Previs: the antidote to a locked down camera

COVID-19 may have cancelled your shoot, but rather than resigning yourself to binge watching, why not learn how to previs? You can plan and visualize your entire shoot now so you’re ready to spring into action once the shelter in place lifts.

Previsualization, or previs, is the process of visualizing the angles and camera moves you’ll be employing ahead of the actual shoot in 3D. Moviola.com has a free master course on creating previs using Sketchup, Unreal Engine, and Adobe’s Fuse and mixamo.com offerings. The software is free (minus the cost of an Adobe cloud subscription) and the process demonstrated is much faster than one employing a traditional 3D DCC package like Maya. So if you’ve been intimidated in the past by 3D technological wizardry, don’t be. Everything is within the grasp of someone with a basic knowledge of camera craft.

In the course you’ll learn how to build out your set in Sketchup, add animations, and customize virtual characters to look like your actors, all without needing to go to school for 3D animation.

You’ll bring it all together in Unreal Engine: a world class game engine that’s completely free to use for previs purposes.

So take a few minutes of your time and we’ll unlock for you what might end up being the skill that sets you apart as a filmmaker.