Students will learn how to best place a shot within an environment and choose a camera lens, etc. We will also review the basics of cinematography and how it is used in previs. This class will also include an intro into using existing camera and lens data to match the equipment being used in production.

In the real world of previs, you will encounter many situations in which you do not have what you need to create your shot—but you have to create it by the deadline anyway. In this class, we will go over how to quickly create props using pieces of the environment, how to extend environments quickly but convincingly, and how to work with an existing environment to come up with a good shot composition while being considerate of the rest of the previs team and the production (what’s okay to move around or fudge, and what’s not).

In this week we will go over camera motion, including understanding what will be available to production when they are shooting and how to be respectful of this while animating your camera. We will go over cranes, dollies, and other real-life camera set-ups. We will also cover “imaginary” set-ups and when you’ll want to use those. We will discuss how previs helps producers and directors plan and budget their shots in the real world, and the types of options you might be expected to give them at different budget levels, etc.

Block out the character movement in a shot using good, solid, dynamic poses that tell the story as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Take your blocking to full animation. In this class, tricks for animating quickly will be covered. Possible timed animation exercise in class- shot creators are commonly expected to finish 2 full shots in a 9- or 10-hour day.

This week will cover when it’s appropriate to spend time using or creating effects in Maya and when it’s faster/smarter to fake effects in comp. (This can sometimes be based on supervisor preference, but whenever the supervisor doesn’t favor “Maya only,” it can save you a lot of time to do your FX in comp whenever you can). A brief intro to AfterEffects will be included in this class. What you need to know of AfterEffects to do previs is fairly basic, but it can be very important, especially if you ever intend to do postvis as well as previs.

This class will include a brief introduction to postvis (a type of previs that occurs after live-action production and before VFX/animation production in which previs elements are merged with live-action plates to form an accurate idea of how shots might look after VFX production is done). We will briefly cover what to do with a live-action plate when you need comp one in: what to color correct ( and what not to) and how to color correct it; how to track and stabilize when needed; how to use masks to crop plates and to paint things out of a plate, etc.

Most previs and postvis teams are small and very interactive. Sometimes you will get to interact with directors, producers, and executives as well, and you will be expected to handle all kinds of potentially stressful situations. This week’s class will cover how to work together quickly without driving each other crazy, how to handle potential “unusual” situations (like collaborating remotely with supervisors on location in another country), proper etiquette for interacting with production, and how to ensure that you have a constant output of high-quality work while consistently meeting very tight deadlines.