Fix it in Pre
"Fix it in post" has been an industry-standard phrase for years, implying "we'll deal with it later." However, with the Enklare project, we took the opposite approach and aimed to "fix it in pre" (previsualization).
In 2021, I had the opportunity to direct a commercial that I believed held significant potential. However, for the final film to truly stand out, we needed to build our own set. The only problem is that set construction is expensive. Renting an office is cheaper, but it limits what you can modify.
The budget seemed to suggest that renting an office was the more practical choice. However, together with set designer Tobias Allansson, we concluded that to stay within budget, we needed to exclude the ceiling and sidewalls. If we managed that, we could afford it. The new challenge then became: could we deliver a story that felt unrestricted yet remained visually compelling on a set that didn't have a ceiling or sidewalls?
That's why I first created a mock-up 3D animatic, also known as Previs (Previsualization), to establish the set design we could actually afford, and began to experiment with set design layouts and camera angles. This helped determine which angles and movements would be feasible. After several iterations of 3D animatics, I finally created something that we felt didn't limit the viewer's perspective and was still visually captivating and affordable.
3D Construction Beginning (Previsualization):
We discovered that by omitting the sidewalls and ceilings, we could afford the set construction and still retain our creative freedom.
No ceiling and no walls
Identifying the Angles:
This was the previsualization concept that the client and agency approved during the Pre-Production Meeting (PPM).
Set Construction:
Following the specifications from the 3D previsualization, we proceeded without sidewalls and a ceiling, all the while keeping our fingers crossed for a successful outcome.
Final result:
A 50/50 split between one of the 3D previsualization animatics that the client approved during the Pre-Production Meeting (PPM) and the final delivery. The similarity is quite striking!
Since the Enklare project in 2021, I've created some sort of previs for almost all my projects, whether stills or film. Creating a previs is like reflecting on the project with yourself: you create and receive feedback from your own work, leading to fresh ideas and insights. Not only does this provide a tool to convey your vision to clients, but it also gives you a detailed blueprint to present to the crew and production team. This is because the shots are framed and lit in a manner closely aligned with your eventual execution plan. While the client receives their storyboard, you retain the recipe or blueprint that lies behind those storyboarded shots.
Fix it in Pre,
Mattias Andersson, Director & Photographer