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Research

Updated: Dec 11, 2025

My Role


Over the course of my study for BA (Hons) Animation and my prior BTEC study in TV and Film, I have begun to acquire skills that have pushed me to pursue a job in previs. I enjoy using cameras to compose shots, branching from my ever-growing love for photography and film. Pairing this with an expanding skill set in 3D animation, I can confidently say these factors have definitely outlined my desire to work as a previs artist in the industry.


The role will require me to use 3D software to plan and generate animated sequences to help plan scenes that take place across a range of industry mediums and sectors to visualise what the shots will look like before the final production takes place.



Job requirements:


  • Framestore, London (Full-time / Hybrid)

    • Their Previs Artist job listing that I found on their website details the skills they expect from someone looking to be employed with them. These skills consist of:

      • a strong sense of cinematic composition and lighting

      • character animation (timing and performance)

      • camera animation

      • knowledge of cinematic language and technical terminology

      • ability to work with motion and/or performance capture data

      • ability to take and interpret creative direction

      • adaptable and accepting of creative change throughout a project

      • understanding of shooting methodology and the capacity to apply it

      • understanding of the fundamentals of techvis and virtual production

      • ability to apply shooting methodology information to previs to create technical production solutions

      • ability to solve and design solutions to on-set needs and the ability to translate CG cameras and animation to apply to real-life situations.

    • Additional skills:

      • Motion Builder

      • Blender

      • Nuke

      • Houdini


  • Blue Zoo Productions, London (Part-time / Hybrid)

    • I found this job listing on LinkedIn after they'd closed applications, however I managed to find the job requirements on this listing:

      • strong skills in adapting storyboards into layout and camera animation

      • strong understanding of pacing and timing, with a keen eye for composition

      • understanding of real-world cameras and cinematography

      • advanced understanding of body mechanics, posing and getting the best performance possible out of a character

      • an advanced understanding of Maya

      • strong understanding of general filmmaking concepts

      • ability to receive and act on feedback and respond to direction

      • excellent time management and prioritising skills

      • demonstrable experience of being a team player and great collaborator

      • excellent creative problem solving skills

    • Additional skills:

      • Python or MEL script knowledge

      • good at drawing/additional creative skills (acting/dance)

      • experience working in Shotgun

      • experience working within children's TV animation

      • ability and drive to share your knowledge and skills with other team members


  • Lunar Animation, Sheffield

    • A friend of mine sent me a job listing from this studio based in Sheffield that outlines their expectations of a previs artist role:

      • creation of basic, proxy assets for 3D previs

      • translation of script breakdown into 3D previs

      • translation of storyboards and animatics into 3D previs

      • staging, blocking, and camera work in 3D layout

      • finessing cameras at the animation stage, where required

      • maintaining consistent quality, style, and continuity, both visually and technically throughout the project

      • excellent knowledge of Autodesk Maya

      • accomplished examples of previs and layout

      • a good sense of timing, rhythm, and most importantly, storytelling

      • Strong critical reasoning and emotional awareness within storytelling

      • an in-depth understanding of cinematography with a keen eye for composition

      • good communication skills and the ability to work interactively with production and other departments to solve challenges

      • experience and understanding of real-world cameras

      • experience working with Maya Trax and blending animation clip data

      • proven experience of working within a production team for at least 3 years

    • Additional skills:

      • experience directing productions

      • experience with maya camera sequencer



Studio Research


BlinkInk

  • Sector:

    • Primarily advertising, broadcast, and music videos

  • Target audience:

    • General markets (often youth-oriented) such as Fashion, Gaming, and Brand Campaigns.

  • Typical Pipeline / Workflow

    • Concept & Briefing: Client/agency briefs are interpreted into creative treatments.

    • Storyboards & Animatics: Rough visuals to plan shots and timing.

    • Previs & Layout: Simple 3D blocked versions if the piece has complex framing or mixed media.

    • Production: Hybrid workflows combining live action, 2D hand-drawn elements, stop motion, puppetry and CGI depending on the project.

    • Post: Compositing and editing tailored to broadcasting/web platforms.

  • Common Software / Tools

    • 3D: Maya, Blender, Cinema4D

    • Editing: Premiere or Avid for animatics and final edit


Studio AKA

  • Sector:

    • TV, broadcast & streaming

  • Target audience:

    • Children (2 - 5 years old)

  • Typical Pipeline / Workflow

    • Story & Concept Development: Narrative planning and design.

    • Storyboards & Animatics: Storyboards transition into 2D/3D animatics to refine timing and cameras.

    • Layout & Previs: Rough 2D/3D layouts that inform animation timing and shots.

    • Animation & Production: Stylised animation - predominantly 2D but can include CGI segments, especially for preschool programming and longer form.

    • Lighting, Compositing & Delivery: Polish and final rendering across platforms (broadcasting/streaming

  • Common Software / Tools

    • 2D: Toon Boom Harmony, TVPaint

    • 3D/Layout: Maya or Blender for layout/animatics

    • Editing: Avid or Premiere for cuts and animatics


Nexus Studios

  • Sector:

    • Global advertising and entertainment for immersive experiences.

  • Target audience:

    • Broad digital audiences, including campaign viewership, social sharing and increasingly XR/interactive audiences.

  • Typical Pipeline / Workflow

    • Creative Concept & Cross-Discipline Brainstorming: Concept art and treatment phase

    • Storybaords/Previs: 3D layout and interactive/real-time previs when needed.

    • Production: Crafting ads, filming content or immersive experiences.

    • Tech Integration: Real-time engines (Unreal/Unity) often used for interactive design; AI tools assist ideation.

  • Common Software / Tools

    • 3D: Maya, Blender, Houdini


Cinematography


For research into my role as a previs artist, my main source of research was analysing relevant films and TV shows for their use of cinematography. I looked at a variety of films to understand conventional shot types and compositions from genre-specific productions. This is an important research point when approaching a previs task, as certain cinematography elements require a set recipe to evoke the right meaning to the audience.


These elements of cinematography include attention to shot framing/composition, lighting and colour, staging and mise en scène.


When these elements are bundled together, a shot is generated. The quality of the shot depends on how well these elements work together to evoke the desired meaning in relation to the narrative that is being told. If any of these elements outbalance the others, the shot loses clarity and the audience can miss out on the intended impact.


For my previs tasks, I focused on researching these cinematography elements from a range of films and TV shows.



Psychological Horror



Hereditary (2018)


In this medium-close up shot, the angle of the subject in frame works well with lighting contrast. The lamp gives off warmth and stability while the darkness behind the subject gives off eeriness and discontent. Because we have the subject framed in the centre of the shot, having her looking in the direction of the warm lighting gives the viewer the idea that what the subject is looking at is harmless in contrast to what may be lurking behind her (whether there is something there, or not really).
In this medium-close up shot, the angle of the subject in frame works well with lighting contrast. The lamp gives off warmth and stability while the darkness behind the subject gives off eeriness and discontent. Because we have the subject framed in the centre of the shot, having her looking in the direction of the warm lighting gives the viewer the idea that what the subject is looking at is harmless in contrast to what may be lurking behind her (whether there is something there, or not really).
In this shot, the same principles are seen. However, this time the impact is different. The framing of this high angled medium shot has our subject in the centre of frame, with a lot more space in the room to observe, giving the impression that the character is vulnerable and alone. In comparison to the previous example, the lamp is almost cropped out of frame with the warm lighting barely illuminating the character. Instead, we have cold and bleached lighting from the moonlight illuminating the subject, with most of the shot being composed of dark space. The impact here is that the viewer's eye is deliberately focused on the smallest area of the screen with the most lighting, yet the framing subtly tells the viewer that there really may be something lurking in the darkness this time. This is effective staging, as it builds the anticipation and suspense for what the character is experiencing emotionally.
In this shot, the same principles are seen. However, this time the impact is different. The framing of this high angled medium shot has our subject in the centre of frame, with a lot more space in the room to observe, giving the impression that the character is vulnerable and alone. In comparison to the previous example, the lamp is almost cropped out of frame with the warm lighting barely illuminating the character. Instead, we have cold and bleached lighting from the moonlight illuminating the subject, with most of the shot being composed of dark space. The impact here is that the viewer's eye is deliberately focused on the smallest area of the screen with the most lighting, yet the framing subtly tells the viewer that there really may be something lurking in the darkness this time. This is effective staging, as it builds the anticipation and suspense for what the character is experiencing emotionally.
The use of lighting and colour in this close up shot works well to show the character's emotion and conviction. The dark tones behind him in parallel with the soft highlights on the side of his face work well to give the viewer an understanding of where the attention in the scene is. The washed colour palette also works successfully at giving the viewer an idea that the space he's in, and the clothes he's wearing, are all void of positive emotion. Also, the depth of field in this shot further accentuates the character's emotional state.
The use of lighting and colour in this close up shot works well to show the character's emotion and conviction. The dark tones behind him in parallel with the soft highlights on the side of his face work well to give the viewer an understanding of where the attention in the scene is. The washed colour palette also works successfully at giving the viewer an idea that the space he's in, and the clothes he's wearing, are all void of positive emotion. Also, the depth of field in this shot further accentuates the character's emotional state.

Heretic (2024)


In this shot, the camera is slowly dollying closer to the subject in frame, giving the viewer an obvious indication that there is another character watching the subject from behind as they near in on them. The lighting and colour of this shot works well at portraying the ominous undertones of the space the subject is in - the warm light emanating from the bulb in front of her highlights a path of safety, while the warped perspective of the walls surrounding her are lit in a gross, green-blue hue to suggest that the character needs to flee the space behind them.
In this shot, the camera is slowly dollying closer to the subject in frame, giving the viewer an obvious indication that there is another character watching the subject from behind as they near in on them. The lighting and colour of this shot works well at portraying the ominous undertones of the space the subject is in - the warm light emanating from the bulb in front of her highlights a path of safety, while the warped perspective of the walls surrounding her are lit in a gross, green-blue hue to suggest that the character needs to flee the space behind them.
I was drawn to this shot, as I wondered why framing the character's feet in a close-up could have any impact on the narrative. I realised after that this framing is working in tandem with an important minor beat in the story, omitting the focus from what the character is doing at eye-level to create suspense and anticipation for the next major story beat.
I was drawn to this shot, as I wondered why framing the character's feet in a close-up could have any impact on the narrative. I realised after that this framing is working in tandem with an important minor beat in the story, omitting the focus from what the character is doing at eye-level to create suspense and anticipation for the next major story beat.

Speed Racer (2008)

Since this is an action focused shot, the use of a quick-pan camera movement is effective at keeping the viewer's eye on the action. The framing also works at relaying information to the audience on where the car is coming from and where it will be ending up, which helps direct the viewer's eye.
Since this is an action focused shot, the use of a quick-pan camera movement is effective at keeping the viewer's eye on the action. The framing also works at relaying information to the audience on where the car is coming from and where it will be ending up, which helps direct the viewer's eye.

This shot uses a higher focal length which does well to show the distance between the camera and the subject. This technique is effective at giving the viewer an understanding of how far the car is from where it should be. The choice of having the shot framed behind the car as well implies that the audience will want to see where the car is going in a later shot - this is good staging as it builds anticipation.
This shot uses a higher focal length which does well to show the distance between the camera and the subject. This technique is effective at giving the viewer an understanding of how far the car is from where it should be. The choice of having the shot framed behind the car as well implies that the audience will want to see where the car is going in a later shot - this is good staging as it builds anticipation.
The use of colour in this shot does well to give appeal and meaning to the narrative. In the foreground, we can see the car bonnet with the character's branding marked in a bold red hue, and in the background we can see cars with contrasting blue, green and yellow colours. To the viewer, this shot tells them enough about how the character is divergent from the other drivers.
The use of colour in this shot does well to give appeal and meaning to the narrative. In the foreground, we can see the car bonnet with the character's branding marked in a bold red hue, and in the background we can see cars with contrasting blue, green and yellow colours. To the viewer, this shot tells them enough about how the character is divergent from the other drivers.

The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

This shot of one of the doors uses colour and lighting really well. The hues of the scene surrounding the door being kept washed and dull draws excessive focus on the bright red door in the centre of frame. The soft lighting hitting the door also does well to give the viewer suspense, as everything else in the shot is dark - so what could possible be behind this ominous bright red door that sticks out like a sore thumb?
This shot of one of the doors uses colour and lighting really well. The hues of the scene surrounding the door being kept washed and dull draws excessive focus on the bright red door in the centre of frame. The soft lighting hitting the door also does well to give the viewer suspense, as everything else in the shot is dark - so what could possible be behind this ominous bright red door that sticks out like a sore thumb?

AI


As I faced a time crunch due to hardware limitations in my software, and due to my awareness that my storyboarding skills are quite poor, I decided to improve my own workflow by experimenting with AI. Since the studios I'd researched require previs artists to be able to adapt storyboards into 3D previs, I asked it to generate a storyboard for my psychological horror. I fed ChatGPT a list of references to generate the storyboard, such as:

  • An image of my rig

  • A couple interior shots of the scene I had built in Blender

  • The main story beats I was trying to produce

I was quite happy with the storyboard it gave me, as it was quite readable and I could visualise the sequence in my head, however, it didn't follow my main story beats in order. The storyboard it gave me had thumbnails out of order with what I'd asked for, so I simply took the storyboard it gave me into MS Paint and rearranged the shots to fit the story I was trying to tell.



Bibliography


Nexus Studios (n.d.) *Nexus Studios – Wikipedia Entry*. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_Studios (Accessed: 21 October 2025)


Framestore (n.d.) ‘Previs Artist – Film / Episodic’. Framestore Careers. Available at: https://framestore.recruitee.com/o/previs-artist-film-episodic?lang=en (Accessed: 09 November 2025)


BlinkInk (n.d.) *BlinkInk – Homepage*. Available at: https://blinkink.co.uk/ (Accessed: 09 November 2025)


Studio AKA (n.d.) *About Us – Studio AKA*. Available at: https://studioaka.co.uk/about-us/ (Accessed: 09 November 2025)


Little Black Book (LBBOnline) (n.d.) *Getting to Know: Studio AKA*. Available at: https://lbbonline.com/news/getting-to-know-studio-aka (Accessed: 09 November 2025)


Luna R-Studio (n.d.) ‘Previs/Layout Artist’. Luna Animation Careers Page. Available at: https://lunaranimation.com/careers/previs-layout-artist (Accessed: 02 December 2025)


Lunar Animation (n.d.) *Studio Page*. Available at: https://lunaranimation.com/studio (Accessed: 02 December 2025)


Blue Zoo Productions (2025) ‘Previs Artist | Part-Time’. LinkedIn Job Posting. Available at: https://uk.linkedin.com/jobs/view/previs-artist-part-time-at-blue-zoo-animation-studio-4324927493 (Accessed: 06 December 2025)

 
 
 

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