The Third Floor London was tapped to previsualize multiple scenes in the new Tim Burton-directed film Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Twentieth Century Fox), based on the book of the same name. Previs supported the director and visual effects supervisor Frazer Churchill as story, camera and action were blocked for sequences involving creatures, time manipulation, floating, an underwater cruiseliner and other dramatic visuals.

Previs Supervisor Justin Summers recently shared eight particular thoughts about the project with Autodesk.

In no particular order they are:

2) Techvis helped on some sequences, too.
We did some technical schematics for the Viewing Platform, consisting of perspectives and top views to calculate camera distances. We also originally mapped out the action for the ‘Hollowgast’ invading the house, using animation with a couple of master cameras so production could see the geography of it. Eventually, we edited this, added some new shots, and shaped it into a sequence for Tim to look at.

5) Viewport 2.0 helped play up the shadows.
Viewport 2.0 enabled us to benefit from its shadow features and Maya’s depth of field and motion blur. We used it to help add a more cinematic quality to the previs renders.

8) We’re honored to work with such visual storytellers.
I thoroughly enjoyed the film and thought it really showed off Tim’s abilities as a great storyteller. I’m pleased that we got the chance to be involved in such a collaborative project because the whole team was incredible to work with, and they gave us a lot of space to help contribute to some of the pivotal scenes seen on screen in the film.

To read the rest, you’ll have to visit Autodesk.