Do I need a plugin to open a Boords storyboard in After Effects?

No. The ZIP includes a script, Open in After Effects.jsx. Run it with File > Scripts > Run Script File and it builds the composition from the files beside it.

What does the script build?

A folder named after your storyboard, holding the composition, the soundtrack and a Frames folder of images. In the comp, each frame is a layer named “Frame 1”, “Frame 2” and so on, trimmed to its Boords timing, with the soundtrack underneath.

What frame rate and size is the composition?

The comp runs at 25fps and takes its size from your storyboard: 1920 × 1080 for 16:9, 1080 × 1920 for 9:16, 1080 × 1080 for 1:1, 1080 × 1350 for 4:5, 1440 × 1080 for 4:3, 1998 × 1080 for 1.85:1 and 2592 × 1080 for 2.4:1.

Where do my frame notes go?

Into three places: a marker on each frame layer with its number and label, the layer's comment, and the Boords notes guide layer, which shows the notes over the frames when you turn on its eye.

Is the soundtrack included?

Yes, if your storyboard has one. The script imports it and puts it under the frames.

Can I keep the storyboard in its own After Effects project?

Yes. Choose File > New > New Project before you run the script. Otherwise it adds the composition to the project you have open.

Which Boords plans include the After Effects export?

Paid plans: Solo, Pro, Team and Agency. It isn't available on Free or during a trial. Compare plans.

Open the approved storyboard in After Effects

Hand your motion designer the board as a composition: a layer for each frame at its Boords timing, a marker on each, the notes in layer comments and your soundtrack underneath. One script builds it, with no plugin.

Compare plans How to open it

On paid Boords plans.

One script builds the comp

Run the script in the ZIP and After Effects makes a 25fps composition, 1920 × 1080 for a 16:9 board, with a layer for each frame trimmed to its timing.

Project

Halo Running: First Light (30s)
Frames
frame-0001.jpg
frame-0002.jpg
frame-0003.jpg
frame-0004.jpg
frame-0005.jpg
frame-0006.jpg
frame-0007.jpg
frame-0008.jpg
Halo Running: First Light (30s)
sound.m4a

1920 x 1080, 0:00:30:00, 25.00 fps

Composition: Halo Running: First Light (30s)

0:00:03:00Full, Active Camera

Halo Running: First Light (30s)0:00:03:00

Layer NameComment

1Boords notes

2Frame 1Sound: VO: Nobody sees the first mile. Action: Porch light on. Hands double-knot the laces. Street still dark behind.

3Frame 2Sound: VO: No crowd. No finish line. Just you and the cold. Action: She sets off down the terrace. Streetlights still on, pavement wet.

4Frame 3Sound: VO: Every step is your call. Action: Track alongside. Her breath clouds in the cold air.

5Frame 4Sound: VO: Halo Trail. Built for the miles nobody films. Action: Slow motion. Shoe hits the puddle and water sprays. Product hero.

6Frame 5Sound: VO: The hill doesn't get easier. Action: Steep path, long climb. She leans in as the sky starts to lift.

7Frame 6Sound: VO: You just get there sooner. Action: Handheld track as she drives over the crest. Fence posts whip past.

8Frame 7Sound: VO: That's first light. Action: She stops, hands on hips. Sun breaks over the bay. Music swells.

9Frame 8Sound: VO: Halo Running. Get there first. Action: Muddy shoes on the doormat. Super: Halo logo and 'Get there first' on the left.

10sound.m4a

00s05s10s15s20s25s

Frame 1: Laces

Frame 2: Empty street

Frame 3: Breath

Frame 4: Shoe strike

Frame 5: The hill

Frame 6: Over the top

Frame 7: First light

Frame 8: End card

Notes in three places

Your frame notes come with the frames, so animation starts from what the client approved.

Layer markers: Each frame layer has a marker as long as the frame, named with its number and label, such as “Frame 1: Laces”.
Layer comments: Show the Comment column to read each frame's full notes beside its layer.
The Boords notes layer: A guide layer that shows the notes over the frames while you work. Turn on its eye to see it. Guide layers never render.

Into After Effects in three steps

Full instructions

Step 1: Export from Boords
Choose Export, then After Effects, then Download AE project. Boords emails you a link to the ZIP, and the link works for 24 hours.
Step 2: Run the script
Unzip the download and keep the files together. In After Effects, choose File > Scripts > Run Script File and pick “Open in After Effects.jsx”.
Step 3: Save the project
The comp opens in the viewer. The script builds it but doesn’t save it, so choose File > Save to keep it.

Everything in one folder

The ZIP holds the script, every frame image and your soundtrack, if your storyboard has one. The script builds the comp from the files beside it.

What's in the ZIP

Halo_Running__First_Light__30s_
- Open in After Effects.jsxRun this in After Effects to build the comp
  Run this in After Effects to build the comp
- frame-0001.jpgOne image per frame
  One image per frame
- frame-0002.jpg
- 6 more frames, up to frame-0008.jpg
- sound.m4aIf your storyboard has one
  If your storyboard has one
- README.txtThe steps on this page
  The steps on this page
- Halo_Running__First_Light__30s_ script.txtEvery frame’s label and notes
  Every frame’s label and notes
- ae.jsonFrame data. Not needed to open the comp
  Frame data. Not needed to open the comp

Good to know

A snapshot: The export is a copy of the board when you click. Export again after it changes.
Aspect ratios: 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:5, 4:3, 1.85:1 and 2.4:1 each get their own comp size. Other ratios export at 1920 × 1080.
Timings: Frames with no duration last 2 seconds. Frames shorter than one video frame at 25fps are left out.
Soundtrack: If the soundtrack runs past the last frame, the comp runs to the end of the sound and the last frame holds until then.
Missing images: A frame with no usable image becomes a grey placeholder, and After Effects tells you which frames when the script finishes.
Linked files: The project links to the images in the unzipped folder, so leave them where they are.

Frequently asked questions

Start the animatic from the approved board

Export once the client signs off, and your motion designer opens every frame at its agreed timing with the notes alongside. On paid Boords plans.

Compare plans New to Boords? Start free

All integrations and exports