Great interview found here @ AnimWatch with Nick Walker, Head of Layout on Shrek the Third.

A few quotes that caught my eye:

“We're figuring out what is in the film. We're figuring out what the shots are going to be that are going to get carried through to the rest of the process. We're actually building those shots.”
“It winds up becoming very much a blueprint for the whole film.”
“But then, the other element of Layout, which is a little less obvious to the world outside of it, is that Layout winds up becoming this really kind of central hub to the whole process.”


I am a real believer in the “blueprint” analogy and always look to other industries that employ the “Design->Build->Assemble” process for creating "products".

Think what the iPod might have looked like if it was designed with the same process that was used to manufacture the units.