Animation and previs references
Motion previs defines who moves where, when they arrive and how the camera follows. Final generation must still produce natural acting, materials and lighting.
Create movement
- Put the timeline playhead at the action start and record the character's initial position keyframe.
- Move to another time, change position or orientation and record a keyframe; use path drawing where available.
- Check endpoints, route, arrival time and distance from others.
- Define the camera's starting and ending views and movement intent.
- Return to zero and preview the entire sequence, not just the endpoints.
Record and reference
After approving framing and pacing, record the previs, inspect it in the material list and add it as a video reference in the shot. Combine it with independent character and location images, and map colored models explicitly to character identities.
Coarse versus detailed previs
| Type | Preserve | Regenerate |
|---|---|---|
| Coarse greybox | Key positions, routes, action order and camera intent | Gait, turns, expressions, materials and environmental detail |
| Detailed model | Structure, action, spatial relationships, camera and cuts | Final characters, materials, colors, light and rendering style |
Simple geometry is often best for coarse spatial planning. Limbs, wings and other appendages help only when their motion is sufficiently complete; otherwise they can introduce rigid poses.
Natural performance
Shift gaze or body weight before starting; decelerate near the destination; settle before key dialogue; turn naturally through eyes, head, shoulders and feet. Keep breathing and blinking in stationary characters. Do not copy sliding feet, mechanical pauses or instant rotation frame by frame.
Preserve the camera's main path and composition with smooth acceleration and deceleration. Avoid abrupt zooming, teleportation or rigid target-locking merely to match the model.
Before generating
Remove or explicitly exclude paths, axes, controllers and camera guides. Verify color-to-character mapping, collisions, fixed architecture and props, and total reference duration. Approve the final action and dialogue through playback review, not from the previs alone.
Five kinds of temporal information
Beyond blocking, a previs reference can guide camera direction and speed, timing of light changes, cuts and compositions on either side, and dialogue or ambience timing. Specify what to inherit and what to regenerate, rather than simply asking to copy everything.
Map each coarse proxy to its character or prop. For detailed models, preserve structure and motion while replacing materials, color, characters and environment. See Director scene examples for adaptable complete prompts.