Storyboard-First AI Video: From Idea to Seedance 2.0 in Claude

To make consistent AI video in Claude, start with a storyboard instead of a prompt. With CreativeClaw, Claude draws a storyboard, revises it with you in plain conversation, then hands the locked-in frames to Seedance 2.0 (ByteDance) to animate - so your characters stay consistent from shot to shot. The fix for an hour of re-prompting isn’t a better prompt; it’s approving the frames before a single frame of video is generated. This post shows the exact workflow.

Why storyboard-first beats prompt-first

Video models drift. Ask for “a chef in a kitchen” twice and you get two different chefs. Prompt-first workflows fight that drift after the fact — regenerating, cherry-picking, re-describing. Storyboard-first removes it at the source: you lock the look in a cheap, fast image first, then the video model conditions on that image instead of inventing from scratch.

The payoff is concrete:

• Consistency by construction — the same characters, wardrobe, and style across every beat, because every beat references the same approved frames.
• Cheap iteration — a storyboard image costs a fraction of a video generation. You do your experimenting in images, not in 50-credit video renders.
• A real approval gate — you see the whole story laid out before committing to motion. No more “generate, cross fingers, repeat.”

This isn’t a prompt trick. It’s how pre-production has always worked in film — storyboard, then shoot — applied to generative video.

The one rule that makes it work: two images, not one

Here’s the mistake almost everyone makes: they draw a labeled storyboard grid, then feed that grid straight to the video model. It fails. The on-screen panel captions bleed into the generated video, and the model can’t reliably read panel-to-panel direction from a contact sheet.

A storyboard actually does two different jobs, and each needs its own image:

1. The review board — one multi-panel grid with captions and timecodes. This is for you. It tells the story so you can approve it.
2. The generation frames — clean, full-bleed individual keyframes with no borders, no captions, no grid. These are what the video model consumes.

Review with the board. Generate from clean frames. That single distinction is the difference between a crisp result and a video with ghostly “Panel 2” text floating across it.

Why use CreativeClaw for Seedance 2.0?

CreativeClaw is the fastest and simplest way to use Seedance 2.0 in Claude. Here's why:

• No API keys needed - No accounts, no configuration files. Connect one URL and every model is available instantly.
• No subscriptions - Pay only for what you generate. $10 = 1,000 credits. No monthly fees, credits never expire.
• MCP Apps - Preview generated media directly in Claude's UI. See results inline without opening files or navigating to external URLs.
• Expert skills built in - CreativeClaw knows how to get the best results from Seedance 2.0. You don't need to be a prompt engineering expert - Claude handles the optimization.
• Let Claude iterate - This is the real power. Claude generates, evaluates the result, refines the prompt, and regenerates - all in one conversation. Your AI agent becomes your creative director.
• Run from anywhere - CreativeClaw is a remote MCP server. Use it from Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Claude Web, or OpenClaw - same results, same account, wherever you work.

The workflow

You drive this entirely in conversation with Claude. Under the hood it’s six steps.

1. Plan the beats. Tell Claude your idea. It breaks the clip into beats (roughly one beat per 2 seconds — an 8-second clip is 4 beats), and notes what stays constant (characters, style) versus what changes (the world, the action), plus the camera arc.
2. Generate the review board. Claude draws a single multi-panel storyboard image with Nano Banana Pro — best-in-class text rendering for clean panel labels — using any reference frames or character sheets you provide.
3. Iterate by editing. Don’t like the third panel? Say so. Claude edits the existing board (“open his eyes, keep everything else identical”) rather than rolling a new one, so the parts you liked stay put. Loop until you say “ship it.”
4. Extract clean keyframes. Claude renders the approved beats as clean, full-bleed frames — no borders, no captions — ready for the video model.
5. Hand off to Seedance 2.0. Claude writes a director-style prompt (subject, action, camera, style, constraints), passes the opening frame as the first frame and the closing frame as the last, and adds a “no on-screen text” guard.
6. Generate and refine. Seedance renders the clip with native audio; Claude polls until it’s done and offers to adjust and regenerate.

What makes Seedance 2.0 the right engine

Seedance 2.0 is built for exactly this handoff. It’s the current #1 on the Artificial Analysis benchmark, and its reference system is unusually rich:

• Up to 9 reference images — lock a character’s identity, a style, or a composition across the whole clip.
• First- and last-frame control — start on your approved opening frame, end on your approved closing frame, and let the model interpolate the motion between them.
• Up to 3 audio references — for a specific voice or rhythm (more on voice below).
• Director-level camera — dolly, rack focus, tracking, orbit, handheld, POV — executed faithfully when you name them.
• Native audio — lip-synced dialogue, sound effects, and ambience generated alongside the video, at roughly 50 credits per clip (about $0.50).

Optional: give the characters a voice

Want a specific voice instead of a generated one? Claude can either generate a voice clip (ElevenLabs v3, built into CreativeClaw) or use a sample you upload, then pass it to Seedance as a voice reference. Put the spoken line in quotes in the prompt and include the transcript, and Seedance matches lip movement to delivery. Keep voice references short (15 seconds or less) and pair them with at least one reference frame — a front-facing, evenly-lit face syncs best.

A worked example

Say you want an 8-second clip of a family whose living room dissolves into a blooming valley while they hold one pose.

• Beats: 4 beats, one slow camera orbit. Constant: three seated figures, hand-drawn watercolour style. Changing: the world around them.
• Board: Claude draws a 2×2 grid captioned 0–2s through 6–8s. You ask for bigger smiles; Claude edits that one detail. Approved.
• Clean frames: Claude renders a borderless opening frame (living room) and closing frame (valley).
• Generate: Seedance 2.0 gets a director prompt — “one continuous slow orbit… the living room dissolves into a blooming valley… 2D watercolour throughout… no on-screen text” — with the opening frame as first frame and the closing frame as last. Out comes the clip.

Total video spend: one ~50-credit Seedance render. All the iteration happened in cheap images.

Setup by client

Claude Code - Install the CreativeClaw plugin for the full experience with skills and optimized prompts. See setup guide.

Claude Desktop (Cowork) - Add the CreativeClaw MCP URL in your MCP server settings.

Claude Web (claude.ai) - Add CreativeClaw as a remote MCP server in your MCP settings. The plugin with advanced skills is coming soon, but the MCP tools work today.

OpenClaw - Add CreativeClaw as an MCP server in your configuration.

FAQ

Do I need to know cinematography to use this?

No. You describe what you want in plain language; Claude translates it into beats, a storyboard, and a director-style prompt. Naming a camera move (“slow orbit”, “push in”) helps, but it’s optional.

Why not just feed my storyboard grid to the video model directly?

Because the panel captions bleed into the video and the model can’t read panel order from a grid. The grid is for your approval; the video model gets clean, full-bleed frames instead. Claude handles the split for you.

How long can the video be?

Seedance 2.0 generates up to 15 seconds per clip with multiple shots and natural cuts. For longer pieces, Claude can chain clips — using the last frame of one as the first frame of the next.

What does it cost?

A storyboard image is a few credits; a Seedance 2.0 clip is roughly 50 credits (about $0.50). $10 = 1,000 credits, credits never expire, no subscription. You do most of your iterating in cheap images and spend video credits only on the take you’ve already approved.

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Ready to make a video that actually matches what’s in your head? Connect CreativeClaw to Claude in under a minute, then ask Claude to “storyboard a video” and watch the story come together before you spend a credit on motion. For a deeper tour of the model itself, see How to Use Seedance 2.0 in Claude.