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FILM & TELEVISION

Storytelling reimagined

Power your productions with the same tools making headlines for The Mandalorian and Ford v Ferrari. Need everything in camera? Top-notch visualization? Episodic animation? Welcome to the playground.

01

Overview

More freedom—from beginning to end

Image courtesy of Spectre Studios

Immediate feedback

Why wait? Real-time rendering enables immediate feedback that helps teams test ideas and make decisions in the moment. What you see is what you get.
Image courtesy of Weta Digital

Same asset, longer life

Use the same assets from first concepts to final frames, eliminating waste across every phase of production. Use them again on your marketing, interactive, and location-based experiences. It’s the future we wanted.
Image courtesy of Andrew Svanberg Hamilton

Industry-approved

Epic has been working with filmmakers and studios, developing features used by the industry’s most ambitious projects. With constant input, we are creating the most powerful (and free) virtual production platform in the world—together. For creators, by creators.

Digital humans that will stand up to close‑ups

Do you need digital stand-ins for your virtual production? We've been working with companies like Cubic Motion and 3Lateral to create high-quality digital humans for years. The result is MetaHuman Creator, a new tool that helps you make them in minutes.

Defining virtual production

Unreal Engine is at the forefront of virtual production, which can now influence every aspect of the production pipeline. Visit our Virtual Production Hub for news, articles, interviews, and insights, and download both volumes of The Virtual Production Field Guide, our comprehensive primer, for free today.
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Key Features

From first idea to final frame

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  • Image courtesy of Lava Labs

    Next-level virtual production toolset

    From high-quality visualization that accurately communicates creative intent, to action sequences and VFX, Unreal Engine helps teams move together as one. Tell better stories with an extensive virtual production toolset made for in-camera VFX, virtual scouting tools, tablet-driven virtual cameras, multi-user controls, and more, feeding off each other’s ideas and expertise just like you would in-person.
  • Image courtesy of Kite and Lightning

    Nonlinear real-time cinematic editing and animation

    Unreal Engine includes Sequencer—a fully nonlinear, real-time cinematic editing and animation tool built for collaboration. Define and modify lighting, camera blocking, characters, and set dressing on a per-shot basis. You can even record animations from motion capture linked to characters in your scene and from external tracked sources direct to Sequencer for future playback.
  • Image courtesy of Andrew Svanberg Hamilton

    Final pixels in real time

    With real-time photorealistic ray-traced rendering, real-time compositing, film-quality post-process effects, and advanced particles, physics, and destruction, Unreal Engine delivers everything it takes to create final-pixel output for both live-action and animated content. With the ability to see your changes instantly, you can iterate at the speed of your imagination and make creative choices when it matters most.
  • Image courtesy of MELS Studios

    A perfect fit for your pipeline

    Support for the most widely-used formats and protocols in film and television production like FBX, Alembic, USD, C4D, OpenEXR, and OpenColorIO means Unreal Engine is ready to integrate into your pipeline. And with Python and Blueprint visual scripting, a robust API, and complete C++ source code access, you can create the custom hooks and interfaces you need to make Unreal Engine a seamless fit.
Industry-tested, director-approved. There’s a reason why our features are used across modern production, from virtual production and animation to short-form content. We get there through rigorous tests, both internally and with studio partners. We then give the breakthroughs back to you as built-in tools—including source code—for free.
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case studies

Used on over 160 major motion pictures and episodic TV shows

Image courtesy of Andrew Svanberg Hamilton

Sample Project

Taking Unreal Engine's latest in-camera VFX toolset for a spin

Epic Games and filmmakers’ collective Bullitt assembled a team to test out the latest in-camera VFX toolset in the recent Unreal Engine 4.27 release. To put each of the new tools through their paces, they created a short test piece to mimic a production workflow. The entire project is now available as a free download for you to explore, learn from, and reuse in your own projects.
Image courtesy of John P. Johnson/HBO

Case Study

HBO’s Westworld turns to Unreal Engine for in-camera visual effects

Image courtesy of Quite Brilliant

Case Study

Virtual production expands what’s possible for TV commercials at Quite Brilliant

Image courtesy of Quite Brilliant

Case Study

Virtual production expands what’s possible for TV commercials at Quite Brilliant

Case Study

HBO’s Westworld turns to Unreal Engine for in-camera visual effects

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Case Study

Netflix smash hit Space Sweepers harnesses Unreal Engine for real-time previs

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Get updates on industry innovations and the latest free assets

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 Privacy policy
04

Resources

Learn how to use Unreal Engine

Whether you’re just getting started and need some basic guidance, or you’re a seasoned pro who’s pushing Unreal Engine to its limits, there’s a range of options to help you succeed.

Documentation

Artists' quick start

Learn how to get started as a content creator with Unreal Engine.

Online learning

Course

Creating Photoreal Cinematics with Quixel

43 mins
This course walks you through the creation of a scene from Quixel's “Rebirth” cinematic, exploring the concepts and tools used.
Course

Independent Filmmaking with Unreal Engine

2 hrs, 18 mins
Learn how to use Unreal Engine for virtual and post-production, as you bring all the pieces of your workflow into a unified environment to create a short film.

Guides and white papers

The Virtual Production Field Guide Volume 1

In this guide, you’ll learn how virtual production works, which projects have already used it, and how it can significantly enhance both the visual quality of a project and the level of collaboration and agency filmmakers have during production. 

The Virtual Production Field Guide Volume 2

This second volume expands upon the concepts explored in Volume 1, and draws upon the experience of a large cross-section of creative professionals, including directors, cinematographers, producers, visual effects supervisors, animators, compositors, and more.

Webinars

Creating Visual Effects With Unreal Engine

Explore how the visual effects in the 'Unreal for All Creators' brand film were achieved. You’ll learn the secret behind many of the effects, including how to prepare and export meshes for rigid body animation and how to build a vertex shader using submesh pivots.
 

The Next Step in Virtual Production

Explore the latest virtual production features in Unreal Engine 4.27, including the latest in-camera VFX (ICVFX) toolkit. You also learn about powerful new workflows that solve important production challenges, and what the rapid growth in virtual production means for the industry.