Media & entertainment:
2022 highlights
2022 highlights
What a year it’s been for the media & entertainment industry!
From virtual production and animated content for film and television to cutting-edge broadcast and live events, the industry has seen sky-rocketing adoption of real-time technology, and the benefits are clear. Take a look at some of the highlights, starting with our round-ups of the latest trends and stories across these three media & entertainment sectors.
Disney takes Big City Greens from 2D to 3D
A talented team of Disney animators has taken the well-known Greens IP into another dimension for Big City Greens holiday special ‘Virtually Christmas.' Discover how they borrowed 2D art techniques for 3D animation in Unreal Engine to keep a look true to the original artwork in this Spotlight.
Inside Unreal livestream:
The Year in Review
The end of the year is upon us—and that means it’s time for the annual 'Year in Review' episode on Inside Unreal. Join us, along with our special guests, as we take a look at this year’s highlights from the Epic team and the incredible Unreal Engine community.
ASC, ADG, and ICG virtual production master classes
This year, we hosted master classes on real-time workflow and ICVFX with the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), the Art Directors Guild (ADG), and Local 600 / International Cinematographers Guild. Taking place at NantStudios and the Epic Games Innovation Lab in El Segundo, these were attended by some of the most talented film and television professionals in the world.
Image courtesy of ICG IATSE Local 600
Unreal Engine 5.1 delivers new features for media & entertainment
In November, we launched Unreal Engine 5.1, delivering new features for film/television content (both live-action and animated) and broadcast and live event productions. The foundations that broke new ground in UE5 are now even more helpful for virtual production, LED stage projects, and beyond.
New MetaHuman release brings easier sharing and DNA calibration
Later in November, we brought you a new release of MetaHuman that makes it easier to share your MetaHumans—so you can collaborate and iterate on them with colleagues—as well as making it possible to edit aspects of MetaHumans’ unique DNA files to customize them or integrate them into your pipeline.
RealityScan is released for iOS as a free download
And the product releases kept on coming! In December, we announced that RealityScan—an easy-to-use 3D scanning app for mobile devices that turns photos into high-fidelity 3D models—was now available to download for free on iOS. Just think about the possibilities of using these meshes with Nanite in UE5, or with Mesh to MetaHuman!
Epic MegaGrants: 2022 Update
We’ve assembled some of the most impressive 2022 MegaGrants projects for you to check out. In this showcase of awesome content and tools from around the world that it’s been our privilege to support, you’ll see why MegaGrants recipients are shaking up media & entertainment and other industries with their innovative use of real-time technology.
Ritika Bose: THE PSYCHE WITHIN
India & Southeast Asia:
Women Creators Program
Six weeks of training, 13 amazing shorts. See some of the best films to come out of this year’s Women Creators Program 2022, which exclusively features artists from India and Southeast Asia. The initiative, in partnership with Open Air Films, ASIFA India, and Perforce Software provided women producers with an in-depth training and mentoring program.
The Unreal Engine
ANZ Short Film Challenge
What had some of the biggest studios in the world clapping their hands? See the highlights from our latest Short Film Animation Challenge, which saw Australian and New Zealand animators turning out powerful stories with the help of UE5, MetaHumans, and more.
Image courtesy of A Monkeystack Production
More M&E news from Epic!
In two of many other initiatives focused on the media & entertainment sector, the Epic Games LA Innovation Lab in El Segundo published a magazine to highlight some of the 2022 projects from the global community, and we launched Unreal Connectors, a new, field-tested course taught exclusively through Unreal Authorized Training Centers and Unreal Academic Partners.
Celebrating media & entertainment creators everywhere
All around the world, we've seen so many exciting projects from our clients and partners in 2022.
We hosted the first edition of the Unreal Engine Short Film Challenge: LATAM, Spain, and Portugal, which brought in some wonderful entries.
And professionals partnered with schools worldwide to create projects such as geo-specific immersive experience Bygdens Lag, developed by global experience design agency North Kingdom and built in cooperation with Swedish VFX school Visual Magic.
Below are just a few of the 2022 projects from Unreal Engine creators across the globe. We can't wait to see what 2023 brings. Happy Holidays and best wishes for the New Year!
We hosted the first edition of the Unreal Engine Short Film Challenge: LATAM, Spain, and Portugal, which brought in some wonderful entries.
And professionals partnered with schools worldwide to create projects such as geo-specific immersive experience Bygdens Lag, developed by global experience design agency North Kingdom and built in cooperation with Swedish VFX school Visual Magic.
Below are just a few of the 2022 projects from Unreal Engine creators across the globe. We can't wait to see what 2023 brings. Happy Holidays and best wishes for the New Year!
Resources
Inspired to get started with Unreal Engine in media & entertainment? Here are some handy resources to set you on your way.
Careers in Animation course
In this free course, you’ll learn the ropes of real-time animation via video tutorials and interviews with real-time artists currently using Unreal Engine on major projects for Disney, Reel FX, and WildBrain Studios.
The Technical Guide for Linear Content Creation
This collection of curated resources is for producers, supervisors, technicians, and artists who have a background in linear content creation, are new to Unreal Engine, and are transitioning to real-time pipelines.
Field guides
Get your free copies of our comprehensive field guides for animation, broadcast and live events, and virtual production.
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With every feature and full source code access included, Unreal Engine comes fully loaded out of the box.