02 / NETFLIX ANIMATION
BUILDING THE SYSTEMS BEHIND PREVIS
How I build the production structures, cross-functional relationships, and evolving workflows that help Previs teams do their best creative work.
ROLE
Production Supervisor · Previs Supervisor
EXPERIENCE
Multiple animated feature productions
FOCUS
Creative Production · Pipeline Strategy · Cross-Functional Operations · Production Leadership
THE CHALLENGE
Previs doesn't work in isolation.
Previs sits at the intersection of creative exploration and production reality. The creative work may center on cameras, environments, assets, and storytelling in 3D - but the work depends on decisions and information moving between Story, Art, Editorial, leadership, and downstream partners.
That means the production challenge isn't only keeping shots moving.
It's creating enough clarity around what Previs needs, when it needs it, how creative feedback should happen, and what downstream teams need in return.
STORY + ART + EDITORIAL + PREVIS + DOWNSTREAM PARTNERS → ONE CONNECTED WORKFLOW
MY APPROACH
Build the structure around the creative process - not over it.
Every production has approached Previs a little differently, so I've learned not to assume the workflow is already defined.
I work closely with creative and production partners to understand dependencies, clarify handoffs, establish review rhythms, surface risks early, and adapt the process as the needs of the production evolve.
UNDERSTAND → ALIGN → DEFINE → TEST → ADAPT
The goal is enough structure for people to know how work moves — without getting in the way of creative exploration.
01 - MAKING THE PROCESS VISIBLE
Creating a shared language around Previs.
On one production, key creative partners were relatively new to working with Previs and didn't yet have a shared understanding of where it fit into the filmmaking process.
Rather than expecting everyone to learn the workflow through trial and error, I partnered with my department leadership to make the process easier to understand.
We developed a visual Previs process flow, gathered examples showing the progression from boards into 3D, and created clearer context around what the team was exploring at each stage of review.
That context carried into the meetings themselves: what phase the work was in, what creative questions we were trying to answer, and what kind of feedback would be most useful.
Over time, Previs became a space where creative leadership could comfortably test ideas, explore cameras, and evaluate work in 3D before sending it further downstream.
02 - ADAPTING WHEN THE WORKFLOW CHANGES
Protect the goal, not the process.
On another production, the established Previs review process changed. Dedicated Director reviews were no longer part of the workflow, and work instead needed to move through Editorial.
Rather than trying to preserve the old process, I worked to understand what the new approach was solving and what Previs still needed in order to be successful.
I partnered across Previs, Editorial, and production leadership to clarify the new review path, maintain useful creative context, and make the transition workable for the people involved.
The mechanics changed. The goal didn't: get the right work in front of the right people with enough context to make a decision.
03 - DEFINING THE HANDOFFS
Turning cross-functional dependencies into something the teams can use.
A lot of production friction doesn't happen inside a department. It happens between departments.
Across productions, I've worked with partners to clarify what information and materials Previs needs upstream, what Editorial needs from Previs, and what downstream teams and vendors need when work moves forward.
That can mean defining deliverables, mapping dependencies, establishing sequence-launch requirements, or creating simple workflow diagrams that make ownership and timing visible.
UPSTREAM INPUTS → PREVIS → EDITORIAL / DOWNSTREAM HANDOFFS
The goal isn't a perfect diagram. It's fewer surprises once the work is already moving.
04 - PLANNING FOR CREATIVE CHANGE
When the creative ambition changes, the production plan has to change with it.
On one production, the original plan called for roughly 40% of the work to move through Previs internally, with the remaining work following a different path downstream.
As the Director saw what the team could accomplish in Previs, the creative ambition grew — and the request increased to roughly 60%.
That wasn't simply a scheduling change. It affected team capacity, overtime, budget, and the overall production timeline.
I partnered with department leadership to scenario-plan multiple paths forward: maintaining the same team and schedule with increased overtime, extending the timeline, or finding a middle ground.
We ultimately shaped a plan that supported the increased creative scope while balancing its impact on schedule and budget.
For me, that was an important shift from tracking the plan to helping shape it.
THE TAKEAWAY
Good production systems create room for creative work.
My approach to Previs has evolved from managing schedules and deliverables to thinking more broadly about the environment the work needs in order to succeed.
Sometimes that means a clearer review process. Sometimes it's defining a handoff between departments, mapping a dependency, planning around a scope change, or helping creative partners understand how and when to engage with the work.
The common thread is making complexity easier to navigate - so artists and creative leadership can spend more of their energy on the work itself.