Why Pre-Visualisation is Crucial—and How Unreal Engine is Changing the Game

A Lwt Group Company

Before the First Frame: The Power of Pre-Visualisation

Imagine boarding a fighter jet at Mach speed—without a flight plan. No destination, no coordinates, just raw power. That’s exactly what filmmaking feels like without pre-visualisation. In today's high-stakes content landscape, where every second on set costs money, previs isn’t optional—it’s essential.

At Mach, we treat pre-visualisation as the runway that launches creativity. It’s the stage where bold concepts are tested, refined, and brought to life long before the camera rolls.

What Is Pre-Visualisation?

Pre-visualisation (previs) is the process of visualizing complex scenes before filming begins. Think of it as the storyboard’s evolved, dynamic cousin—complete with camera angles, lighting setups, motion, and even VFX simulations.

Whether it’s a car chase through narrow alleys or a spaceship emerging from warp speed, previs allows directors, DPs, VFX artists, and producers to align creatively and technically. It minimizes guesswork, reduces on-set delays, and gives everyone a shared creative blueprint.

Why Previs Matters More Than Ever

In the age of cinematic content across streaming, social media, and immersive XR platforms, timelines are shrinking—but expectations aren’t. Previs helps production teams:

- Save time and budget by avoiding costly mistakes on set.
- Test visual ideas and camera moves in a risk-free virtual space.
- Communicate vision clearly to clients, collaborators, and crew.
- Experiment boldly without burning through resources.
- Speed up post-production by aligning VFX and edit workflows early.

In short, it's not just about planning—it's about unlocking creativity while staying efficient.

Enter Unreal Engine: The Previs Powerhouse

What used to take weeks can now be visualized in hours—thanks to Unreal Engine.

Originally built for gaming, Unreal has evolved into a real-time rendering beast—perfectly suited for film and video pre-visualisation. At Mach, we use it to simulate entire scenes with lighting, weather, camera rigs, and digital doubles, all in-engine.

Here’s why Unreal Engine is revolutionizing previs:

- Real-Time Rendering: Make changes instantly. Need golden hour lighting at midnight? Done.
- Cinematic Camera Tools: Test dolly moves, crane shots, or even drone POVs virtually.
- Photoreal Environments: Drop your scene into a dense forest, a sci-fi city, or a beachside villa—all within minutes.
- Live Collaboration: Directors, clients, and VFX artists can all view the same scene in real time and make decisions on the fly.
- Seamless Integration: From previs to production, Unreal assets can flow into virtual production stages, post-VFX pipelines, and final renders.

For a studio like Mach, Unreal isn’t just a previs tool—it’s the cockpit of our creative jet.

How We Use Previs at Mach

At Mach, we specialize in chroma-based virtual production, and previs is the first thing we build for every project. Whether it’s a commercial, a film sequence, or a music video, we map the entire experience in Unreal Engine:

- We create 3D environments tailored to your script.
- Simulate camera movements and lighting setups.
- Pre-plan green screen keying and compositing layers.
- Align VFX shots in advance with Unreal’s real-time capabilities.

This means less chaos on shoot day and more control over the final output.

Final Thoughts: Previs is the New Production Standard

In a world obsessed with speed, quality, and scale, pre-visualisation is no longer a luxury—it’s the new production standard. And with tools like Unreal Engine, it’s more accessible, more powerful, and more exciting than ever.

So if you're dreaming big but want to stay on course—start with previs.

Ready for Takeoff?

Whether you’re an indie filmmaker, a creative agency, or a brand looking to push visual boundaries, Mach can help you previsualize your world before it’s built. Because great stories don’t just happen—they’re designed.

Let’s chart your flight plan.
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