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It’s taken three decades for the practice of using real time
computer graphics engines to create cinema. Now there are those hailing it as the
future of film production.
Originally introduced as Machinima and used by CG artists to
animate short films around video games like Quake and Doom, game
engines have rocketed into professional production. From being used to render a
few scenes in films like Rogue One, whole films and episodic series
are now being commissioned in which real-time game engine renderers are
integral to the virtual production.
Virtual production stages replace chroma-keying with green
screens for LED backdrops, which give actors a fighting chance to deliver
better performances by actually seeing their environment.
Other benefits include the ability for cinematographers to
light actors and the set on the virtual stage using the LED wall itself as a
cue. This delivers a fidelity and dynamism to the image that was lacking in previous
artificial sets.
Disney’s The Mandalorian was among the
first projects to harness the power of this new game engine technology and
successfully apply it to the world of filmmaking in what VFX partner ILM called
The Volume.
Speaking to Deadline, series 1 DP Greig Fraser ACS ASC
said, “We have full control of the light, we’re not spending all that time
trying to cut the sun, or trying to diffuse it, or trying to add negative fill.
On the practical side, we’re able to move faster. But even more importantly, on
an emotional side, we’re able to build the world that we’re wanting to in
advance, knowing that we’re going to have an extended period of that particular
controlled light.”
Now Epic Games has released the latest version of its games
engine, Unreal Engine. In a series of video testimonials reported by the ProVideo
Coalition, filmmakers including the Russo brothers (Avengers: Endgame) talk up
the huge benefits as they see them.
Anthony Russo, said: “One of the things that excites us most
is the fact that we can do in-camera choreography where all the elements of the
frame are actually in concert with one another and organically working on one
another to create a more visceral experience.”
Advances in Unreal 4.27 seem chiefly designed to speed up
the whole process and provide greater synchronicity between all the moving
parts of the virtual soundstage from camera tracking to renderer to LED
playback.
In another video, Kim Libreri, Epic Games’ CTO says “what’s
driving us right now is the ability for filmmakers to get what they want in the
moment and not be beholden to some external process that takes away the control
and their creativity whilst they’re actually making their movie.”
For example, one of the new tools is GPU Lightmass (GPULM),
a light-baking solution that precomputes complex light interactions from lights
and stores that data in lightmap textures that are applied to scene geometry.
The tool runs entirely on the GPU, “which has been a game
changer,” explains Jonathan Litt, senior product manager at Epic Games. “Where
previously turnaround times might have been a matter of days or even longer,
we’re aiming for turnaround times of minutes. We want you to be able to run
these operations on set with interactive feedback as you’re changing the
lighting.”
Color consistency through the virtual pipeline has also been
addressed with a OCIO color management tool and there’s a new tool called Switchboard
to ensure that every single one of the devices you see running the LED wall is
able to remain in sync.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Epic Games and Unreal
dominate this entire field. Hurlbut Academy highlights that not only
is HBO’s Westworld using “Unreal Engine and ILM’s StageCraft
technology for its third season,” but that Epic Games is investing in 45 movie
and short film projects to be developed with the Unreal Engine.
It will begin first with an animated feature film
about Gilgamesh in conjunction with animations studios like Hook Up,
DuermeVela, and FilmSharks.
What neither Hurlbut nor ProVideo point out is that ILM has
developed a custom “cinematic render engine” called Helios, which it used to
create Season 2 of The Mandalorian and many other of its projects.
“Engineered from the ground up with film and television
production in mind, Helios offers incredible performance, high fidelity
real-time ray tracing, the ability to rip through scenes of unparalleled
complexity, all while leveraging ILM’s unrivaled color science, and was
designed from the start to work seamlessly with ILM StageCraft,” ILM
states. “The purpose-built, production-hardened platform allows filmmakers to
explore new ideas, communicate concepts, and execute shots in a collaborative
and flexible production environment.”
As analyst Matthew Ball points out, Disney (which
owns ILM, of course) is doing this to regain control over the intellectual
property it can build and own in the Metaverse — a space in which Epic Games is
both partner and keen rival (this is also a reason why Epic is investing in
original content).
Arguably far more interesting than the technology per se and
something only briefly glanced at in Hurlbut’s article is what becomes of the
future of content when games and film storytelling forms merge. It’s a
trajectory that seems inevitable, is certainly inspiring, but about which we
are really only skirting the outer edges.
Here’s Hurlbut: “With the emergence of the Unreal Engine in
filmmaking, the line between gaming and movies continues to become increasingly
obscured. It has unveiled a new interactive way to interface with
entertainment.”
The Russo brothers might be the ones to watch if interactive
content is to take a giant leap forward. Through their branded entertainment
company Bullitt, they have explored several VR/AR concepts and are also
consultants to automotive XR experience developer Holoride.
Speaking about games engines and virtual production,
director Joe Russo says it feels “like we’re moving from filmmaking 1.0,
jumping to filmmaking 5.0 — and I don’t see any other path forward that is
nearly as exciting, compelling, or freeing for artists as this path.”
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