Product guide
What Viva does.
Viva takes finished video, lets you pick the shots you need, and turns them into a storyboard document for reviews, meetings, handoff, and reference.
What is Viva the Beaver?
Viva is a macOS utility for making storyboard documents from finished or existing video. It detects cuts, lets you choose representative frames, and adds the information people usually need during a review.
It starts after the edit. Viva does not change the video itself.
Why use a storyboard for a video review?
If someone says “go back a little,” “the shot around 43 seconds,” or “the next cut,” everyone has to search the timeline again.
A storyboard puts the frames, cut numbers, timecodes, and notes on one page so the group can identify the same shot immediately.
When is Viva useful?
- Preparing for a client video review.
- Bringing shot references into a production meeting.
- Discussing specific shots between a director and editor.
- Comparing a main film with cutdowns or alternate versions.
- Handing a video project from one person or team to another.
- Keeping a shot-by-shot reference after editing is finished.
- Making a contact-sheet style document from existing video.
Is Viva a video editor?
No. It does not trim clips, rearrange the timeline, or re-edit the video.
Import a finished video, choose the frames you need, add context, and export the storyboard document.
How does the workflow work?
- Video: import a local video and analyze its cuts.
- Frames: adjust detection sensitivity and choose or revise the frames you need.
- Board: add sections, cut numbers, timecodes, notes, page orientation, and layout.
- Review: export the board and use it in the review, meeting, or handoff.
Can one board contain more than one video?
Yes. A main film, cutdown, alternate version, or product film can each have its own section, title, and layout inside the same board.
What can Viva export?
- PDF: a storyboard document for review, meetings, printing, delivery, or reference.
- Editable PowerPoint (PPTX): for comments, client notes, or production changes after the review.
- JPG images: selected frames for chat, email, decks, or other production documents.
Does Viva upload the original video?
The core workflow processes the original video locally on the Mac.
PDF Share is planned for the commercial release and remains release-gated. When it is commercially enabled and the user explicitly chooses it, only the generated PDF is uploaded for link-based sharing; the original video is not uploaded, and local PDF/PPTX/JPG export remains independent of Share.
What is the trial?
The planned in-app trial allows seven successful PDF exports and does not require an account.
Cancelled or failed saves do not consume an export. Trial PDFs include a Viva trial watermark / attribution. The exact watermark wording, size, and position may change before release.
What platform is available?
The first public release is planned for Macs with Apple silicon (M1 or later) running macOS 13 or later. Intel Macs are not supported in the first release. Windows and mobile versions are future directions and are not currently available.
Open-source software in the app
The Mac app reads video with FFmpeg (LGPL 2.1 or later) and OpenCV (Apache 2.0). The full notices and licence texts are in the app under Help → Open-Source Licences.
For every released version, the exact FFmpeg source code and build scripts are published together with that version.
What Viva does not currently claim
- It is not an AI video generator.
- It is not a cloud video editor.
- It does not currently claim real-time team collaboration.
- It does not currently claim transcription, narration extraction, or BGM recognition.
- It does not claim Windows or mobile availability before those products exist.
- It does not claim commercial PDF Share availability until the online Share release gate is complete.