How previsualisation helped me direct, edit and act in my own film

I’m not the kind of director who sketches out shots on a napkin or carries around a Moleskine full of thumbnails. I’m not an artist – I can’t draw. But I’ve always been someone who needs to see the movie in my head before I can confidently step onto a set.

When I started prepping my latest film, Mooch – a 91-minute noir comedy (very) loosely based on my own experience as an emo-kid-turned-golf-caddy – I knew the biggest challenge wasn’t just making the film.

It was making it while juggling multiple roles: director, actor, editor, sometimes producer. I needed a way to keep the whole machine moving, without being chained to constant walkthroughs, verbal briefs, or scattered notes. (If you want to get into video editing, see the best video editing software.)

The film in my head

I’ve always been a visual thinker. Before I write a scene, I picture it. Before I direct it, I try to play it out in my head, moment by moment. And when I’m also in front of the camera, that internal clarity becomes even more essential, because the second we roll, there’s no time for indecision.

That’s where previsualisation became a game-changer for me – not as a luxury, but as a survival tactic.

At first, I approached previs as a kind of sandbox. I used it to build rough versions of our main locations – starting with the country club that anchors Mooch’s story – and just played around with blocking, movement, and space. I wasn’t trying to replicate a finished shot list. I was trying to find the rhythm of each scene. The goal wasn’t perfection – it was alignment.

And once I realised I could share those scenes with my DoP, Kenneth Wales, and we could both walk through them together, it clicked. We weren’t just planning. We were speaking the same language, days or even weeks before stepping on set.

Less guessing, more guiding

Prepping like this gave me something priceless: trust. Trust in the plan, trust in the crew, and trust that if I stepped into a scene as an actor, the rest of the team knew the shot, the tone, the tempo.

Because Mooch wasn’t a simple shoot. Some days we had 40 or 50 setups. Other days we were building full environments from scratch. And in the middle of it all, I had to move fluidly between directing and performing.

The more we could agree on in advance – camera position, lighting angles, even edit points – the more room I had to actually focus on the work in front of the camera.

I’m not precious about sticking to the plan. If we find something better on set, I’m all for it. But having that plan in place makes it easier to improvise, not harder. It becomes a reference point, not a set of handcuffs.

Building the movie before we shot it

The tool I kept returning to throughout prep was Previs Pro. It didn’t just help me visualise the film – it helped me build it. Early on, I started using it just to sketch out basic blocking and angles. But as the prep deepened, it became the backbone of how I planned Mooch.

I imported LiDAR scans of key locations – like the country club locker room where a pivotal heist scene takes place – and used them as accurate digital stand-ins for the sets.

That accuracy made a huge difference. When you’re both directing and acting, you don’t always have time to re-orient yourself spatially on the day. Having a 3D version of the space that I could revisit, tweak, and walk through virtually gave me clarity.

I used prop assets from Sketchfab to dress the environment quickly – lockers, benches, golf bags, anything that could help me get the feel of the scene. The ability to group, move, and manipulate these elements easily was crucial, especially when I needed to communicate my ideas quickly to other departments. I could mock up a dolly move, test out a long take, or even see how a wide lens might distort the space.

These weren’t polished animations – they were working diagrams for the way I wanted the movie to feel. And as an editor, I found it incredibly helpful to start 'pre-cutting' the film this way – seeing how scenes could rhythmically unfold, even before we rolled a frame of actual footage.

Lighting was another area where Previs Pro made a huge impact. Kenneth Wales, my DP (this was our second feature together), and I would sit with the previsualised scenes and walk through the coverage beat by beat.

We could show our gaffer exactly where practicals and key lights might live based on the intended blocking, and we’d often light an entire day’s worth of shots in the morning thanks to this groundwork.

When time is tight – and it always is – being able to move that efficiently without sacrificing the look is everything.

What surprised me most wasn’t just how much time it saved, but how it helped the whole crew stay aligned. I could hand the script supervisor a previs scene and she could double-check continuity without waiting for me to wrap a take. It allowed me to offload parts of my vision to others with more clarity and confidence, freeing me up to focus on what only I could do: act, direct, and hold the bigger picture in my head.

Prepping for the edit before the shoot

I’m also the kind of filmmaker who edits in his head while shooting. I can’t help it. I’m always thinking about the cut – how one shot flows into the next, where the rhythm lands, what the scene feels like when it’s finally stitched together.

Using previs to map those transitions before we even rolled the camera meant I could already start visualising the edit. For scenes with complex geography – like our locker room sequence, where the main character steals from members’ wallets – this helped us avoid coverage traps and made the eventual assembly that much faster.

It wasn’t just about seeing the space. It was about understanding how the story moved through it.

Collaborating across the crew

One unexpected benefit of storyboarding more thoroughly was how it changed the way I communicated with departments.

Instead of explaining every shot over and over, I could show the team what we were aiming for. Our script supervisor loved having access to the previs – she could sit by the monitor and track continuity without needing to pull me away from a take.

Our gaffer used it to pre-light entire spaces in the morning, saving us from resetting every time we changed coverage.

Even the assistant directors and extras coordinators leaned on it. For a scene like the concert sequence, where we only had 75 extras but needed it to feel like a few hundred, previs helped us walk through the space and plan the framing accordingly. No need for VFX wizardry – just smart angles and creative blocking.

Flexibility within the frame

Of course, previs isn’t perfect. You have to know when to step away from it. There were moments on Mooch where the plan just didn’t hold up in the real world. A location looked different. An actor made a bold choice. A dolly track couldn’t go where I wanted it to.

But that’s part of the process. Previs isn’t about locking yourself in. It’s about freeing yourself from unnecessary decisions on the day. If the big-picture plan is solid, you can adapt the details.

And as a director who believes in collaboration – who wants my DoP to bring his eye, my actors to bring their instincts, and my crew to bring their expertise – previs lets me give everyone a starting point without dictating the destination.

Tools, not crutches

The tech side of previs is evolving fast. We used LiDAR scans and 3D prop libraries to map out spaces. Some of that was overkill, especially on a tight schedule. But what mattered most wasn’t the tools – it was the intention.

Whether you’re using software, sketches, or Lego figurines on a cardboard set, what you’re really doing is building a conversation. You’re translating what’s in your head into something others can react to.

And when you’re juggling multiple roles, that translation becomes crucial. Previs didn’t make Mooch easy – but it made it possible.

Advice to filmmakers who feel overwhelmed

If you’re a younger director or cinematographer just starting out, I’d say this: storyboarding isn’t about being an artist. It’s about being prepared. It’s about giving your team a fighting chance to understand what you’re aiming for, even when the day gets loud and fast and unpredictable.

Don’t wait until you’re on set to make your decisions. Make as many of them as you can beforehand. That way, the ones you do make on the fly can be thoughtful, not panicked.

The storyboards won’t win you awards. No one sees them but you and your team. But they will help you make better movies – especially when everything else is stacked against you.

For more on making a film, see how to make an indie film on a budget and tips from top filmmakers.