TECH & TOOLS
TAKING PREVIS TOOLS TO THE NEXT LEVEL By IAN FAILES
It wasn’t too long ago that many previsualization studios had only just begun adopting game engines and real-time tools to help deliver their ‘viz.’ Now, a number of outfits have extended their efforts in real-time with bespoke tools, like virtual cameras, scouting apps or specific software solutions to help creators visualize scenes. Here’s a look at the state of play in previs and virtual production. PACKAGING UP A VIRTUAL CAMERA SOLUTION
TOP: Techvis frames from NVIZ crafted using ARENA for a sequence involving a mountain climb and goats in The King’s Man. (Image courtesy of NVIZ) BOTTOM: The ARENA system from NVIZ enables virtual camera shooting to help visualize scenes, in this case from The Midnight Sky. (Image of courtesy NVIZ)
As part of its previsualization services, NVIZ has built a virtual production system it calls ARENA, essentially software that drives a virtual camera within an Unreal Engine scene. “One operator uses the machine running the UE4 scene and can lens up, lens down, pull focus, narrow the depth of field and cue the animation within the scene,” details Janek Lender, Head of Visualization at NVIZ. “ARENA can also take shots, or takes, and run the animation within the shot at different speeds for slow-motion capture. The iPad operator simply uses the iPad as a viewfinder to frame up shots to capture. Once a series of shots or takes have been created, we can look through to make selects and cut these together straight away to create a previs cut.” “ARENA is the result of all our experience in the field of visualizing camera work,” states NVIZ Real-time Supervisor Eolan Power. “It’s the result of years of experimenting, iterating and finding the most useful approach to explore filmmaking. It’s a really useful and unobtrusive tool for concepting shots, especially those that involve VFX and is made possible by our ongoing work in the Unreal Engine.” ARENA came into play for previs on such projects as The Midnight Sky and The King’s Man. “I think most sequences in films that are in their blocking stages could benefit from exploring with a virtual camera and figuring it all out before they commit
84 • VFXVOICE.COM SUMMER 2022
PG 84-87 PREVIS.indd 84
5/2/22 2:14 PM
