Hollywood, CA -- Pre-vis house Persistence of Vision (POV) has launched a new Multi-Media Content Unit to supply POV’s creative services to producers of TV commercials, video games, webisodes, music videos, and other, non-feature film content. Initial projects from the unit include those for Microsoft, Snail Games, and Nike.

Pre-Vis (short for Previsualization) is the term for a detailed animated sequence, created during preproduction, which is used to test and prove-out complicated action sequences and camera moves in order to save time and money during live action production. Pre-Vis is the next generation of digital prototyping for entertainment and advertising. POV specializes in creating a computer animated version of its clients’ content quickly and inexpensively, allowing content producers to experiment, revise, budget, schedule and eventually produce their own projects with huge cost savings.

Said David Dozoretz, POV president/founder, “Previsualization can best be described as a collaborative process that generates preliminary versions of shots or sequences, predominantly using 3D animation tools and a virtual environment. It enables filmmakers and content producers to visually explore creative ideas, plan technical solutions, and communicate a shared vision for a highly efficient production process. During the recent past, we’ve discovered that it’s not just major motion pictures that are taking advantage of the benefits of PreVis. Commercials, video games, music videos, web content and other mediums are also incorporating the Pre-Vis process early within their production pipeline to derive better results in a shorter amount of time. This is the reason we felt the time was ripe for us, now, to launch our new Multi-Media Content Unit.” 

For “Halo 4,” POV worked closely with the director and creative team to craft exciting sequences worthy of the “Halo” name.  Using customized versions of the game assets provided by Microsoft, along with original assets created by POV, detailed animations were created for each shot of the action sequences and edited together with music and sound effects.  These videos were used to budget, schedule and shoot the first live action long-form ever done for the “Halo” franchise.

Stewart Hendler, director of the “Halo 4” trailer, said, "We were incredibly lucky to have POV's creative expertise in the prep of ‘Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.’ Their amazing team helped us visualize and execute the kind of heart pounding sequences fans have come to expect from the ‘Halo’ brand—all the while working to maximize our tight timeline and resources, so we could put as much on the screen as possible."

The almost four-minute trailer also reveals an October 5 online premiere date for the “Halo 4” episodic series (five episodes will be produced, with a new episode appearing every week.)  The “Halo 4” console game will be released on November 6. Over the past 11 years, the "Halo" franchise has generated billions of dollars in revenue and was a key driver of the success of Microsoft's original Xbox video game console. Since then, Microsoft has released books based on the "Halo" world, graphic novels, toys and other licensed products. Fans of the franchise, who number in the millions, call themselves “Halo Nation.”