Could game engine technology help change the world? Students at Toronto’s Humber College sure think so. From climate change to burnout in the healthcare industry, they aimed to draw attention to society’s most important issues with their virtual production short film program, Made In-Engine.A collaboration between the college’s Film & Multi-Platform Storytelling and Game Programming programs in the Faculty of Media and Creative Arts, the project aimed to show how more immersive storytelling technologies could make film a more powerful medium, transcending budgets to shed light on crucial topics.
The rules were simple: use Unreal Engine and Unreal Engine Marketplace assets to make a film focused on a powerful story or theme that’s relevant to the world around us. From development, writing, implementation in Unreal Engine, and finalizing in Adobe Premiere or After Effects, the creative process took a full 14-week semester.
“The project was the ideal solution to producing films during the pandemic and across two programs that had real-world impetus to collaborate at a time when Virtual Production is taking over the film industry,” said Dr. Eva Ziemsen, Professor of Film and project lead, who co-taught with Matthew Mazza, Instructor and industry expert in game engines who taught all aspects of Unreal Engine to the game students. “It was so clear our game students didn’t want to let the filmmakers down, so they threw everything that could into elevating the stories. You can see that on-screen, and in how they solved problems to get there. Everyone didn’t just walk away with a great portfolio piece, but a method for being successful out in the wider world,” said Dr. Umer Noor, Professor Game Programming Program.
Read on to see what can be achieved when you’re armed with Unreal Engine, a multidisciplinary team, and a compelling story.
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Source: Unreal Engine Blog