I was scared of Unreal… so I made a film with it
By School of Motion
Published: Aug 14, 2024
True Story: A year ago, director/animator Aharon Rabinowitz had never touched Unreal Engine. Then he took our 6-hour course Unreal Engine for 3D Artists, with Jonathan Winbush, and kicked off his Unreal journey. 365 days later he completed Metal Heart, an animated short film.
In this video, follow Aharon on his journey in creating Metal Heart using Unreal Engine and After Effects. He’ll walk you through the motion capture workflow, creating VFX, color grading, motion design, sound design and much more. Packed with a bunch of mini tutorials full of useful tips and tricks in both Unreal Engine and After Effects, you won’t want to miss this!
BUT FIRST make sure you watch the film! https://youtu.be/U26xwhN3Twk
Plus – Learn how you can win over $4,500 in tools and training at: schoolofmotion.com/metalheart
PRIZES INCLUDE:
School of Motion All-Access Pass ($1,200) – One year of access to every course we offer!Maxon One ($1,199) – A one-year subscription that gives you access to Cinema 4D, Red Giant Complete, Universe, Z-Brush and more!
VDB Bundle from The Pixel Lab ($1,299) – over 1,100 professional fire, smoke, fog, mist, cloud, tornado, portal, dry ice, explosions and smoke plume elements
Artlist Max ($480) – A one-year subscription packed with music, sound FX, AI voice-over, footage, video templates, and more!
Re:Vision Effects: ReelSmart Motion Blur for AE/PPro ($110) – The industry standard tool for adding realistic motion blur to your video.
Unreal Experience Bundle from The Pixel Lab ($349) – Over 1,550 professional metal, wood, stone, rock, brick, terrain and landscape textures for Unreal to level up your game!
The Unreal 3D environment of your choice from Vasiliy Poryagin ($250) – Pick from one of his kickass Unreal Marketplace assets, including the set we used for this short film.
CHAPTERS:
Intro 00:00:00
Why Create The Short Film in Unreal? 00:00:38
Using Motion Capture Files in Unreal 00:02:45
Root Motion Animation 00:03:55
Control Rig Layers 00:05:09
Volumetric Effects 00:07:29
Projecting The U.I. onto The Helmet Glass 00:09:37
Camera Movement 00:12:55
Motion Blur 00:15:48
Depth of Field 00:16:40
Rendering 00:19:34
Color Grading 00:21:36
Titles 00:24:30
Music & Sound Design 00:25:17SCHOOL OF MOTION COURSES:
Unreal Engine for 3D Artists: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/courses/unreal-engine-for-3d-artists
After Effects Kickstart: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/courses/after-effects-kickstart
Animation Bootcamp: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/courses/animation-bootcamp
Cinema 4D Basecamp: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/courses/cinema-4d-basecamp
Cinema 4D Ascent: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/courses/cinema-4d-ascent
Expression Session: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/courses/expression-sessionUSEFUL LINKS:
Tutorial: Save a UV Guide out of C4D: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnmRzPPpzFA
Tutorial: Fire and Explosions in Unreal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaxGwDmNodQ
Tutorial: Motion Design Animators in Unreal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG64FfF0Jdw
Tutorial: MoCap Workflow for Unreal: Coming Soon!
The Pixel Lab VDBs: https://www.thepixellab.net/vdb
Heat Distortion for Unreal Engine: https://www.thepixellab.net/heat-distortion-vfx-unreal
Unreal Materials for Motion Graphics: https://www.thepixellab.net/unreal-materials-for-motion-graphics
Unreal Environments by Vasliliy Poryagin: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/profile/VasiliyPoryagin?count=20&sortBy=effectiveDate&sortDir=DESC&start=0