63 TECHFEED Game Engines
o longer confined to consoles, game engines now provide the basis for most broadcast virtual set systems and are tearing down barriers to virtual filmmaking and photorealistic mixed reality. “Game engine technology is one of the driving forces that will make mixed- reality experiences ubiquitous in media production, and eventually in our daily lives in general,” says Marcus Blom Brodersen, CEO of mixed-reality software company The Future Group. “They provide the tools needed to bridge the gap between our digital and physical lives by allowing us to turn enormous amounts of data into beautiful and intuitive images and audio in real time.”
“It’s been interesting to see the blurring of the lines between traditional production and game development,” says John Canning, executive producer of new media and experiential at Digital Domain. “Brands want VFX in new places and on smaller and smaller screens, which means Digital Domain, as a ‘traditional’ VFX company, is getting more requests for real-time solutions. Game engines are an essential piece of this.” There are many game engines, but two big players will be familiar to the broadcast and entertainment sector. Unity – from Unity Technologies – powers games on mobile, console and desktop PC, as well as AR and VR content. Unreal Engine (UE) from Epic Games is not only behind such games as Fortnite, but has also seen a lot of deployment in virtual studios and augmented reality. “At Digital Domain, being able to leverage Epic’s UE4 in our production pipeline creates serious efficiencies, as we
can apply it to more processes every year,” explains Canning. “From creating virtual scouting tools such as photogrammetry and lidar information of a physical site, to leveraging that content into previs, production (such as LED/in-camera visuals) and, later, post. The game engine is becoming more of a standard for our artists, replacing some traditional VFX tools. So much so, we’ve been able to produce full game cinematics in-engine.” SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED However, before you attempt to just fire up UE or Unity and create Avengers: Endgame in your bedroom, think again. “It’s not like you can bring any old crap in and then Unreal makes it look sexy,” says Dan May, co-owner and VFX art director at Painting Practice, an award- winning design studio that has been using game engines for previs and production planning in series like Black Mirror and His Dark Materials . “You can make assets,
IT’S BEEN INTERESTING TO SEE THE BLURRING OF THE LINES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL PRODUCTION AND GAME DEVELOPMENT
VIRTUAL REALITY Tech company On-Set Facilities (OSF) and the Arri System Group have teamed up to build virtual production studios. (Photo by Asa Bailey)
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