the sequence it supports and caption it ("sets up", "tells", "forces").
3. 3Plan scenes to film, not only interviews. The editor's advice in the thread is to build story beats from things happening on camera, with interviews supporting them. Give those their own list.
4. 4Mark what you have. Start the title of every interview, scene and archive card with GOT, PLAN or WANT, and change the word when it changes. Nothing sorts by it; you scan for it by eye.
5. 5Keep archive and rights in plain sight. A list for stills, clips and clippings, and a list for what needs permission, with who is asking.
6. 6Put what you don't know in Open questions. Is it about the shop or the street? Does the daughter stay in the final act? Move a question into an act the day you answer it.
7. 7Share it. In the share menu set Share to "Anyone with the link can edit" (new boards start view-only). A co-director or producer signs in free and writes live, and you each see the other's changes within seconds. The 4-digit join code expires after 2 hours of inactivity.

When the film changes after the interviews

A board is easy to rearrange, which suits an outline that will change. Drag a card to another act. Move a whole list. An arrow stays attached to its two cards. If a planned interview doesn't happen, change PLAN to a note and move the card to Open questions; the arrow stays on the sequence it was meant to support, so you can see what is now missing.

Our reading: that is also the limit. A board shows what you meant to make. It can't reorder your footage or count minutes. When you have the material, the edit is where the outline gets tested. If you are writing a scripted film instead, see outlining with index cards or planning a short film's pre-production.

This board vs Celtx vs StudioBinder vs Boords vs Storyflow

Limits of the free plan for a documentary

• Items. Each card and each list is 1 of your 150 free items, across all your boards. The example is 41 cards and 9 lists, 50 in all. Arrows, sections and pen strokes don't count.
• A feature passes 150. Our arithmetic: the 15-minute example is 50, so a feature with its interviews, scenes and archive can reach 150 on cards alone. Pro is $5 a month billed yearly.
• Boards. The free plan includes 5 boards. A card that opens its own board uses one of them, so the example keeps everything on one board.
• Photos. 3 images per board. The example has none. Use link cards for archive stills; on the web a link card's preview picture no longer counts toward the 3, but the iPhone, iPad and Android apps still count it until their next update.
• No reminders or sorting. The board doesn't tell anyone that a rights email is unanswered. Card colour is the border and text only.
• No transcripts and no search inside your footage. Put a one-line summary on the card and link the file or the transcript elsewhere.
• Writing needs a free sign-in. A partner who joins by link or code can add cards and arrows, and the board counts as one of their 5.

Questions