The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian

The Third Floor Previs Studio was tapped to design three major sequences for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Director Andrew Adamson trusted the Previs Team to stage the action and propose alternative shot ideas. This collaboration served to expand the scope of sequences like the End Battle. Previs shots were refined iteratively inside Maya to hone in on the strongest possible sequence.

For example, the cavalry charge was enhanced after the Previs Team showed how the Narnians could use underground caves to set a trap from below the battlefield. Without the ability to explore the possibilities in previs, directors limit their options on set and in post. Towards the end of the battle sequence, The Third Floor was responsible for making the trees come to life, literally. These shots were taken to a higher level of polish in order to define the tree motion more concretely. Everything that was worked out ahead of production, empowered the director to shoot more specific plates that would work relatively seamlessly with the final visual effects. This was one of the goals of the previs that was done for the Rivergod sequence; when Aslan calls upon the forces of nature to defeat the retreating soldiers. The Rivergod’s performance is pivotal to the scene, so every camera angle had to be previsualized in advance.

The Rivergod sequence was shot based on the conceptual previs, and then readdressed via postvis. Postvis is a visual effects process that involves comping the original previs animations and assets into the live-action plates. The Rivergod postvis helped to prove that the sequence was going to work in post. It was used for test screenings and as a bidding tool for final visual effects. All of this was accomplished in Maya from start to finish. Maya scene files were handed off from Previs to Postvis and ultimately to the final visual effects vendors.