STAN 16 pre-vis

in the world of small-time/low-budget/online video, it really pays to plan ahead. because, especially when you work under ridiculous circumstances like (1) trying to get an effects heavy web-series to feel like a bigger production than it really is, (2)get a new video done once a month EVERY month, while (3) still maintaining relationships with friends, families and significant others AND (4) getting all the other work that needs to get done finished, reshooting can be difficult, to say the least.

in the past, i've mentioned storyboarding. storyboarding is a great way to convey an idea, plan a complicated shot, or just be able to express to your team what you have in mind.

but what if it isn't getting the point across for a VERY difficult sequence?

take these for instance. i know that in my head, the crude drawings on the left will look something like what's on the right.


but in terms of working out what needed to be shot from which angle and why, it wasn't quite getting across.

so that's where it's helpful to bring in pre-vis. knowing just how little time we had to complete the recent episode of "The Defenders Of Stan," i prepared this silly little animation



obviously, there are oddities about the above. 1. for the purposes of demonstration, theres no burrito gag. 2. i obviously google searched "building texture" and used a watermarked image from turbosquid 3. i added the audio from the episode to make the pre-vis less boring. 4. because of the audio timing, i had to slow down bits of the animation which is why the results look a little jerky. 5. it's funny that it's Captain Ultra and twins, i'm guessing, and that one of the twins sounds like a super pimp.

also, enjoy this rant:
the nice thing about pre-vis is that it can more easily make sure that everyone is on the same page, and in certain instances, be a real asset on the set. for instance, we were hired by a company to write/direct/star in/post a pilot for a web-series. going into the cold opening of the pilot, we had two options: build a giant prop or build a 3d model. in the end, we decided on going CG because we'd end up having a lot more control. knowing that, i was able to build the 3d model BEFORE the shoot, pre-vis the entire scene, and since we had this whole thing virtually mapped out for us, we could literally stand there with a monitor next to our camera LCD display and set up shots knowing all of the limitations of the 3d model beforehand. it made an incredibly difficult and complex shoot a breeze. and to take it a step further: since i'd already animated the 3d model, all i had to do was tweak the work i'd already done, compensating for differences in timing, angles, fluidity in movement, etc.

YAY. coming soon, props photos, etc.

.