A boardomatic (sometimes written as board-o-matic or boardmatic) is an animated storyboard used in advertising pre-production and research. It takes static storyboard illustrations and adds timing, camera movements, music, voiceover, and basic animation to create a rough video preview of a commercial concept.
How Boardomatics Differ from Animatics
Boardomatics sit between static storyboards and full animatics in terms of production complexity. They typically use the original storyboard artwork with subtle motion effects—pans, zooms, and simple transitions—rather than frame-by-frame animation or AI-generated imagery. This makes them faster and more affordable to produce while still communicating the flow and timing of the spot.
A full animatic typically includes more polished visuals, natural camera movements, and production-quality audio. Boardomatics are often used for early-stage internal reviews where the primary goal is aligning stakeholders on narrative structure and pacing, while animatics are better suited for consumer-facing concept testing where visual fidelity directly impacts research quality.
When to Use a Boardomatic
Agency producers and brand teams use boardomatics for internal presentations, client approvals, and early-stage creative reviews. They are particularly useful during the initial rounds of creative development, when multiple directions are being explored and speed matters more than production polish. A boardomatic can be assembled in a day or two, making it practical for reviewing several concepts quickly.
However, for consumer research and creative testing, the limitations of boardomatics become significant. Research respondents viewing illustrated frames must imagine what the final ad will look like—introducing the "imagination gap" that reduces insight reliability. According to WARC research, 45% of all tested ads use animatic-format content, and the trend is moving toward higher-fidelity formats that deliver more accurate consumer responses.
How Boardomatics Are Produced
A boardomatic is typically assembled in video editing software such as After Effects or Premiere Pro. The editor imports storyboard frames, adds camera-style movements (pans, zooms, pushes), times each shot to match the script's pacing, and layers in scratch voiceover, temporary music, and basic sound effects. The result is a rough video that communicates the commercial's narrative structure, emotional arc, and timing—without the cost of full animation or live-action production.
The AI Alternative
Many brands that previously relied on boardomatics for research are shifting to AI animatics, which deliver photorealistic quality at comparable speed and cost. AI-generated frames eliminate the imagination gap entirely, producing test commercials that closely mirror what the finished ad will look like—leading to more reliable testing results.
Myth Labs can transform your storyboards into photorealistic AI animatics—giving you test materials that look like the finished ad, not rough sketches.