On April 30, the DGA Special Projects Committee presented the sixth installment in its “Directing for Professionals” series with Visualize This! Mastering the Art of Storyboarding & Pre-vis. The series is designed to keep members up-to-date on developments in the industry and deepen their understanding of their craft. Workshops and seminars on various film and television related topics are offered throughout the year.

Following an introduction by DGA Past President/Special Projects Directing for Pro subcommittee chair Gene Reynolds (M*A*S*H, Lou Grant), members in the Los Angeles Headquarters Boardroom heard experts in storyboarding and Pre-vis explain how these methodologies can help directors and their teams to visualize the story, communicate effectively and explore options before shooting.

The seminar featured Director and Persistence of Vision Pre-vis Services founder David Dozoretz, who showed how Pre-vis technology can be used for both low-budget and big-budget productions to enhance creative and budgetary flexibility on the set; and storyboard artist Marcie Begleiter, author of From Word to Image: Storyboarding and the Filmmaking Process, who demonstrated the essential storyboarding techniques. Directing for Pros subcommittee co-chair Arthur Seidelman (By Dawn’s Early Light; Magnum P.I.) served as moderator of the conversation.

The last portion of the seminar was devoted to a Q&A so audience members could ask questions about these tools.