Storytelling, Play, and Video Storyboards

Creativity and play aren't distractions. They're leverage.

I spent years treating creative work as something separate from "real" work. The serious work was strategy, data, optimization. Creative was the fun stuff you did if there was time.

I had it backwards.

The Bedtime Story Discovery

My kids taught me something important.

Every bedtime story follows the same structure: a character wants something, faces obstacles, overcomes them (or doesn't), and something changes.

That's it. Hero. Want. Obstacle. Resolution.

I started noticing this structure everywhere. Client presentations. Strategy documents. Sales pitches. Product demos.

The ones that work? They're stories. The ones that don't? They're information dumps.

Storyboards as a Bridge

Storyboards changed how I think about communication.

Before creating anything - a video, a presentation, a proposal - I sketch the story in frames. Six to eight simple panels. What happens first? What's the conflict? How does it resolve?

This takes 15 minutes. And it catches 90% of the problems that would otherwise emerge after hours of production.

The story is the skeleton. Everything else is decoration.

Where AI Enters

Here's where it gets interesting.

AI can turn rough sketches into styled frames. Frames into motion. Motion into video.

The creative barrier used to be production skill. Now it's having ideas worth producing.

A quick storyboard - even stick figures - can become a professional video concept in hours instead of weeks. New services become possible. Things you couldn't offer clients before are suddenly within reach.

The Play Imperative

But here's the thing: AI doesn't make you more creative. It amplifies the creativity you bring.

And creativity comes from play. Experimentation without pressure. Trying things that might not work. Permission to be silly before being serious.

The agencies doing interesting AI work right now? They have people who play. Who experiment for fun. Who sketch ideas before evaluating them.

Your Assignment

Next time you're about to create something - a deck, a proposal, a video - sketch it first.

Six frames. What's the story?

You'll be amazed how much clearer the final product becomes when you know the story you're telling.

Play more. Produce more. See what happens.