Virtual Filmmaking with Unreal Engine 5

Virtual Filmmaking with Unreal Engine 5

by Hussin Khan
Released February 2024
Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
ISBN: 9781801813808

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Book description

Discover the power of storytelling with Unreal Engine 5's real-time technology, exploring storyboarding, character creation, world building, animating using sequencers and much more with the help of an Unreal Authorized Instructor

Key Features

  • Harness Unreal Engine’s real-time technology to create limitless, high-fidelity content
  • Generate and animate near-photorealistic actors using the innovative MetaHuman technology
  • Build expansive worlds with Nanite and Lumen Global Illumination and Reflections technology
  • Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

Virtual Filmmaking with Unreal Engine 5 is the first Unreal Engine book to guide you through the complete process of virtual film production. Encompassing the full spectrum of filmmaking, this book demonstrates the use of an industry-standard tool used by studios such as Disney, ILM, DNEG, and Framestore.

Walking through the process systematically, you’ll first collect references and create a simple storyboard to plan your shots. Then you'll begin to create virtual environments, importing 3D models and adding materials and textures to create photorealistic, dynamic worlds. After that, you’ll learn how to create actors using highly customizable MetaHumans, understanding how to import, re-target, and animate them. Finally, you’ll bring it all together with cinematic lighting and camera animation before exporting your film.

By the end of this book, you’ll have honed your skills, discovered new tools for your toolkit, and gained the confidence to work on your virtual film projects in Unreal Engine 5, leveraging Quixel Megascans, Lumen, Nanite, and MetaHuman technology.

What you will learn

  • Grasp the principles of photography and the art of storytelling
  • Collect references and create storyboards
  • Discover Unreal Engine's hidden features and useful keyboard shortcuts
  • Explore the capabilities of Quixel Megascans, Lumen, Nanite, and MetaHumans
  • Adopt cinematic techniques to achieve professional-looking shots
  • Creatively apply Lumen Global Illumination and Reflections techniques
  • Use multiple virtual cameras and apply post-production techniques
  • Implement best practices for optimization, post processing, and rendering

Who this book is for

Whether you’re a beginner or intermediate filmmaker, 3D artist, animator, visual effects artist, or virtual production professional with just basic knowledge of the Unreal Engine, this book is designed to help you enter the world of virtual films and animations. While prior experience with the Unreal Engine would be beneficial, a deep working knowledge is not essential, as the book introduces the relevant tools and features needed throughout the activities.

Table of contents

  1. Virtual Filmmaking with Unreal Engine 5
  2. Foreword
  3. Contributors
  4. About the author
  5. About the reviewer
  6. Preface
    1. Who this book is for
    2. What this book covers
    3. To get the most out of this book
    4. Download the project files
    5. Conventions used
    6. Get in touch
    7. Share Your Thoughts
    8. Download a free PDF copy of this book
  7. Part 1:Pre-Production: Project Development and Gathering Resources
  8. Chapter 1: Getting Started with Unreal Engine
    1. Technical requirements
    2. What is Unreal Engine?
    3. Creating an Epic Games account
    4. Downloading and installing Unreal Engine 5
    5. Launching Unreal Engine 5
    6. Exploring the Unreal Engine user interface
    7. Navigating the Viewport
    8. Transforming objects
    9. Summary
  9. Chapter 2: Understanding the Principles of Photography, Film Cameras, and Lenses
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Filmmaking history 101
    3. Understanding camera lenses and camera features
    4. Understanding key camera properties
    5. Understanding camera angles and camera moves
      1. Camera angles
      2. Camera moves
    6. Setting up cameras in Unreal Engine 5
      1. Opening the project
      2. Setting up the UI and navigating the Level
      3. Creating bookmarks
      4. Creating your first camera
    7. Summary
  10. Chapter 3: Understanding the Art of Storytelling and Creating Your Storyboard
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Learning the universal patterns of narratives
      1. The hero’s journey
      2. The quest
      3. Overcoming the monster
      4. Rags to riches
      5. Tragedy
      6. Comedy
    3. Implementing the three-act structure of storytelling
    4. Collecting ideas and references for a short film
    5. Creating your storyboard
      1. Developing a storyboard
      2. Our narrative and storyboard
    6. Summary
  11. Part 2: Production: Creating the Environment
  12. Chapter 4: Importing 3D Objects and Creating Levels
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Understanding Unreal Engine terminology
    3. Reviewing our film’s shot list and structure
    4. Creating the Unreal Engine project
    5. Importing Marketplace projects
    6. Organizing the Outliner
    7. Removing Lightmaps
    8. Creating Levels
    9. Adding Bookmarks
    10. Importing 3D objects
    11. Building the space scene
      1. Creating an empty Level
      2. Creating the planet
      3. Creating the moon
      4. Creating the stars
      5. Positioning and adding Materials to the Earth and Moon
      6. Adding the spaceship
    12. Summary
  13. Chapter 5: Creating Environments with Quixel Megascans
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Understanding compositions
      1. Build only what you see
    3. Getting started with Quixel Bridge
    4. Downloading and using Megascans assets
    5. Creating the landscape environment
      1. Creating a landscape using free asset packs
      2. Adding rocks
      3. Adding trees
      4. Adding mountains
      5. Setting the space shuttle landing area
      6. Setting up the final shot
    6. Summary
  14. Chapter 6: Creating and Applying Materials to 3D Meshes
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Understanding Materials and Textures
      1. Understanding Materials
      2. Understanding Textures
      3. Understanding PBR Materials
    3. Creating Master Materials and Material Instances
      1. Creating plastic, rubber, and metal Master Materials
      2. Creating and using Material Instances
    4. Working with Materials with image-based Textures
    5. Applying Materials to scenes
      1. Downloading Material packs from the Unreal Engine Marketplace
      2. Applying Materials to the cryo-pod
      3. Adding photorealistic Materials to the Earth object
      4. Adding the clouds
      5. Adding the atmosphere Material
    6. Summary
  15. Part 3: Production: Adding and Animating Characters
  16. Chapter 7: Creating Actors with Unreal Engine MetaHumans
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Getting started with MetaHuman Creator
    3. Using MetaHuman Creator
      1. Understanding the MHC interface
      2. Reviewing the Face controls
      3. Reviewing the hair controls
      4. Reviewing the body controls
      5. Creating our MetaHumans
    4. Downloading and importing your Metahumans
    5. Summary
  17. Chapter 8: Retargeting the MetaHumans for Unreal Engine 5
    1. Technical requirements
    2. What is character rigging?
    3. What is an IK Rig?
    4. Downloading and importing Mixamo mocap files
      1. Downloading a mocap file from Mixamo
      2. Importing the character file into UE
      3. Importing the mocap file into Unreal Engine
    5. Creating an IK Rig in Unreal Engine 5
    6. Creating an IK Retargeter for a UE5 Mannequin
    7. Creating an IK Retargeter for MetaHumans
    8. Testing the animation
    9. Summary
  18. Chapter 9: Adding Animations and Facial Expressions to Your MetaHuman Characters
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Recapping the storyboard
    3. Adding pre-made animations in the Level Sequencer
      1. Exploring Unreal Engine’s Level Sequencer
      2. Migrating assets from another project
      3. Adding MetaHumans to the Level Sequencer
      4. Adding the walk animations
    4. Using Unreal Engine’s FK Control Rig
      1. Creating the final shot
      2. Adding an idle animation
      3. Adding the FK Control Rig and an Additive layer
    5. Using Unreal Engine’s Facial Control Rig
    6. Summary
  19. Part 4: Production: Shooting the Scene
  20. Chapter 10: Adding and Animating Virtual Cameras Using the Level Sequencer
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Creating individual shots using the Level Sequencer
    3. Creating the sequences
    4. Managing multiple Levels
    5. Assembling the Master Sequence
    6. Animating the virtual cameras
      1. Animating the first sequence
      2. Animating the second sequence
      3. Animating the last sequence
    7. Summary
  21. Chapter 11: Enhancing Set Dressing, Retiming Shots, and Adding Niagara Particles
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Identifying missing set dressing elements
    3. Adding set dressing elements to each shot
      1. Shot_01 – Adding a HUD that turns on to indicate a habitable planet has been found
      2. Shot_02 – Animating the camera focus settings for a DOF effect
      3. Shot_03 – Adding cryo-pod smoke effects to mimic a cold environment
      4. Shot_04 – Adding a holographic HUD indicating the space shuttle is launching
      5. Shot_05 – Adding a jet trail to the launching space shuttle
      6. Shot_06 – Adding animals in the foreground and a flock of birds flying in the distance
      7. Shot_07 – Slowing down the shot and adding smoke and debris particle effects to the landing space shuttle
    4. Creating Niagara particles
    5. Summary
  22. Chapter 12: Setting the Mood with Lighting and Adding Post-Processing Effects
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Looking for lighting references
    3. Understanding lighting in Unreal Engine 5
      1. Lighting terminology
      2. Rendering and shading terms
      3. Different light types
      4. Lighting tools
      5. Common lighting properties
    4. Setting the mood with lighting
      1. Illuminating the spaceship console area
      2. Changing the Cryo-Pod area light color
      3. Adjusting the planet atmospherics
    5. Adding Post Process effects
      1. Adding the Bloom effect
      2. Adding the Chromatic Aberration effect
      3. Adding the Dirt Mask effect
      4. Adding the Lens Flares effect
      5. Adding the Vignette effect
      6. Adding the Color Grading effect
      7. Film (tone mapper)
      8. Adding the Film Grain effect
    6. Summary
  23. Part 5: Post-Production: Adding Post-Processing Effects and Music
  24. Chapter 13: Exploring Color Management, Additional Camera Settings, and Rendering Your Shots
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Understanding color management
      1. Color spaces
      2. Color management workflow in Unreal Engine 5
    3. Exploring additional Unreal Engine camera properties
      1. Lookat Tracking Settings
      2. Filmback (Sensor Size)
      3. Film Overlays
      4. Lens Settings
      5. Focus Settings
    4. Setting up Movie Render Queue
      1. Why should we use image sequences?
      2. Enabling Movie Render Queue
      3. Opening Movie Render Queue
      4. Configuring Movie Render Queue
    5. Rendering your final shots
      1. Setting up the OCIO configuration file
      2. Setting up Movie Render Queue
    6. Summary
  25. Chapter 14: Adding Sound and Finalizing Your Virtual Film
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Setting up DaVinci Resolve for ACES Color Workflow
    3. Importing rendered image sequences
    4. Reviewing the DaVinci Resolve interface
    5. Exploring color correction and color grading
      1. Reviewing the color page
      2. Color-correcting shots
      3. Downloading free LUTs
      4. Color grading with LUTs
      5. Generating your own LUTs
    6. Adding music and sound effects
      1. Importing music and sound effects
      2. Adding audio files to the timeline
      3. Adding end titles
    7. Exporting your film
    8. Summary
  26. Appendix: Creating Material IDs Using Blender
    1. Technical requirements
    2. Understanding Material IDs
    3. Getting to know the Blender interface
    4. Importing the cryo-pod 3D object
    5. Defining surfaces for Material ID application
    6. Exporting to FBX
  27. Index
    1. Why subscribe?
  28. Other Books You May Enjoy
    1. Packt is searching for authors like you.
    2. Share Your Thoughts
    3. Download a free PDF copy of this book

Product information

  • Title: Virtual Filmmaking with Unreal Engine 5
  • Author(s): Hussin Khan
  • Release date: February 2024
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781801813808