We create rough 3D animatics (previz) for game trailers and cutscenes. With 8 years in gamedev and previz for 40+ projects. Pre-visualization (according to Wikipedia) is a rough 3D render with proxy geometry, basic animations, and placed cameras. It's not final quality — just enough to make decisions. Previz exists so that the director, producer, and client see the piece in motion, with timecode and rhythm, before the team spends months on production. Revisions at the previz stage are 5–10x cheaper than at the final stage — proven on dozens of projects.
In game development, previz is especially important for trailers and cutscenes with non-trivial requirements: complex camera movements, many characters in frame, VFX effects in composition. Without previz, such scenes often require reshoots or expensive fixes at the final stage, increasing the budget by 30–50%.
How previz reduces production risks
Previz allows detecting issues with timing, composition, and scene consistency before the team invests resources into final assets. Typical situation: client sees the piece for the first time — and asks to move cameras. In previz, that takes hours, not days, and doesn't require redoing finished animation. We guarantee that after previz approval, there will be no surprises at final render.
What a rough 3D animatic consists of
Proxy geometry. Characters — basic meshes or capsule/box bodies with correct dimensions. Environment — blockout from primitives. The goal is not beauty, but accurate sizes and proportions: so the camera sees characters correctly, distances match the final scene. If game assets already exist, we use them directly in the previz scene. This speeds up the process and gives a more accurate result.
Basic animations. Not polished keyframes — rough animations enough to understand movement and timing. For characters, we often use mocap data from free libraries (Mixamo) or placeholders from game animations. The task is to show that a character walks, runs, attacks, reacts — without final polish.
Cameras. This is the most important part of previz. Each angle is created in Cinemachine (or equivalent in engine/3D package) with correct FOV, movement, and transition timing between cameras. It's the cameras in previz that are approved most thoroughly — they determine the final editing rhythm of the piece. More about Cinemachine in official documentation.
Audio scratch track. Rough music or sound design. Without audio, it's impossible to judge the editing rhythm — proven repeatedly: the same piece with music feels completely different. For previz, any suitable mood track from Creative Commons libraries works.
Why previz is critical for trailers
Trailers are the most expensive type of content in gamedev. A mistake in editing rhythm or a wrong angle can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Previz allows approving all key frames and camera movement within 1–2 weeks, ensuring the final piece looks exactly as intended. Our clients save up to 70% of the revision budget thanks to previz. To discuss your project and get pipeline consultation, contact us.
Tools and pipeline
In Unity: scene with proxy assets, Timeline for camera and animation control, Cinemachine Virtual Cameras, render via Unity Recorder to ProRes or H.264. This is a full in-engine previz — cameras and animations are later reused in the final production scene.
In 3ds Max / Maya / Blender: separate previz scene with its own pipeline, render via Eevee (Blender) or Viewport 2.0 (Maya) for speed. This is faster for standalone trailers rendered off-engine.
For quick camera movement previz — MotionBuilder or even standard cameras in Unreal Engine Sequencer (excellent tool for real-time previsualization).
What is approved at the previz stage
Previz is the point where key decisions are made. List of what must be approved:
- Number and timing of cameras (how many cuts, what pace)
- Type of movement for each camera (static / dolly / handheld)
- Overall runtime of the piece
- Key beat points: action peak, reveal, final frame
- Alignment with storyboard if storyboard was made earlier
Anything not approved at previz is approved during final production — but there it costs 5–10x more.
Iteration and handoff to production
After the first viewing, the team makes changes: move cameras, change timing, remove a frame, add a new angle. This is fast and cheap — proxy animations and rough cameras are revised in hours, not weeks.
After approval, the previz becomes the production bible for the piece: animators work based on timecodes from previz, the technical director knows where VFX effects are needed, the light artist knows where light should fall in key frames.
For in-engine production, the Unity Timeline with Cinemachine from previz is transferred to the production scene: cameras remain the same, animations are replaced with final ones. This saves time — no need to place cameras again.
What's included
- Creation of proxy geometry and scene blockout
- Camera placement with correct FOV and movement
- Rough character animations (mocap or hand-keyed)
- Audio scratch track
- 2–3 approval iterations
- Export to production bible (timecodes, frame descriptions)
- Engine source files (Unity/Unreal) for pipeline integration
| Scale | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Previz for short clip (30–60 seconds) | 3–7 days |
| Previz for trailer (90–180 seconds) | 1–2 weeks |
| Previz for long cutscene (3–5 minutes) | 2–4 weeks |
| Parameter | Previz | Final Render |
|---|---|---|
| Geometry | Proxy (box/capsule) | High-poly assets |
| Animations | Rough, no polish | Cleaned, adjusted |
| Lighting | Baked lightmaps placeholder | Full dynamic/static |
| Cost of revisions | 1x | 5–10x |
Ready to discuss your project? Contact us — we'll prepare previz in as little as 3 days. Get pipeline consultation and estimate budget savings.