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Isolation

About the Project

OVERVIEW:

"Isolation" is a short cinematic intended to immerse the viewer in a remote house in the middle of nowhere. At the outset, the scene's tone is deliberately ambiguous, leaving viewers uncertain whether it is foreboding or inviting. As the camera advances, subtle clues begin to emerge, hinting at a narrative. The first cut to the firepit suggests recent visitation, possibly by multiple individuals. This is followed by a glimpse of the wood block, hinting at sinister intentions. The slow pan towards the dimly lit house further adds to the suspense. The intention is to transition from this point into the story, either through gameplay (for a game environment) or a rendered narrative (for film). The piece aims to leverage lighting, atmospherics, and visual effects to create a compelling experience, while also exploring the landscape features of Unreal Engine 5.​​​​

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Software Used:

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  • VFX (EmberGen/Unreal Engine)-

    • I used Embergen to generate a 2D 8x8 flame card (flipbook) and then used the Niagra System inside of UE5 to create the animation and overall effect for the firepit fire. 

    • I then overlayed the Smoke and light fire blueprint from the Starter Content and reduced its attributes down and adjusted to the look/feel that I wanted. ​

    • The lantern is using a Niagra generated particle system with a 3D gas Emitter for the flame.

EmberGen - 8x8 Flipbook
Niagra System - Fire

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  • Lighting (Unreal Engine)- ​​​​

    • ​I used a cloud texture and a directional light for the sky.

    • I generated an animated texture and fed it through the fire point-light for the light flicker effect at the firepit. 

    • I used a series of point and RecLights for the wood pile and front porch.

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  • Atmospherics (Unreal Engine)

    • I used a PostProcessVolume and a Cinematic Camera to provide the lens settings and Depth of Field, as well as volumetric fog.

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  • Landscape (Unreal Engine)

    • Painted using Foliage painter and Quixel assets.​

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Fire Light Flicker Material

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  • Rendering (Unreal Engine/After Effects/Media Encoder)-

    • Renders were created using a Sequencer. The image sequences was then imported into After Effects for minor touch-ups and Audio overlay.

    • Final renders were generated from Media Encoder​​​​​​​​

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  • Assets - Combination of Megascans & Marketplace. Audio from Pond5 and AudioJungle.

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  • Reference Material - See below:

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