Building the Film Before Shooting It: How We Used Unreal Engine to Previs The Eyes of Marge
Intro
When we started work on The Eyes of Marge — a psychological thriller short about an isolated social worker caught in an increasingly personal and disturbing case — we knew the biggest challenge was going to be time and money.
It was Lily Howkins' first short film as a director, and while we’d worked together before (she’d been a choreographer on a previous project I shot), this was a whole new collaboration for both of us.
Lily is incredibly precise — very Fincher-esque in her desire for control over tone, image, and atmosphere. And I love that. But we were working with a small budget, a tight schedule, and a lot of ambition.
So to bridge the gap between what we wanted and what we could afford — we turned to Unreal Engine.
Why Unreal?
I’d been playing around with 3D storyboarding and animatics for years — using Cinema 4D, Cinetracer, things like that — but I’d been meaning to dive deeper into Unreal Engine.
This project was the perfect opportunity.
At first, we thought we’d just use it for rough storyboards. But as I started building things out, it just made sense to take it further — into a kind of animated previs of the entire film.
The Process
It was just me building everything — over Christmas, in between learning new techniques and figuring out workflows.
We had Lily’s very detailed shot list, which I started translating into Unreal. We’d review scenes together over Zoom or I’d send her exports to get feedback.
Crucially, we’d already scanned our locations during the recce — so I didn’t have to build environments from scratch. I dressed them with Megascans assets, free marketplace props, and MetaHuman characters. (Though in hindsight, I wouldn’t animate them as much as I did — it’s not really necessary unless you’re doing something super specific.)
The whole process took maybe 2-3 days of solid work, with some extra time for learning on top.
What It Unlocked
For me, the two biggest wins were:
Blocking & Coverage — Knowing every shot was going to cut together, and understanding the geography of the scenes.
Lighting — Having the space and time to experiment with lighting ideas I wouldn’t have been able to try on set.
One example: in the kitchen scene, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to light it. Playing around in Unreal led me to the idea of using a streetlight outside the window — which became a key part of the final look. And because I’d tested it virtually, I knew we needed to order the kit and schedule time to make it happen.
In another scene, we needed a very specific lens to achieve a reveal Lily wanted. Unreal let us test the shot, figure out exactly what lens would work, and plan accordingly — which was crucial given, to save on budget, we didn’t have a full lens set to play with.
On Set Impact
One of the best things about this workflow was how well-prepared we were on set.
Lily and I barely had to talk between setups — we both knew the plan so well. We could focus on our own teams: she could work with the actors, I could handle camera and lighting — and we were making adjustments from a place of confidence, not guesswork.
It also really helped my gaffer, who knew what shots were coming up and could plan the lighting accordingly — making us much faster and more efficient.
Interestingly, I don’t think I ever actually looked at the previs on set. I knew it that well from building it.
Advice for Other Filmmakers
My advice to anyone thinking about using Unreal Engine for previs is: just start.
People assume previs is only useful for big action scenes — but honestly, two people in a room is one of the easiest things to block out in Unreal. And the value you’ll get from understanding blocking, coverage, and lighting ahead of time is huge.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. And it doesn’t have to be time-consuming. On another recent project, we quickly mocked up a few options for dressing and lighting a set — it took half an hour in Unreal, and helped us make a clear decision that stuck all the way through to the final shoot.
It’s a really useful tool — and one I keep in my toolbox on every project.