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Digital Pre-Vis options for the Digital Indie Filmmaker

As cinema technologies advance, we not only get better/faster/cheaper ways of engaging cinema production process, we invariably unlock or re-invent new cinematic processes themselves.

One area that has profoundly presented itself as a highly dynamic and creative process, now open to anyone with a computer and not reliant on big budget, is digital pre-visualization.

It would be a mistake to narrowly think of digital Pre-Vis as simply a method of making glorified story-boards. Instead it's much more effective to consider digital Pre-Vis as a broad umbrella term covering much more than glorified storyboarding. Digital Pre-Vis envelopes a wide range of computer-based tools, technologies and processes aimed at developing, planning and testing visual sequences and cinematic elements.

The types and forms of tool used for Pre-Vis and visual planning are also incredibly diverse and draw upon some unexpected sources. George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) has even used the Unreal computer game engine to construct Pre-Vis for films like Steven Spielberg's AI. The observation has been made by ILM's Scott Rosenthal in regard to the use of a game engine to Pre-Vis AI that "The whole goal of the exercise was to expose aesthetic choices or opportunities to Steven Spielberg. So it was a director's tool, not a postproduction tool."



This comment underpins much of the new thinking about the role digital Pre-Vis serves. The mechanics Pre-Vis uses -- 3D environments, animations, motion graphics, frame animatics, color swatches, digital imaging and so on - are tools traditionally associated with post-production. But the opportunities and benefits of Pre-Vis force us to reconsider some of those assumptions; to see Pre-Visas embedded to the art of directing and creative inception.

Whilst we might most readily think of 3D graphics systems as the core of digital Pre-Vis, there are in fact a myriad of other tools and technologies that serve to help flesh out visual ideas and build articulate and dynamic visualizations. More-over these tools need not be expensive; indeed there are a host of free tools and applications available, along with some very low cost solutions, ensuring digital Pre-Vis is well within reach of all production budgets. What unites these various systems is the empowerment they deliver to the director to enact clear and informed directorial choices about the film they are making. But to really exploit Pre-Vis we need to articulate more clearly what the role of the director really is.

Perhaps the most adequate description of the role of the director on a movie is 'Caretaker of the Vision'. The director is a guide through the production jungle ensuring that the collaboration of different departments remain focused on a clear singular vision. Films are made by directorial choices, the auteur decisions about composition, performance, design and assembly. So in this vein the role of Pre-Vis is arguably the most important phase for the director to engage. It's here that they will flesh out what the directorial vision for the project is and deliver it with clarity to the cast and crew -- get everyone singing from the same song-sheet with a clear voice.

What is key to effective Pre-Vis is to remember what Pre-Vis processes are designed for. They are not for the creation of polished works or refined and stylish graphics. Pre-Vis is foremost about communication, experimentation, testing, planning. Pre-Vis projects are a production sketchpad not a finished product.

Below I have laid out some of the best and most available digital tools for indie filmmakers; ones that strike a productive balance between creative flexibility and ease of use efficiency. This in turn ensures the focus remains on directorial decision making and not technical proficiency. A Pre-Vis tool that is overly-complicated and time consuming to use largely defeats the purpose of pre-vis. The tools here also stretch beyond just 3D virtual blocking and include a broader selection of tools for developing visual style, color and form for digital indie film projects.

Read the rest of this article HERE.

Posted at 12:00AM Sep 22, 2008 by Mike Jones in general  |  Comments[4]