Moodboard tool

The moodboard tool that already knows the film.

Stills, locations and sticky notes on an open canvas, linked with lines and edited together live. The moodboard sits in the same project as the treatment, shot list and schedule. The look you agree on here doesn't get lost on the way to set.

Create a moodboard for free See pricing
  • Free plan, no card
  • Live cursors for the whole team
  • PDF export
TillyBoard moodboard Autumn Hero Film: food stills, a knife cutting roasted squash, a greenhouse, an aerial view of a town and two sticky notes reading Texture first and Warm, golden morning light, with the canvas toolbar and a parking area.

Teams shooting for these brands plan with TillyBoard

  • RTL
  • L'Oréal
  • EDEKA
  • Edelweiss Air
  • MDR
  • Rose Bikes
  • ABB
  • Sparkasse

What is a moodboard?

A moodboard is a collection of images, colours, textures and short notes that shows how a film should feel before a single shot is filmed. It replaces long descriptions with something everyone sees at the same time.

What a moodboard is used for in film

In pre-production the moodboard is the shared language of director, DP, production design, wardrobe and client. One picture of warm morning light through a greenhouse roof says more than a paragraph about a “natural, warm mood”. In advertising there's a second purpose: the client signs off on the look at the moodboard stage, before money goes into shoot days.

Moodboard, treatment or storyboard?

The three are often confused. The moodboard shows the mood: light, colour, textures, places, types. The treatment describes in words what happens and in which order. The storyboard shows shot by shot what the camera sees. A good workflow goes in exactly that order, and in TillyBoard all three sit in the same project.

How to create a moodboard for a film: six steps

  1. Start from the brief. Write the core message and three adjectives for the mood on a sticky note. Every image has to measure up to them.
  2. Collect widely. Film stills, photography, your own location photos, colour swatches, fabrics. Better too much than too little, you'll cut later.
  3. Group by beat or theme. Light, locations, colours, types, props. Or by the beats of the treatment, so every scene gets its own corner.
  4. Write the decisions next to it. A sticky note next to the picture says which location it will be and where the backup is. A line connects the note to the picture it means.
  5. Cut hard. A moodboard with 80 images no longer says anything. Twelve to twenty strong references are enough for a spot.
  6. Get sign-off and build on it. Send the moodboard to the client as a PDF. Then the look becomes the treatment and the treatment becomes the shot list.

Common mistakes

  • Collecting only beautiful pictures that have nothing to do with the budget. A helicopter shot on the moodboard sets expectations.
  • No notes. Without text, nobody remembers two weeks later why a picture is up there.
  • Treating the moodboard as the end point. It's the start of pre-production, not the result.
Full guide: build a moodboard

Watch a moodboard take shape

About 35 seconds from the real app: a moodboard with notes and references, then the treatment with beats, a to-do and an image.

From moodboard to shoot day

In most moodboard tools the work ends at the board. In TillyBoard that's where pre-production begins. Every image is a capture from the real app.

  1. 01

    The references on one wall

    Food, light, the farm, the test kitchen: the references for every beat hang side by side, as big as you drag them. Snap and guides keep the wall in order.

    Moodboard for an autumn food campaign: plated dishes, a knife through roasted squash, a farm, a greenhouse and two sticky notes with locations and b-roll plans. Cursors of Lena and Jonas are on the canvas.
  2. 02

    Notes on the wall, lines between them

    Stills, locations and sticky notes sit on the canvas. Draw a line from the note to the picture it means: “Harvest b-roll: dew, hands, crates, all before 09:30” then hangs right on the greenhouse.

    Whoever is working along shows up by name at their cursor.

    Moodboard canvas: a sticky note reading Harvest b-roll: dew, hands, crates, all before 09:30, linked by a line to a greenhouse photo. A collaborator's cursor is labelled Jonas.
  3. 03

    Tilly AI works in the concept you have open

    Have Tilly AI develop a concept idea, summarise the active concept in a few sentences, or sharpen the core message and target audience. Or ask your own question. Tilly AI writes the first draft, you set the direction.

    Tilly AI asks How can I help you? and offers to develop a concept idea for the project, summarize the active concept or sharpen the core message and target audience.
  4. 04

    The look becomes the treatment

    Next to the moodboard sits the treatment as a document. Type a slash and pick a block: heading, list, to-do, quote, table, image or PDF. The reference still sits right under the description it belongs to.

    More about concept
    Treatment with the beats Harvest and Kitchen craft. Below, the slash menu lists text, headings, lists, to-do, quote, divider, text box, image, PDF and table.
  5. 05

    And the treatment becomes the shot list

    Concepts, moodboards and references live in the project, each with its own shots. For the shots TillyBoard generates preview frames from the action text, optionally with talent headshots and location photos as references.

    More about the shot list
    Three shots of the segment Kitchen craft with generated preview frames.
  6. 06

    To the client as a PDF

    Export the concept as a PDF for everyone who doesn't have an account. Custom branding on exports is included from the Team plan up. Several concepts per project stay side by side, older versions in folders.

    Two people at a desk going through a TillyBoard treatment with a reference image on a large monitor.

What a moodboard in TillyBoard is made of

The moodboard is an open canvas, the treatment a document. These are the building blocks.

Images

Stills, location photos and references, freely scaled and arranged.

Sticky notes & text

Decisions, questions and timings right next to the picture.

Connectors

Lines from the note to the picture, so it's clear what's meant.

Live collaboration

Names at the cursor, and the top of the concept shows who's in the document right now.

Several boards per project

Hero film, social cutdowns, campaign: every concept with its own board and its own shots.

PDF export

For clients and crew without an account, with custom branding from the Team plan up.

Who the moodboard tool is made for

Production companies

The look is agreed with the client and flows straight into the shot list and schedule.

Agencies

Moodboards for pitches and campaigns, with the stored brand guidelines in the same workspace.

In-house teams

One board per format, so the series looks the same over months.

Creators

Look, shot list and day plan in one place, even when you shoot alone.

Film schools

Learn moodboard, treatment and storyboard in the right order, on the free plan.

Directors and DPs

Show light, colour and visual language instead of describing them, with the note attached to the picture.

TillyBoard, Milanote or StudioBinder?

Milanote is a flexible board tool for many creative fields, StudioBinder a production suite with mood boards. The table only compares what the providers list on their websites. As of October 2026.

✓ = listed on the provider's website. – = not listed there as a feature. Provider prices as stated on their website. Checked on 14 October 2026. Features and prices change, please verify with the provider.
FeatureTillyBoardMilanoteStudioBinder
Moodboard✓ open canvas with images, notes and lines✓ notes, images, videos, sketches✓
Treatment / documents✓✓✓
Storyboard✓ AI preview frame per shot✓✓
Shot list✓–✓
Schedule & call sheets✓–✓
Mobile app✓ iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch✓–
Free plan✓ 1 project, 1 GB, 10 AI images per month✓ 100 notes, images or links, 10 file uploads✓ “Start for free”
Paid entry priceCreator: €22 per month billed monthly, excl. VAT$9.99 per person per month billed annually, $12.50 billed monthlySee the provider's website

Where TillyBoard doesn't fit: if you need a board for inspiration beyond film, say for interior design, writing or product design, a general board tool like Milanote serves you better. TillyBoard pays off when the moodboard is meant to become a shoot.

Sources: milanote.com milanote.com/plans studiobinder.com
TillyBoard as a Milanote alternative

Moodboard tool: frequently asked questions

What is a moodboard?

A moodboard is a collection of images, colours, textures and notes that shows how a film should feel. It's the shared reference for director, DP, production design and client before the shoot.

How do I create a moodboard for a film?

Start with the core message and three mood adjectives, collect widely, group by beat or theme, write the decisions on sticky notes next to the images, cut down to twelve to twenty strong images and get the look signed off. In TillyBoard you create a moodboard inside the concept for this.

Is the moodboard tool free?

Yes, the moodboard is part of the free plan, with no time limit and no credit card. The Free plan includes one project of your own and 1 GB of storage. More projects and storage come with the Creator plan and up.

Can several people work on the moodboard at once?

Yes. Collaborators show up by name at their cursor, and the top of the concept shows who is in the document right now.

What's the difference between a moodboard and a storyboard?

The moodboard shows the mood of the whole film: light, colour, places, types. The storyboard shows shot by shot what the camera sees. In TillyBoard the moodboard sits in the concept and the preview frames per shot in the shot list.

How does the moodboard get to the client?

As a PDF export. Custom branding on exports is included from the Team plan up.

Can I put other people's images on a moodboard?

As an internal reference within the team that's common practice. As soon as a moodboard is published or passed on, you need the rights to the images. When in doubt, use your own location photos and licensed stills.

Put the look on one wall.

Set up a project, drag the first references onto the moodboard and invite the director. Free and without a card.

Create a moodboard for free Free plan · no card · cancel monthly

Further reading

Template

Moodboard template

The structure of a moodboard for film and video.

 How-to

Build a moodboard

Step by step from brief to finished board.

 Template

Treatment template

The next step after the moodboard.

 How-to

Build a storyboard

From the look to the single shot.

 Software

Storyboard software

Preview frames per shot, straight from the shot list.

 Software

Pre-production software

All of pre-production in one project, with a checklist.