Remember Lenny

Writing online

You are here: Home / Archives for 2020

Archives for 2020

The Unreal Engine in film production

by

Unreal engine used to shoot the Mandalorian using large LED screens synced with cameras

The film industry is an opaque producer of quality entertainment, which I have over-consumed in the past four months. Given the nature of how software and the internet has affected everything else I touch, I was curious how the entertainment industry has changed in recent years.

To learn more, I spoke with a few friends and acquaintances in the post-production side of video to better understand how the industry is changing. My thoughts were that software has changed the coordination costs around huge productions, but most of the tech innovation has been around media distribution (ie. streaming). From what I gleaned, there hasn’t been as much dramatic shifts in shooting a regular TV show or movie, as the majority of the film industry is executing on a complicated production cycle. That being said, there are a few areas that I found really interesting.

Specifically, I was surprised how much the Unreal Engine is being used.

One major change that I heard repeatedly mentioned was the impact of improving hardware capacity today, as compared to 5 or 10 years ago. The increasing speed and capacity of new graphics cards and processors has affected the scale of video detail which can be captured and processed. Previously a camera that could shoot in 4K resolution would need to be downsampled for playback and editing, due to sheer limits in compute. Now footage is recorded in 6K or even up to 9K in some cases, during which cameras are capable of immediate playback, as opposed to the previous delays which resulted in footage needing to be processed before viewed.

Inline with having higher compute available on set, the most dramatic area where a new category of film production has emerged is in the “previs” space. This is not technically the post-production side, but instead the effort done before a shoot to plan a set, so as to capture the desired scenes rendered live with visual effects. Specifically speaking, tools such as the Unreal Engine, which was originally made as a a graphical processor for the Unreal shoot-em-up video game, is used to generate a simulated scene with characters placed as actors, and the camera shots planned. By using a simulated environment, the shot planning can become more intentional, visual effects planned better, and the overall production set to be better understood by everyone involved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW1OTxYDvlQ

Motion capture is also huge.

The same Unreal Engine is used to eliminate significant post-production visual effects work by using motion capture to simulate environments “on camera”, through screens placed in the background of shots. The ability to capture final results “on camera” is a huge cost saving, as it reduces the need for editing footage after the fact. For example, when shooting a car driving down the road, rather than only having green screens in the window, and replacing the content with footage during the post-production process, the green screens can be replaced with large LED screens, and display the relevant visual content as defined in the Unreal Engine environment. By coordinating the screen placement, camera placement, lighting instruments, and designated camera shot, the actual filmed shot becomes a live simulation of sorts that can avoid a major post-production step.

An example media production that showcased this on-camera environment was in the Disney “baby Yoda” hit series, The Mandalorian, during which large LED walls were used in concert with simulated worlds, to capture fantasy landscapes on-camera.

https://youtu.be/ysIOi_MP_cs?t=82

Huge thanks to Matt Baker, Greg Silverman, Andrew Prasse, and the others who spoke with me on this.

Three considerations for job searching

by

Over the past 10 years, I have formed opinions on the pros and cons of working at companies and organizations of varying sizes. While there are plenty of guides to the broad qualities of startups or big corporations, I think there is value in capturing these in personal anecdotes. The following is meant to be a reference point for those who are interested in finding a job in the near future. I am undoubtedly a unique person with particular personality, but nevertheless my experience is relatable.

To start, when picking the size of a company, there is on factor that I have found to be the most important: is this company growing, and will its ability to make money continue into the future. This seems obvious, but surprisingly many companies are not growing and their mainstay for making money is often eroding. This is especially true for larger companies, but obviously also true for smaller companies.

Secondly, an important aspect when considering work is whether or not you can see yourself learning. While getting paid exorbitant amounts of money seem fun, and having clout associated to recognizable brands is nice, it all amounts to unbearable boredom if you are not learning. At least for me, this also means I am bound to find other ways to occupy my time, and either decline in my work performance or find something entirely else to do.

Thirdly, make sure you are either getting paid enough to keep you uninterested in looking for another job or considering a offer from another company. When landing on a rate of pay for a job, my largest consideration is whether or not the amount I am being paid will give me confidence that I can stay in one place for at least a year, and possibly two. I have yet to stay in one place for three or more years, so I wont try to lie and say that I would consider otherwise.

With the three points, knowing the chosen company is growing, learning is a constant, and pay is enough to make you take your job seriously, you may wonder what kind of place you should consider. Perhaps its not obvious that the points that I have mentioned above do not write off the options of working at a non-profit, startup, family owned business, or any other businesses that may implicitly be associated to slow growth and limited pay. In fact, the total opposite can be true. 

Also to note, I did not mention above that it is important to be passionate about the work you are doing. I can confidently say that if you are passionate about some topics that your work is centered on, you may also be a very boring person. I don’t mean the problems as a whole that your company solve are boring, but it would quite odd if you are excited about spreadsheets, times of day to post on social media, or unending paperwork. There are more important things in life. Seriousness is a necessity, but passion no. If you do get excited by the aforementioned points, I encourage you to read more novels. Particularly pick up some good sci-fi.

One additional point while I am slightly off topic is a very nice to have: a great manager. This is synonymous more with learning than anything. Having a great manager who you like and stands up for what you need, while also keeping an eye on what is necessary for the company is invaluable. The experiences of working under someone who has your back is the difference between wondering whether or not you have job stability and being able to freely explore new ideas.