This week, we explored two important aspects of Unreal Engine 5: Virtual Production and Sequencer, both of which play a key role in creating high-quality cinematic content.
1. Virtual Production
Virtual Production (VP) combines the physical and digital worlds, allowing real-time interaction with virtual environments. It uses tools like Sequencer, VCam, and Take Recorder for smarter recording and enables real-time editing and VR-based scene scouting. Everything from recording to editing and post-production can be done directly within Unreal Engine, streamlining the entire workflow.
2. Sequencer
Sequencer is Unreal Engine’s non-linear editing tool used for creating, editing, and managing cinematic sequences. It supports workflows like master scenes with multiple cameras, nested sequences for non-linear editing, and collaborative editing for large teams. Sequencer makes it easy to create both film-quality cinematics and in-game cutscenes.
3. Translating Film Concepts into Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine recreates traditional filmmaking elements in a virtual setting. Stages, sets, and props are built as levels and sub-levels, while cameras and lights work like their real-world counterparts. Dynamic effects are achieved using tools like Niagara, making the transition from physical to digital production simple and effective.
In the second week of our exploration of Unreal Engine 5 (UE5), we delved into UE5
1. Lighting and Environmental Improvements
UE5 introduces tools like the Environmental Light Mixer, Directional Light, and Volumetric Clouds. These features allow developers to create realistic lighting setups and control environmental effects efficiently.
2. Quixel Bridge Integration
Quixel Bridge allows easy import of assets directly into UE5 using drag-and-drop. It supports textures, 3D models, and characters, including MetaHumans, making asset integration fast and straightforward.
3. Nanite Virtualized Geometry
Nanite improves handling high-polygon 3D models by automatically managing detail levels (LOD) and reducing rendering overhead. This is especially useful for creating complex, highly detailed scenes.
4. Lumen for Dynamic GI and Reflections
Lumen provides tools for real-time global illumination and reflections. Developers can control lighting effects such as mesh distance fields and hardware ray tracing for more realistic visual results.
5. Virtual Shadow Maps
UE5’s virtual shadow maps offer dynamic, real-time shadow rendering that works well across different scales. This replaces older shadowing techniques, improving both quality and workflow efficiency.
6. Advanced Modeling and UV Tools
With built-in modeling tools, UE5 allows users to edit, adjust, and create 3D meshes without relying on external software. The updated UV tools also make texturing more precise and convenient.
7. Worldbuilding Innovations
Features like World Partition and Level Instances help manage large scenes by organizing assets into sections. Data Layers allow for testing variations in design without duplicating content.
The idea behind this mechanical heart was to combine the look of industrial machinery with the form of a human heart. It represents the cold and oppressive nature of a city. Inside the heart, there are pipes, gears, and various mechanical parts. Each of these elements symbolizes the pressure and restrictions that the city places on individuals. This heart is not only the city’s power source but also a symbol of its emotionless and mechanical operation. The goal of the texturing process was to express this feeling of coldness and oppression visually.
To achieve an industrial look, I used dark gray and black as the base colors. The metal texture was created with a combination of shiny and rough areas. This contrast made the surface feel more realistic, showing how light reflects off polished parts while worn-out areas stay dull. Scratches, rust, and dirt were added to make the heart look aged and heavily used, as if it had been operating under pressure for a long time. These small details made the heart feel more grounded and believable as part of a tough industrial environment.
The glowing red parts of the heart added a sense of technology and life. The cracks and joints emitted a red light, representing the energy flowing through the heart. This also created a strong contrast with the dark base, making the heart look more striking. The glowing effect was made using an emissive texture, with a gradient that fades outward, giving the impression that energy is leaking from inside. The red glow not only emphasized the technological aspect but also added a cold and dangerous feeling, which fit well with the oppressive theme.
For the pipes and gears, I used the same metallic textures as the main body but added small adjustments. The pipes were given a slightly greasy and dirty look to show their connection to the heart’s inner workings. The gears were textured to feel heavy and solid, with a shiny surface to show their strength and durability. These details helped make the structure of the heart more believable and added more layers to the design without making it feel too chaotic.
In this project, I designed and built a “mechanical heart” as the core power source of a dark, industrial city. This heart isn’t just a machine; it’s the “pulse” of the world, symbolizing a cold and controlling force. Here’s a breakdown of my modeling process and design ideas.
Concept
The idea for the mechanical heart combines industrial machinery with the form of a human heart. I wanted it to convey a sense of coldness and oppression. The heart is filled with pipes, gears, and various structural parts, each symbolizing the pressure and confinement the city imposes on individuals. This heart is not only the city’s power source but also a representation of its unfeeling operation.
Process
For modeling in Blender, I started with basic shapes like cylinders and spheres. Then, I used Boolean operations to merge, cut, and layer different shapes, gradually forming the heart’s main structure. This approach made it possible to create a complex, layered look that feels both compact and detailed, capturing the industrial style I was going for.
After building the main structure, I added various pipes and connectors around the heart. These details make the mechanical heart feel more realistic and three-dimensional. Every pipe, gear, and part is carefully placed to show that this machine is not only complex but also vital to the city, as if each component plays a role in maintaining the city’s cold, relentless pulse.
To bring the mechanical heart to life, I added a skeletal structure to the model, which allows for easier animation. By adding bones, I can control specific parts of the heart and create subtle movements, making it appear as if it’s “pulsing” or “breathing” in a mechanical way.
The finished mechanical heart has a complex, industrial look. Every detail symbolizes the city’s control and oppression. It beats at the core of the city, representing the loss of humanity in this world. Through this model, I want to express a sense of “anti-human” coldness, making the viewer feel the loneliness and helplessness the main character experiences in this environment.
In this project, I created a dark, fantasy-inspired city. The main character arrives by bus to this rainy, gloomy place, where the streets feel empty and cold. I want to give the audience a sense of isolation and heaviness. This city feels both real and dreamlike, like it’s a surreal space that reflects the main character’s inner world.
In this fantasy world, I added a giant keyboard and screen on purpose. These oversized objects aren’t random; they symbolize the influence of technology on life and add a surreal feeling to the scene. This design choice makes the city feel familiar yet strange, like the main character could be in a dream or a virtual world.
The design of Bus stop
In the main character’s journey, the bus stop represents a short moment of pause, like a place where he can take a breath while searching for hope and direction in this dark world.
The bus stop has a cool, gray tone that matches the gloomy city style, but I added subtle lighting to give it a touch of warmth. In the constant rain, the bus stop is the only shelter, symbolizing a fragile but important place of safety. The never-ending rain brings a sense of pressure, making the brief shelter at the bus stop feel even more valuable.
Next to the bus stop, I added some old items that match the city’s worn-out style, like an old bicycle, a broken advertising board, and damaged trash cans. These details make the bus stop look a bit rundown, representing the decay and loneliness of the city. The bus sign shows blurred, dreamlike routes, hinting at the uncertainty and mystery of this world.
Creation Process: Techniques for the Rainy Atmosphere
To create the rainy atmosphere, I set up a dynamic weather system that makes rain fall and reflect across the scene. The ground looks wet and slippery, and I carefully adjusted the lighting to highlight the gloomy, rainy weather. The goal is to make the audience feel like they’re really in this constantly wet, dark city, making the atmosphere more immersive.
Character in the Scene
In this gray city, the main character wears a bright yellow raincoat, making him stand out. Yellow is the only bright color in the scene, symbolizing hope and warmth, and it reflects the character’s inner strength. This strong contrast draws the audience’s attention to the character and uses color to show a positive feeling, suggesting that he is holding onto himself in this heavy, oppressive world.
At the start of everything, I want to share a small, seemingly unimportant news story.
Since the end of May, Pixar has laid off about 14% of its staff. Most of the work was already done, but this move has planted seeds of worry among both current and former employees. The unfairness of these layoffs has angered those who worked hard during tough times to make films, making the situation feel even more heartless and ironic.
While working on a movie about mental health, many employees found that their health insurance was canceled, along with their mental health benefits. A former employee remarked, “It’s sad that, while telling stories about mental health, we’re being stripped of basic health coverage.” In the face of such a human crisis, what does box office success really mean?
The OVERWORK
The modern work environment is increasingly taking away people’s time and energy, making it hard for them to truly be themselves. The recent layoffs after Inside Out 2 is a clear example, shedding light on the working conditions in the animation industry and other creative fields. Animators often have to work long hours during production, putting in far more effort than a normal workload, only to face unemployment when the project ends or market demand changes. This “high effort, low reward” model not only makes them feel insecure in their careers but also causes their personal lives to be consumed by work, leaving little time to pursue personal interests or enjoy life.
This situation reflects a wider social issue: a culture that puts work above everything is eating into people’s personal lives and sense of identity. Whether in creative industries or other high-pressure jobs, many people are feeling their work hours getting longer, with less time for rest and freedom. Because of the heavy focus on career success and performance, people are forced to spend most of their time and energy on work, even giving up time with family, hobbies, or just simple rest. As work pressure keeps growing, individuals slowly lose the moments that are truly their own, making life feel repetitive and dull.
NO FUN!
Self Losing is a direct result of this problem. In reality, more and more people are losing their sense of personal identity due to overwork, no longer able to pursue their true dreams or interests. Whether in the animation industry or other fields, the overemphasis on work efficiency and output leads people to achieve their career goals at the cost of self-fulfillment. Work becomes not just the main part of life, but sometimes the only part. In my work, the main character gradually loses their sense of self, with endless tasks and job responsibilities taking over, leaving no space to return to what they truly love.
By reflecting this real-life struggle, I hope my work can inspire viewers to rethink the balance between work and life. In this work-driven world, have we sacrificed too much? Have we become lost in the endless cycle of overtime and tasks, forgetting the true meaning of life? This issue isn’t just limited to the animation industry. Many workers in other fields face the same challenge: they spend so much time and energy chasing career success, but have no time to be their true selves. This reality mirrors the story in my work, aiming to get the audience to reflect and reconsider their own lifestyles, and to find a balance between work and self.
My story
In my animation, I want to represent a person’s self and inner world in a visual way. The self is shown as a playful child, while the inner world is a colorless, rainy, fog-covered gray city. The child will pull the switch on the city’s heart, shutting it off. The child is wearing a bright yellow raincoat, becoming the only color in the lifeless gray city. The child represents the purest part of ourselves—the part that longs for freedom, play, and creativity. The yellow raincoat not only symbolizes hope and energy but also has a sense of fragility, suggesting the weak presence of the self in an oppressive environment. The contrast between the child and the raincoat highlights how the inner self still struggles to resist, despite the pressures of work and the demands of real life.
The rainy city symbolizes the inner world, worn down by work and stress. The constant drizzle is a sign of pressure and difficulties, creating a sense of coldness and heaviness. The rain is both a physical trap and an emotional burden, making the city feel colder and harder to breathe in. The gray tone of the city conveys feelings of emptiness, monotony, and oppression, reflecting how people feel after too much work and overtime: lifeless, colorless, and mechanical.
The city’s heart is the core of this oppressive world, representing the external forces that control the inner self. It symbolizes work, or more specifically, the culture of overwork and stress. The heart controls every part of the city, keeping the dull and lifeless order in place, dictating the rhythm of the inner world. It runs on an electric switch, hinting that the inner self is driven by external forces, losing its own vitality and independence.
When the child pulls the switch, this action is a strong symbol of breaking away from external pressure. The switch controls the entire city, and shutting it off means breaking the chains and stopping the endless cycle of stress. This symbolizes that only by cutting off these external forces can a person begin to reclaim peace and color in their inner world.
Character
In the animation, the child in the yellow raincoat is one of the few bright spots in this world, a ray of light cutting through the dark city. This character is mainly inspired by Little Nightmares.
The City
A tired, gray city where it never stops raining, with only the rumble of a mechanical heart.
The Machine Heart
The source of all exhaustion and fatigue—now, let your past self decide. It’s time to take a break.
Conclusion
This is a story about overwork and self-rescue. It explores the conflict between the pressures of modern work and the inner self’s need for freedom, creativity, and rest. Through the journey of a child, who represents the pure self, the story shows the struggle to escape endless pressure and the dull, mechanical world. The message is clear: only by taking back control and cutting off outside pressures can people find inner peace and rediscover their inner energy.
In this blog I will discuss in detail the research and concept design of my assignment. I will record the evolution and iteration of my ideas from the initial design.
First Stroy: Visual impact brought by the giant hand and the size difference
The initial inspiration came from a giant hand that stretched out from the ground. This hand came from a buried, dying giant. In my initial setting, this giant symbolized an ancient, forgotten power, and he stretched out his hand before dying, like a last struggle or a call for help. However, when the giant died, people did not regard him as a miracle, but began to build a tripod on this giant hand to conduct research, trying to understand the origin and power of the giant.
I started from the size difference between the giant hand and humans and conceived the giant hand as the core visual element of the story. Visually, the huge size of the giant hand represents an irresistible force, like a powerful existence that has revived from nature or history. This contrast not only brings shock, but also conveys a sense of powerlessness between the individual and the huge force, which is an emotion that modern humans often experience when facing a force beyond themselves (such as nature, fate, and technology).
The design of the giant hand is not only huge, but also reflects the traces of time in the details, as if it has awakened from an ancient civilization buried deep underground, with rough skin, clear cracks, thick nails, and every texture of the palm is like a river across time.
In order to highlight the contrast between the giant hand and humans, this difference can be strengthened through scene design. Humans may walk beside the giant hand like ants, build tripods, and move back and forth between the huge fingers, forming a sense of powerlessness of humans in the face of powerful forces. The giant hand seems to be everywhere, overwhelmingly dominating the entire scene.
I even wonder if the scene design can be more religious, like the interaction between man and God in Sistine Chapel ceiling.
The initial conception mainly revolved around human ignorance and exploration of natural forces. The giant symbolizes the ancient, primitive natural power, and the scientific research conducted by humans after his death symbolizes the exploitation and control of nature and unknown things in modern society. Although the visual effect is unique and the connotation of the story is relatively profound, I feel that the conflict between the scene and the theme is not clear enough.
Second Stroy: A warning from the ocean
The inspiration of the story comes from the sea pollution. The environment of the sea was damaged a lot by human, oil spills and plastic pollution had become serious problems. This story shows nature’s attack against human – a giant hand stretches out from the bottom of the sea and destroys the oil tanker, representing nature’s awakening and revenge.
In this story, a giant hand rises from the sea and destroys an oil tanker. It’s no longer something humans study, but a force of nature striking back. This attack shows that after years of damage, nature is finally waking up. The ocean, once a home for life, is being weakened by pollution and overdevelopment. When the giant hand emerges and smashes the ship, it feels like revenge for the sea creatures harmed by oil spills, plastic waste, and industrial dumping. It’s not just destruction, but a warning from nature: if humans keep ignoring environmental problems, there will be consequences.
A video about Hand VS Ship
Although the second story has a deeper meaning, it lacks dynamic elements and story progression. The scene where the giant hand destroys the oil tanker is visually striking and symbolic, but as the main focus of the animation, it may not hold the audience’s attention for long. There isn’t enough action or variation to keep the narrative engaging and interesting.
Third Stroy: Overwork
In the final story, I shifted the focus from the big theme of humans and nature to something more personal that almost everyone faces: overtime work. The giant hand is still there, but it’s no longer the main focus. The real main character is the playful and innocent child that lives in all of us. The giant hand now represents endless overtime and work pressure, symbolizing the forces in modern society that weigh us down.
The true main character is the playful, innocent child that lives inside everyone. This child symbolizes the purity and longing for freedom that we all carry within us. Wearing a raincoat, the child wanders through a city filled with giant hands and overtime notices, surrounded by cold skyscrapers and massive mechanical structures. Under the gaze of tired, watchful eyes, the child finally reaches a huge mechanical heart, which powers the entire city and represents the source of all its oppression. Without hesitation, the child pulls the lever, shutting down the heart. The city falls silent.
This animation manages to keep the content rich without requiring overly complex animations. It focuses more on building an immersive atmosphere within the scenes, which allows for deeper emotional resonance with the audience. By emphasizing the mood and symbolism, rather than intricate motion, it creates a powerful connection, making it easier for viewers to relate to the story’s themes of work pressure and the inner desire for freedom.
Further exploration of the content, including detailed discussions on scene concepts and character design, will be covered in the next blog post. This will dive deeper into the visual and thematic choices, giving a more comprehensive look at how these elements contribute to the overall atmosphere and storytelling of the animation.
