There are few things more satisfying in film or advertising than a reveal that lands. The doors swing open, the product comes into view, or the hero steps out of the shadows. When done right, it feels effortless. When done wrong, you can almost hear the audience shrug.

As a storyboard artist, I spend a lot of my time building those moments. The “big reveal” might look like one perfect frame in the finished film, but it usually takes a lot of drawings, bad ideas, and timing tweaks to get there. Think of it as visual carpentry: the camera is your hammer, the pacing is your nails, and if you cut the wood just a hair too short, the whole thing wobbles.

Let’s dig into how I approach reveals in storyboards, why it takes more than software to pull one off, and how the human touch makes all the difference.

What Counts as a “Reveal”?

A reveal can be as simple as pulling the lid off a new burger in a commercial, or as complex as Luke discovering the truth about Darth Vader. In both cases, the audience is leaning in, waiting for that payoff.

Reveals usually fall into three categories:

Object reveals – the shiny car, the bottle of perfume, the new phone.
Character reveals – a villain stepping into frame, a romantic lead making eye contact for the first time.
Information reveals – the twist, the hidden note, the “oh no, the call is coming from inside the house” moment.

As a storyboard artist, my job is to figure out how to set those moments up visually so the director, cinematographer, and editor all have a roadmap for how it will play out.

Building Anticipation Before the Payoff

A reveal without anticipation is just a cut.

If I draw a storyboard that shows the product sitting on a table from the very first frame, we’ve lost the suspense. But if I draw hands unwrapping a box, a close-up of paper tearing, maybe a shadow creeping across the table, suddenly the audience is leaning forward.

It’s the difference between:

Frame 1: Here’s the car.
Frame 2: Still the car.
Frame 3: More car.

…versus…

Frame 1: A close-up of headlights flicking on in the dark.
Frame 2: A slow push as we see chrome details in shadow.
Frame 3: The car emerges under a spotlight, polished and powerful.

Same product. Very different impact.

Timing: The Invisible Ingredient

Timing is where the human touch matters most.

A reveal drawn too quickly doesn’t feel dramatic. Drag it out too long and people get restless. You need that Goldilocks middle zone where the moment stretches just enough, then snaps into payoff.

Here’s where I act as a story consultant. I’m not just drawing pretty frames. I’m helping a director communicate the grammar of the scene: how long to hold a beat, when to cut, where to place the camera so the surprise feels natural and earned.

Software can spit out renders or fill in gaps, but it can’t feel the rhythm of an audience’s heartbeat. Humans do.

Composition and the Art of Withholding

A big part of storyboarding a reveal is deciding what not to show.

I’ll often sketch frames where the subject is half-hidden, behind a door, cropped by the edge of the panel, obscured in shadow. This creates curiosity. The audience starts asking, “What am I not seeing?” And curiosity is the fuel of every good reveal.

Sometimes it’s as simple as drawing a close-up of a character’s reaction before showing what they’re reacting to. Other times it’s hiding a product in plain sight but only spotlighting it when the moment is right.

The principle is the same: restraint makes payoff possible.

Why Human Instinct Matters

You could ask, “Why can’t this just be automated?” After all, there are algorithms that know where to place a camera, how to light a scene, even how to generate a dozen variations of a shot in seconds.

But a reveal is more than geometry and rendering. It’s about human psychology.

I know when a shot feels too obvious.
I know when the setup isn’t paying off emotionally.
I know when the audience is smarter than the trick we’re trying to pull.

These are judgment calls, not math problems. They come from experience, taste, and yes, gut instinct. A storyboard artist is a filter, making sure the reveal doesn’t just happen, but actually works.

Case Study: The Product Drop

Let’s say I’m storyboarding a spot for a new pair of running shoes. The brief says: “Make them look fast, desirable, and different.”

If I draw the shoes sitting on a pedestal under bright lights, sure, they look nice. But if I storyboard:

Frame 1: A runner lacing up in shadow.
Frame 2: A shot of feet pounding the pavement in blur.
Frame 3: A freeze as dust clears, revealing the new shoes in full clarity.

Now we’ve built a reveal. The product isn’t just shown. It’s earned.

The Role of Sound in Visual Planning

Even though I don’t draw sound, I think about it constantly.

Is there a music swell before the reveal? A pause of silence right before the object drops into frame? Sound is invisible in a storyboard, but the rhythm of the panels has to leave room for it.

That’s another reason the human hand matters. I’m thinking in terms of beats, not just images. A good reveal storyboard is practically a metronome for the director and editor.

Collaboration: The Reveal as Team Sport

The truth is, I’m not the only one responsible for a great reveal. Storyboarding is just one piece of the process.

The director has to trust the vision, the DP has to light it, the editor has to pace it, and the actors (or product handlers) have to deliver.

My job is to give everyone a shared map. When I draw a reveal well, I’m not just solving problems for myself, I’m making the entire team’s job easier.

Why I Love Reveals

I’ll be honest: reveals are some of my favorite things to storyboard.

They’re puzzles. They’re challenges. They force me to think like an audience member and a filmmaker at the same time. And when I get it right, there’s a rush in knowing that somewhere down the line, a room full of people will gasp, laugh, or sit forward in their seats because of a sequence I sketched out with a pencil.

That’s why the human touch matters. A reveal isn’t just a technical beat. It’s an emotional one. And emotions don’t come from algorithms. They come from people telling stories to other people.

Final Frame

So, the next time you watch a movie and a villain steps out of the dark, or you see a commercial where a product appears at just the right moment, remember: that didn’t happen by accident. Someone drew it first. Someone thought about the timing, the composition, the psychology, and the anticipation.

And if that someone did their job right, you didn’t just see the reveal…you felt it.

That’s the difference a storyboard artist brings to the table. That’s the difference the human touch makes.

📩paul@paultemplestudios.com
🎨paultemplestudios.com