Real-time 3D graphics have brought a major transformation in nearly every industry — from healthcare, architecture, real estate, and media to military training. These 3D rendering tools are quite popular in the filmmaking industry. In fact, the tools offered by Unreal Engine have made it possible for video creators and game makers to use 3D graphics in animation movies.
If you are also considering a career in filmmaking, media, and gaming worlds, here’s all you need to know about the real-time 3D rendering tools of Unreal Engine. Sign up for the Unreal Engine Course and get a chance to use the same tools and platforms used for the making of ILM’s Mandalorian. In the meantime, read on to learn more about Unreal Engine and its virtual production.
Virtual Production in Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine has enabled filmmakers to use VR and AR to combine computer-generated images with the pictures captured on sets to make editing, and planning, easier. Gone are the days when the filmmakers would leave major tasks to the post-production team. Tools like Unreal Engine greatly reduce the overall burden of production.
Unreal Engine can be used in virtual production, an innovative idea that can make shooting and video-editing/post-processing a breeze for the makers. The platform has revolutionized the way people edited footage captured on sets. In fact, it has made it possible for the production team to develop scenes virtually. Put it this way, the tools allow you to create scenes before people arrive on the sets. This footage can be assessed for quality and combined with real-time real-life shooting.
Using this 3D rendering platform for filmmaking can prove quite helpful for artists looking for ways to innovate. In the past, various props and pieces had to be physically constructed and redone numerous times before the look was satisfactory enough to be finalized. Now, virtual sets drastically minimize the cost of finalizing how a set should look. In a matter of seconds, it may now be iterated upon, saving both time and money. Virtual production isn’t only for filmmakers. But, it allows actors to get a clear picture of what the finished product will look like. This will help them evaluate their acting skills and give a performance that’s in line with the planned production.
Production of Mandalorian with Unreal Engine
In the past few years, Unreal Engine has served as an ideal platform for video games and movies. Unreal Engine has brought an unimaginable transformation in the production industry. They have also started game programming courses and concept art courses to help students learn 3D art production techniques.
The graphics and cinematography in Mandalorian were excellent. The team used Unreal Engine to produce 3D environments. It allowed them to display the series and characters on a large LED screen. It helped the makers capture nearly everything on the sets on screen. The tool also improved the performances of each actor, as they got some context to deliver a better performance.
How Does it Work?
Developing art assets using Unreal Engine provides your team with a clear vision of the final product. Unreal Engine is not like other 3D Rendering tools. It is a more comprehensive platform that offers a suite of tools, allowing people to create new digital worlds. You can use these tools to plan the final product, giving directors, producers, and even actors, a better understanding of real-world physics. The producers can develop high-quality visuals. Once you get familiar with the working of Unreal Engine, you can save yourself and your team the time of reshooting or spending hours editing the scenes.
Suppose you are working on a scene that involves a nice background for displaying on a giant LED screen. The scene needs a river, mountains, trees, and animals. Instead of having to wait for the team to arrive on set so you can plan the background, Unreal Engine allows the production team to create a background whenever they have time. They can build trees, rivers, mountains, and other components that are to be displayed on the wall using Unreal Engine’s virtual production tools. These serve as digital assets, for use in a particular scene or in any scene in the movie. You can also use these digital assets for other movies, given that they are stored properly. The tool comes in handy when you need to produce fast while keeping the graphics clean and accurate simplifying the production process.
Unreal Engine: The Next-gen Technology for Artists
Unreal Engine and Virtual Production is a rapidly evolving platform. They keep introducing new tools to make the platform as effective for producers as possible. The evolving technology has made animation production a whole lot easier for filmmakers.
As mentioned before, Unreal Engine allows developers to build 3D environments. You can use larger files and up to 12k textures. The tool provides artists with an extensive range of tools and visual libraries within the Unreal Engine interface. This makes it easier for developers to deploy the right tool to make their images as detailed and clear as possible.
How to Use Unreal’s Virtual Production?
This Unreal’s next-gen 3D technology has opened up a world of possibilities. For the optimal use of Virtual Production, you must familiar with the right set of tools to back up your data. For example, Version Control does a wonderful job at managing your digital assets. So, you can use them throughout the movie or for other purposes. The tool also enables you to store and share large files with your remote teams.
You can use Unreal Engine’s Virtual Production with many third-party tools to ensure seamless designing and development of the art. You need these tools to not only store large files but manage a large number of iterations. Film studios can now deploy the digital assets they have already created on the Unreal Engine interface to speed up the production process. The end results are much, much better than traditional filmmaking techniques. Since you get better control over the filming process, you can edit and change the output however you like.
