Dreamworks has started to move into the deeper waters of moving the pipeline into a more interactive space. In live action film, pre-viz is becoming more and more accepted as a tool throughout the creative process and for some productions, it is quickly taking over the role of storyboards. Pre-Viz is also powerful tool for problem solving and brainstorming. There are more and more instances of pre-viz shots being handed off to effects animation for finaling, although the practice is not yet common place.

In feature animation however, the role of pre-viz is still being defined. The tasks accomplished in pre-viz have traditionally been the domain of the layout department and storyboarders. Pre-viz has typically picked up from storyboards and been a means to generate early reels for hand off to animation. Dreamworks' D-viz concept is to use pre-visualization as a problem solving tool early in the production process, as an integration to the traditional layouts stage. They're calling it D-viz for design visualization. The idea is to move modeling, surfacing, lighting and blocked animation into the pre-visualization tool set so that the the creative process unfolds in an integrated virtual world.

It's very exciting watch these ideas and concepts become mainstream.

For more, VFX World's series on pre-visualization continues with an insightful piece on Dreamworks' D-Viz.