The now famous Matrix Reloaded chase scene had to be extensively prevised. © Warner Bros.

For example, in a recent series of Honda spots, Hardaway worked out in previs complicated paths for multiple vehicles in a crane shot on location. At the shoot, the crew suggested alternate ways of getting the shot. But Hardaway was able to show the crew via previs exactly how and why the shot would work with the plan he developed. The shot went ahead as prevised and Hardaway (and the client) got the shot with minimal setup time.

Third, previs creates a “living archive” of the director’s vision to which the team can refer throughout production. Previs allows directors to clearly communicate to the crew the “approval state” of a given shot or sequence. Says Zoic Studios’ Andrew Orloff, vfx supervisor for CSI: Miami, “We know that once the animation has been signed off on, this is the direction of the shot.” As an added bonus, previs enables new or replacement production team members get up to speed more quickly on your vision and the technical requirements of the shot.”

Fourth, previs enables the director to predict and manipulate the visceral, emotional experience that the final images are likely to generate. Even more importantly, previs allows directors to communicate the emotional impact of a shot to people holding the purse strings for the show. According to Hardaway, “Previs allows the whole body of work to take on a much more refined aspect — it becomes the truest expression of what I want to convey.”

Fifth, previs can boost crew morale by not wasting their efforts and budgets creating things the audience will not see. Says Hardaway, “Production designers love to know where the camera is going to go so that they can put the money where it needs to be; they hate fabricating and dressing sets that are not used.” Other key departments - stunts, props, grip, to name a few, can get similar benefits from previs.

Sixth, directors and production teams can use previs to help develop stunning new visual effects techniques. ESC Entertainment visual effects impresario John Gaeta (The Matrix trilogy) suggests: “Previs is an evolutionary process. You start blocking shots that are so extreme, unlocking shots that no one could conceive of shooting these unless they were planned in a computer. That’s how we started with bullet time — we made the leap by staying at conceptual creative stages, and then decided which shots we wanted to take to the extreme level of detail.”

Finally, previs enables directors to optimize post-production time by creating an ongoing “approved” edit of the production’s complex sequences well in advance of post-production. This means that directors can focus on nuances of performance, tone, pacing, color, sound and other important issues during post-production.

Previs With a Twist
Previs takes many different forms as it continues to evolve as problem-solving tool for directors. Some practitioners have used previs in a variety of unexpected ways.