StoryBoom Partners with James Dalessandro to Empower Storytellers
November 13, 2025
November 13, 2025
StoryBoom joins forces with acclaimed screenwriter and filmmaker James Dalessandro to advance visual storytelling and power the next generation of animated productions.
Kentfield, CA, November 13, 2025 — StoryBoom, the professional storyboarding platform for filmmakers, animators, and creative teams, is proud to announce its partnership with James Dalessandro — acclaimed screenwriter, filmmaker, and novelist best known for his work in film, television, and literature, including 1906, Citizen Jane, and The Damnedest, Finest Ruins.
This collaboration strengthens StoryBoom’s mission to make visual storytelling more accessible, efficient, and inspiring for creators across the entertainment industry.
James Dalessandro’s distinguished career spans decades in screenwriting and directing for film and television, driven by a deep passion for the craft of storytelling. His expertise aligns seamlessly with StoryBoom’s mission to give creators intuitive, affordable tools for planning and visualizing their stories.
“James understands storytelling from the inside out — from the written word to the moving image,” said Sergey Martinov, founder of StoryBoom and creative director at Artenergy. “Our partnership reflects a shared belief that technology should serve creativity, not the other way around.“
Characters of Way Cool World animated series – Episode One: “Jailbird Beauty.”
The partnership between Dalessandro and Martinov began in 2022 during early development of WAY COOL WORLD, a music-based animated series created by Dalessandro and Emmy-winning writer-producer Ken Estin Taxi, Cheers, The Tracey Ullman Show.
As Art Director, Martinov led visual development for the series, shaping its characters, storyboards, and digital presence. The team worked with an early HTML-based prototype that would later evolve into StoryBoom.
“We had the budget to try any storyboarding app,” recalls Martinov, “but none of them felt right. We ended up completing three storyboards using our in-house tool — the precursor to StoryBoom.”
That creative need ultimately became the foundation for the StoryBoom platform, publicly launched in 2025. Today, Way Cool World continues production using StoryBoom’s professional storyboarding suite, having migrated its entire story pipeline to the platform for greater collaboration and clarity.
The Way Cool World animated series recently made the Semifinals in the Stage32.com 6th Annual New Voices in Animation Screenwriting Competition, recognizing its originality, visual energy, and strong narrative design.
Powered by StoryBoom’s collaborative features, the project showcases how the app supports teams in every phase of visual development – from script to screen.
“My team and I have tried a lot of storyboarding tools,” said Dalessandro. “But StoryBoom is by far the easiest to use. Its simple design and collaboration features make it easy for us to stay in sync and keep our ideas flowing.“
— James Dalessandro, Co-Creator & Executive Producer, WayCoolWorld.tv
Launched in 2025 by Sergey Martinov and the team at Artenergy, StoryBoom brings a decade of design and production experience to a modern, browser-based storyboarding app.
With real-time collaboration, versioning, and team management, StoryBoom enables creative professionals — from independent filmmakers to animation studios — to craft storyboards, lookbooks, and production pitches with clarity and control.
The Free Starter Plan offers up to five storyboards and 80 scenes, allowing new creators to start without paywalls or limitations.
Following their successful October workshop, Dalessandro and Martinov will host another live online tutorial in December, demonstrating how StoryBoom streamlines pitching, collaboration, and creative visualization.
The pair have also begun development on a new animated production, currently in early stages, where StoryBoom will play a central role in story and design development. Details of the project will be announced in 2026.
“James and I share the same creative DNA - we both believe that powerful storytelling needs powerful, intuitive tools, said Martinov. “StoryBoom was born out of that need and continues to evolve alongside real productions like Way Cool World.“
James Dalessandro is a bestselling author 1906: A Novel (Historical Fiction) and Citizen Jane (True Crime), and the screenwriter of both. In his 30 years as a screenwriter, he has worked for Warner Brothers (Film & TV), FX Channel, Stan Lee and dozens of others. Lew Hunter, Dean of the UCLA Graduate Screenwriting program, called him “one of the 4 or 5 best screenwriting teachers in the world.” He is Producer/Writer/Director of the animated series Way Cool World, StoryBoom’s first full series, and has joined us as a partner, calling it “revolutionary.”
StoryBoom is a professional storyboarding platform designed for filmmakers, animators, and visual storytellers. Created by Artenergy, a California-based design and development studio, StoryBoom combines intuitive scene management, live collaboration, and flexible exports to help creative teams bring their stories to life - faster, simpler, and together. Launched in 2025, StoryBoom offers both free and scalable paid plans and is trusted by teams in film, television, and animation.
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