Prevu — Usage

Installation

To enable the plugin, add it to your project's .uproject file under the Plugins array:

{
  "Name": "Prevu",
  "Enabled": true
}

Then open the editor, go to Edit > Plugins, search for "Prevu", and ensure it is checked. Restart the editor when prompted.

The plugin depends on the engine's built-in Takes plugin (TakesCore + TakeRecorder). Ensure it is enabled before opening Prevu.

Opening Prevu

Once the plugin is enabled, open the main Prevu panel from:

Window > Prevu

The panel docks as a standard editor tab. You can float it, dock it beside the Content Browser, or embed it in a custom editor layout.

The panel consists of three regions:

Creating Your First Project

When you open Prevu with no existing project, the panel shows an empty state. Use the toolbar buttons to build the hierarchy top-down:

1. Click New Act in the toolbar. A new Act appears in the hierarchy panel. Double-click to rename it (for example, "Act 1").
2. With the Act selected, click New Scene. Rename the scene to match your location or story beat.
3. With the Scene selected, click New Shot. Rename the shot (for example, "Shot 01 — Establishing Wide").
4. The new shot appears in both the hierarchy panel and the board view as an empty thumbnail placeholder.

Repeat for every shot in your production. You do not need to assemble sequences until you are ready to use them in Sequencer.

Working in the Hierarchy Panel

The hierarchy panel (SPrevuHierarchy) shows the full Act → Scene → Shot → Step tree. Standard interactions:

• Expand / collapse an act or scene by clicking the disclosure arrow.
• Select any node to populate the shot inspector on the right and highlight the corresponding thumbnail in the board view.
• Rename any node by double-clicking its label.
• Reorder shots within a scene by dragging them up or down in the tree.
• Add a Step by selecting a shot and clicking New Step in the inspector panel's steps list. Steps appear as sub-items under the shot in the hierarchy.
• Delete any node by right-clicking and choosing Remove.

Capturing Thumbnails

Thumbnails are captured using a SceneCapture2D component positioned to match the active camera in the level.

Per-shot capture:

1. Select the shot in the hierarchy or board view.
2. Position your camera in the viewport to the desired framing.
3. In the shot inspector, click Capture Thumbnail.
4. The thumbnail updates in the board view immediately.

Batch capture:

1. In the toolbar, open the Export/Capture menu.
2. Choose Capture All Thumbnails to iterate every shot in the project, or Capture Scene to capture only the selected scene's shots.
3. Prevu will step through each shot in sequence. Ensure the relevant level is open and cameras are placed before running a batch capture.

Thumbnail images are stored at paths recorded on each FPrevuShot and referenced by the storyboard export system.

Taking Level Snapshots

A Level Snapshot records the state of the current level and associates it with a specific Step under a shot. Snapshots let you save multiple layout or blocking variants non-destructively and restore any of them later.

Taking a snapshot:

1. Arrange actors in the level to the desired state for this step.
2. In the hierarchy panel, select or create the Step you want to record.
3. In the shot inspector's steps list, click Take Snapshot next to the step.
4. Prevu calls PrevuSnapshotManager::TakeSnapshot, which writes a Level Snapshot asset and stores its reference on FPrevuStep.

Restoring a snapshot:

1. Select the Step in the hierarchy or inspector.
2. Click Restore next to the step.
3. PrevuSnapshotManager::RestoreSnapshot applies the snapshot using PrevuRestoreFilter, which limits the restore to only the actors and properties that Prevu manages. Other level content is unaffected.

Assembling the Master Sequence

Assembling is the explicit step that creates or rebuilds the actual Level Sequence assets from the Prevu data model. You must assemble before using the master sequence in Sequencer, before rendering via Continuity, or before passing it to any other downstream tool.

When to assemble:

• After creating or reordering shots
• After changing shot durations
• After any structural change to the hierarchy

The toolbar's Assemble button tints amber whenever the data model has changed since the last assemble. This is your signal that sequences are stale.

How to assemble:

1. Click the Assemble button in the toolbar (amber when stale, normal color when up to date).
2. Prevu's PrevuSequencerBridge::AssembleMasterSequence runs. It constructs the full Master → Act → Scene → Shot Level Sequence nesting, converting shot durations from display frames to tick resolution using DisplayToTick.
3. When complete, the amber tint clears and all Level Sequence assets reflect the current data model.

Inspecting a Shot

Select any shot in the hierarchy or board view to populate the inspector panel (SPrevuShotInspector) on the right.

Exporting a Storyboard

Prevu supports three export formats. Open the export dialog from the Export button in the toolbar.

PNG storyboard sheet:

Exports a flat image compositing all shot thumbnails with frame numbers, shot names, duration, and notes. Use this for printing, sharing via email, or embedding in a production PDF.

HTML storyboard sheet:

Exports a self-contained HTML file with the same content as the PNG sheet. The file has no external dependencies and can be opened in any browser. Useful for sharing with collaborators who do not have Unreal installed.

.prevu JSON bundle:

Exports the entire UPrevuProject data model as a JSON file with the .prevu extension. The bundle includes all acts, scenes, shots, steps, metadata, notes, tags, and relative asset references. It can be checked into version control, shared without Unreal, and re-imported into any Prevu installation via the Import toolbar button.