Plan a storyboard for a clear tutorial.

1. Define one useful audience outcome

Write a sentence describing what the viewer should be able to do after watching. For example, an ATN tutorial might show how to export one approved image into a delivery folder. Keep the outcome small enough to demonstrate and check within the planned piece.

List the assumed starting point: what is already installed, which screen is open, and what sample material is available. Distinguish required preparation from optional background reading. If you cannot explain the starting state, the audience may be unable to follow even a technically correct demonstration. Use sample data that you are authorized to show and remove private account details from the planned recording.

2. Map each scene to an explanation

Create one row for each meaningful step, with fields for purpose, visual action, spoken explanation, and the result that proves the step worked. A scene should earn its place by helping the viewer complete the task. Decorative transitions can be considered later.

This is an illustrative sequence, not documentation for a specific application. Replace every action with the actual controls and behavior you have verified.

3. Make important information understandable

W3C’s media guidance encourages clear language, readable overlay text, and planning for description of visual information. It also warns against instructions that depend only on a sensory characteristic. A viewer should not need to infer the meaning of an unexplained cursor movement.

For each scene, ask what someone would miss if they could not see the screen clearly. An original ATN example is replacing “click that one” with “choose Export in the File menu.” Leave time for viewers to process the result before moving on. Mark necessary descriptions in the script so they are included naturally instead of squeezed into the edit after recording.

Sources: [1]

4. Include supporting media in the plan

W3C’s planning resource helps teams identify needs such as captions, transcripts, description, and a suitable media player early in production. Decide who will prepare and review each relevant deliverable and how it will stay aligned with the final edit.

Reserve room for captions and other overlays when composing shots. Record the intended pronunciation of unusual names and the exact wording of on-screen labels. Keep the storyboard, script, and sample project version together so collaborators work from the same plan. A storyboard is a production aid; it does not itself replace captions, a transcript, or the checks required for the final published media.

Sources: [2]

5. Rehearse the sequence before recording

Walk through the storyboard using the actual software and sample material. Confirm that each planned result occurs and that no hidden prerequisite interrupts the sequence. If a step behaves differently from the draft, update the plan before recording a confident explanation of the wrong behavior.

ATN suggests a short spoken rehearsal to find places where narration outruns the screen action. Remove redundant scenes, add missing context, and identify any fact that still needs a source check. Mark the approved storyboard version and carry unresolved issues into the project notes. After editing, compare the final video with the intended outcome rather than assuming that following the original shot list guarantees a useful tutorial.