AI DOCUMENTARY PLANNER
Plan a documentary with AI
and find the story in the subject.
Describe your subject and Storyflow's AI lays out the plan as cards on an infinite canvas: research threads, characters, themes, interview questions, and a story arc. Connect what matters, expand the thin parts, and shoot from it. Free forever, no credit card.
Free plan
No credit card
Works in your browser
Used by creative professionals at:
Artlist
Pixar
Nike
Red Bull
The North Face
Porsche
Start from a ready-made template
Pick a board, then let AI fill it in. Every template is a real, editable starting point on the same infinite canvas.
What is an AI documentary planner?
A documentary lives or dies in pre-production: the research you gather, the characters you find, the themes you commit to, and the arc you build before a single frame is shot. Most documentaries fail not in the edit but in the planning, where a pile of research never resolves into a story. The problem is that organizing the subject and finding the arc inside it are two different jobs your brain tries to do at the same time.
An AI documentary planner takes the first pass off your hands. Describe the subject, the angle, and the format, and Storyflow lays out the plan as cards on an infinite canvas: research threads grouped by topic, the people who could carry the film, the themes underneath, interview questions per subject, and a draft story arc. It is not a rigid template. Every card is movable, so you can connect a quote to a theme, drag a beat in the arc, and cut the thread that goes nowhere.
That is the difference from a folder of notes: the research and the story live on the same canvas, so the arc emerges from the material instead of being imposed on it. Because the AI reads the board, it builds on the research you gather, and you can turn the plan into a treatment, a shot list, or a storyboard without leaving it. Your documentary plan becomes the shoot instead of a doc that goes stale.
HOW IT WORKS
Plan a documentary with AI in four steps.
You bring the subject. The AI lays out the research and the arc, so you can shape the story.
01
Open a free canvas
Start in the browser with a free account. There is no app to install and no card to enter, just an empty canvas ready for your subject.
02
Describe your subject
A sentence is enough: the topic, the angle you suspect, and the format. A character-driven feature, a short investigative piece, a video essay.
03
AI lays out the plan
The AI places research threads, possible characters, themes, interview questions, and a draft arc as cards on the canvas, grouped so the shape of the film reads at a glance.
04
Connect, expand, turn into a shoot
Link quotes to themes, expand a research thread, then turn the plan into a treatment or shot list, share view-only with a producer, or export as image or PDF.
A documentary planner that finds the story.
Most research dies in a folder. This plan turns into a treatment, a shot list, and a shoot.
Research and story from one prompt
From a subject to a structured plan
The AI lays out research threads, characters, and themes as cards. See the whole subject first, then find the arc hiding inside the material.
See the AI treatment generator →
From plan to treatment
Turn the arc into a treatment
Once the story is clear, ask the AI to turn the arc into a treatment you can take to a commissioner or a grant, built on the same canvas.
See the AI treatment generator →
From plan to shoot
Build the shot and interview plan
The plan becomes a shot list, a B-roll plan, and interview questions per subject. The AI ties each shot to the theme it serves, not to a template.
See the AI shot list generator →
Room for years of research
An infinite canvas for the whole subject
Documentaries gather research for months. With an infinite canvas and no object cap on the free plan, no thread, quote, or character gets cut for space.
See the free infinite canvas →Free forever. No credit card.
Open a canvas, describe a subject, and watch the plan lay itself out. The free plan has no time limit.
Unlimited documentary boards, with room for months of research
Basic AI usage to organize research and find the arc
Attach footage, interviews, PDFs, and links to any thread
Share the plan view-only, or invite collaborators free
BUILT FOR PRE-PRODUCTION
Made for the way documentary makers actually work.
Gather the research, connect it to themes, and watch the arc emerge from the material.
Research you can connect and reshape
Cards that turn notes into a story
Everything is a movable card: Quotes, characters, facts, and themes are cards you can connect, so the film reads as a web of evidence instead of a pile of notes.
Link quotes to themes: Draw the connection between what a subject said and the theme it proves, and the spine of the documentary starts to show.
Find the arc: Ask the AI to propose the strongest arc through the material you have gathered, then drag the beats until the story is true to the subject.
Context from the research you gather
AI that builds on your material
Reads your active board: The AI uses the research, characters, and themes already on the canvas, so what it suggests is grounded in your subject, not a generic outline.
@-mention your sources: Bring in up to one Blueprint and three documents as context: an interview transcript, a research doc, or a pitch the plan should serve.
Re-prompt to refocus: Ask for a more character-driven angle or a tighter investigative thread. The AI reworks the plan while keeping your edits.
More than text on every thread
Footage, interviews, and links beside the research
Drop in anything: Footage, interview clips, stills, PDFs, and links attach to the canvas next to the thread they belong to. Research and evidence in one place.
Frame grabs from video: Capture stills from YouTube and Vimeo straight onto the board when archival or reference footage carries the story.
Transcripts where you need them: Long interview transcripts live as documents on the same canvas, so the board stays scannable and the quotes stay one click away.
The plan is pre-production, not the end
From plan to finished film
Carry the plan into real boards: Turn the arc into a treatment, a shot list, and a storyboard on the same canvas, with the AI carrying the research over.
Share with producers: Invite a producer or editor free, or send a view-only link so a funder can read the plan without an account.
Export as image or PDF: Need the plan in a grant application or a pitch? Export it as a clean image or PDF in one step.
WHO IT IS FOR
Who plans documentaries with AI?
Anyone turning a real subject into a film.
Documentary filmmakers
Organize months of research, find the arc in the material, and carry the plan into a treatment, a shot list, and a shoot on one canvas.
Investigative journalists
Map sources, facts, and threads, connect evidence to claims, and build the narrative spine of a longer piece without losing the receipts.
Video essayists
Gather references and arguments, structure the essay as a story, then turn it into a script and a B-roll plan. Free, with no time limit.
Students and first-time filmmakers
Plan a first documentary with a clear arc and an interview plan, so the shoot has a purpose before the camera rolls.
Brand and impact teams
Plan a brand documentary or an impact film, align the story with the message, and share the plan with stakeholders for sign-off.
COMPARED
How Storyflow compares to other documentary tools.
Plenty of tools store research. The question is whether the story emerges and whether you shoot from it.
Storyflow
Recommended
AI that organizes research and proposes the arc
Research and story on the same canvas
Plan turns into treatments and shot lists
A free plan without board or card caps
Notion
AI that organizes research and proposes the arc
Research and story on the same canvas
Plan turns into treatments and shot lists
A free plan without board or card caps
Google Docs
AI that organizes research and proposes the arc
Research and story on the same canvas
Plan turns into treatments and shot lists
A free plan without board or card caps
Milanote
AI that organizes research and proposes the arc
Research and story on the same canvas
Plan turns into treatments and shot lists
A free plan without board or card caps
What creators are saying
Join early creators getting structured workspaces and AI that remembers their projects
“Storyflow has sped up my workflow by at least 3x, which means more flow state and more projects I can actually ship. It truly changed the way me and my team create.”
Reilin Joey
Director & YouTuber
“One prompt gets me a structured board. But the tactics are my favorite. I run my YouTube scripts through them and my intros and retention got better. It's amazing.”
Justkay
YouTuber & Freelance Filmmaker
“I used to juggle five apps to plan a project. Now I describe what I am making and get boards, lists, and a schedule. All in one place.”
George
@fernwehchronicles
AI documentary planning questions, answered.
Everything people ask about planning documentaries with AI in Storyflow.
An AI documentary planner turns a subject you describe into a pre-production plan: research threads, possible characters, themes, interview questions, and a draft story arc, organized for you instead of piled in a folder. In Storyflow the AI lays those out as cards on an infinite canvas, so the research and the story live together and the plan becomes the shoot.
The subject is real. Find the film inside it.
Describe it once, watch the research and arc lay themselves out, and turn the plan into a shoot. Free plan, no credit card.