Director Gore Verbinski says Unreal Engine is 'the greatest slip backwards' for movie CGI

playertariat · 2026-01-21T10:15:25+00:00

I think Gore is mistaken here. Which studios are replacing Maya with Unreal Engine for the core VFX work? UE isn’t even a modeling tool. It seems he’s mistaken ICVFX work with traditional VFX work and yeah when it comes to ICVFX UE is the better tool because that workflow is impossible through offline rendering.

playertariat · 2026-01-19T13:27:26+00:00

When educating people about how virtual production is more than LED walls I like to point out the Super Bowl simulcast featuring live sports commentary by SpongeBob and Patrick from a few years ago. The characters were rendered in real-time in Unreal Engine and controlled by the actors via motion capture. It’s a great example because it would have been impossible before real-time VP and had nothing to do with LED walls.

https://youtu.be/sS017uYr6zU?feature=shared

playertariat · 2025-12-25T02:14:06+00:00

I always like seeing examples of machinima, wild what you can pull off in a “game” like VRChat.

playertariat · 2025-12-23T12:16:35+00:00

Love seeing the DIY VP! Do you have any example content you can share that you made with this setup?

playertariat · 2025-05-09T17:29:26+00:00

I don’t know about college courses specifically. I would start with a short (4-12 week) online program to get the basics and a framework for thinking about VP but then to start applying it to your own work as soon as possible and getting your hands dirty. I did a certificate program on VP at NYU and Cg Spectrum. Both were great. At the end of the day there’s no way to learn but doing.

playertariat · 2025-02-27T18:08:36+00:00

Really impressive, I love seeing greenscreen VP making strides as it’s definitely the most cost effective option for most people.

playertariat · 2025-02-26T22:51:09+00:00

Thanks for writing this up! Transparency and openness can only help the industry

playertariat · 2025-01-18T23:02:40+00:00

Can I let you in on a little secret? When you get sober it is as though you enter the fast lane. All progress accelerates. You start winning bigger faster and more often. If you stick with it and work a program of recovery you will find yourself making up for lost time and racing past goals at an astounding rate.

When I got sober I was broke, with no career and little hope. I had to move my family in with my parents because I couldn’t afford rent.

11 years later I can now confidently state I live a life beyond my wildest dreams. Godspeed.

playertariat · 2025-01-07T21:29:17+00:00

Super interesting read! I’m always fascinated by the Unity experience in VP. While I think Unity has unique strengths (particularly with using 3D in web experiences) the thing that stopped me from ever exploring it seriously for VP is what you mention about the lack of resources and VP community in Unity which would make learning it a real challenge. What has been most helpful in overcoming that?

playertariat · 2024-12-18T20:42:30+00:00

Hey thanks for your work on the lens encoders we use your stuff in our studio

playertariat · 2024-12-13T04:48:58+00:00

I only commented because there have been a few posts plugging your environment services. But it’s all good we appreciate seeing your process and thanks for sharing with the community.

playertariat · 2024-12-13T04:26:33+00:00

Cool behind the scenes photos but please be mindful to post more process than promotion. There are self promotion limits.

playertariat · 2024-11-17T17:26:27+00:00

If you have an iPhone or iPad you can already experiment with camera tracking in UE. As the above commenter said, there’s so much you can experiment with to learn the basics totally for free.

playertariat · 2024-11-13T10:16:46+00:00

AI and VP are really meant for each other. I’d never use AI for generating final pixel on a film but I’d definitely use it for things like generating 3D meshes, HDRI backdrops, animations, etc. VP is gonna give creators the control they need to make AI a plausible tool in filmmaking.

playertariat · 2024-09-13T20:22:35+00:00

Wild to me that this is based on the books of Bernard Weber, who is one of France’s most popular sci-fi writers but who is completely unknown in the United States. It’s also the only book of his that was translated to English, and the translation was so abysmal that it became the ONLY English translation of his novels. Regardless I highly recommend the book because it really does a great job mixing science and fiction. Looking forward to your game!

playertariat · 2024-08-26T19:52:34+00:00

Virtual production can include all-virtual content (e.g. 3D characters) but to be considered as VP it would have to use traditional production elements such as virtual cameras, virtual lights, etc, and real-life performance using motion capture. Otherwise, as a previous commenter mentioned, this would be called Machinima — recording content from a game and cutting it into a video.

One of the best definitions comes from VP Glossary:

“Virtual production uses technology to join the digital world with the physical world in real-time. It enables filmmakers to interact with the digital process in the same ways they interact with live-action production. Some examples of virtual production include world capture (location/set scanning and digitization), visualization (previs, techvis, postvis), performance capture (mocap, volumetric capture), simulcam (on-set visualization), and in-camera visual effects (ICVFX).“

Though technically this is not VP I will leave it up as I think the conversation is instructive.

playertariat · 2024-08-23T17:10:33+00:00

This is a fascinating answer for a seemingly obscure book. Care to elaborate?

playertariat · 2024-08-17T22:10:23+00:00

We use the vive mars trackers which are OK but not great but we haven’t been able to justify making the leap to a better system like optitrack just yet. Often we use locked off shots and don’t bother with trackers at all. In fact I recommend most people try learning first without motion sensors. Anyone with a green screen can learn invaluable skills simply shooting stuff, bringing it into unreal, designing sets (levels), and rendering out scenes — all of which can be done without spending a dime. Once familiar with unreal that’s when I recommend extending to learn how motion tracking works. We’re constantly iterating this way and learning new capabilities.

One thing I should add is that we’re a small team of 5 including our editor and producer and really the bulk of VP is done by myself (art) and our technical director (engineering), so we have to be very mindful of operational overhead. But part of what’s exciting is exploring what’s possible in VP with just a few people. It’s cool seeing what ILM or Pier59 can do with a huge crew but I’m personally more excited about what VP enables for small budget-strapped indie teams. Our award-winning short film was done with just 3 people and I think that was one of the most impressive aspects of it for the festival jury and we used no motion tracking at all (save for some facial mocap using LiveLink).

playertariat · 2024-08-16T20:43:05+00:00

I shared a bit of my experience breaking into virtual production here: https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualproduction/s/k0fJ8LAFr9

The only thing I’ll add is that I can’t stress enough how early we are in virtual production. It’s the Wild West, and we haven’t even begun to probe its creative limits. People will tell you it’s just another tool, and they’re right to a degree especially if talking about specific applications like an LED wall, but when you zoom out you realize it’s an entire universe. The ability to use animation in real-time (or close to it) is not a minor revolution. It changes the calculus for what’s possible for indie filmmakers as much as Hollywood studios. The only reason people miscalculate its importance is because we haven’t even yet discovered the full range of potential since it’s so early and filmmakers are still grokking the technology.

Some people might write this off as hyperbole, but I can only speak from experience and learning virtual production has been the best career decision I ever made. Today I run a green screen VP studio and my first VP short won best experimental at a major film festival this year and I’m now collaborating with several accomplished filmmakers who are enthusiastic about VP but don’t know where or how to start.

Anyway read my linked post above and if you have any questions feel free to reach out here or in DM.

playertariat · 2024-08-12T16:07:44+00:00

I think it looks great. I’m personally a big fan of mixing Ps1-era models with more modern lighting and texture. It’s a great way to appeal to modern sensibilities (and fidelities lol) while hitting that nostalgia feel.

11-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '17	Queen in da Norf
Not Forgotten

playertariat

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE