Author: Wenjiang Gui

This week I finished importing all the resources into UE5, including character models, animations, effects, and camera work. In this process, I deeply appreciate the importance of collaborative work between all parts of the process. The division of labour between different people, the departments they are responsible for, and the software they use can all lead to a common problem – incompatible files and all kinds of errors. Due to the lack of organisation in the early stages, various files need to be tested and exported repeatedly, which greatly reduces the work efficiency.

The initial choice of UE5 as the final rendering engine was based on the work cycle. Using a traditional path tracing based renderer would have resulted in huge rendering costs. The Lumen renderer that comes with UE5 greatly reduces the rendering time and cost. Through testing, it only takes about 10 minutes for a 2K footage to get a pretty good picture result, which is a huge advantage for our project schedule control.

In UE5, I focused on optimising lighting and materials to ensure the best possible rendering in the game engine. At the same time, I conducted multiple camera run tests to ensure the overall presentation was smooth and consistent. This week’s work was not only a technical challenge, but also a new insight into project management and organisation. Through this experience, I gained a deeper understanding of the importance of teamwork and prep work.

I’ve spent a lot of time this week sorting out and fixing all the animations. Unfortunately, due to the poor organisation of the project, the animation section was allocated a relatively short amount of time, making it impossible to fine tune many of the movements. Fortunately, however, Blender’s animation curve modifier has been a great help. It allows me to add some irregular movements to the action, which makes the overall animation more vivid and enhances the sense of rhythm.

During the animation process, I referred to many film and TV works, such as the humanoid monsters in A Quiet Palace and the movements of the zombie bosses in Resident Evil. Especially in certain shots of monster movements, George provided many constructive suggestions and gave coaching and teaching in animation movement.

I was very conscious of realism, so at the end of many intense fights I deliberately increased the movement to achieve a more realistic effect. By using Blender’s tools and referring to other good works, I strive to make the monsters’ movements more vivid and natural so that the audience can better integrate into the storyline.

In my next work, I plan to further refine the details of the animation and try to make the best use of Blender and other tools in order to create impressive monster movements!

During this week’s LOOK DEVELOPMENT process, I conducted a unique experiment with the Monster’s material. By chance, I discovered a mysterious ore that emits a faint glow at night, so I had the bright idea to incorporate elements of this ore into the texture of the monster’s skin. In this way, the monstrous beast was able to emit a faint glow under dim light, as if it were a mysterious existence like an ancient creature.

In addition, I made some interesting changes to the scales of the monster. I envisioned these scales to be self-luminous and to be able to glow brighter when the monster is angry or excited. This design not only injects some whimsy into the character, but also adds a sense of dynamism to the visuals.

During the testing phase, I simulated different lighting conditions, including moonlight, a starry sky, and an extremely dark cave. This allowed me to better understand how the materials would behave in various situations, so that I could fine-tune every detail.

The whole look development process is not just a technical adjustment, but also an adventure of creativity and imagination. By incorporating mysterious elements into the monster material

This week I continued to work on the scene production, mainly working on the design and revision of the second part of the lab and the tunnel. In the second part of the lab, I used a lot of mechanical instruments and dusty elements to emphasise the cluttered feel of the whole scene. This design aims to create the atmosphere of the protagonist being trapped, and I especially like the green tone, which makes the whole scene present a sense of mystery, as if it is a secret laboratory. This design was inspired by a scene in the game Control, and I tried to create a similar atmosphere through unique elements and tones.

In the second part of the tunnel, I changed the design idea and adopted a more realistic representation. Taking into account the presence of rocks, I adjusted the green tones of the overall image to be more in line with the colours of the natural environment. To articulate the first tunnel (which I modified significantly even though I didn’t make the first section), I balanced the whole environment and structure, making the whole scene look more integrated by setting up places along the street.

The production of a scene is not only about visual presentation, but also about expressing the storyline and atmosphere. Through careful design and modification, I endeavoured to make every detail provide a deeper level of immersion for the audience, and I hope the audience can feel the tension and emotion of the story in my virtual world.

This week, I focused on rendering the entire scene more complete. I was heavily influenced by the environmental design in the game Control, which has a very immersive and atmospheric scene design. I realised that lighting and fog play a crucial role in the presentation of the scene. With simple colour adjustments, the whole scene can take on a different feel, and the variation is impressive.

I borrowed some mysterious elements to try to make the scene look richer and full of stories. On the advice of my tutor Sara, I introduced a number of basic visual effects (VFX) such as smoke and dust particles into the scene to suit the tone of the whole scene. The use of these VFX not only added colour to the scene but also injected more mystery into the storyline.

Lighting adjustments and the use of fog effects made the scenes more visually engaging. By varying the colours and contrasts of light and shadow, I strive to create an immersive feeling that allows the audience to delve deeper into my virtual world.

The presentation of the entire scene is a comprehensive test of my design and technical skills. By borrowing design concepts from good games and doing hands-on work under the guidance of my mentor, I endeavour to create a visually engaging and mysterious scene for the audience to support the whole storytelling.

After determining the layout of the scene, the next step was to deal with the design of the props. Considering that the story takes place in the last century when technology is backward, and at the same time, I want to express the mysterious feeling of the military, I decided to design these props to be obvious traces of use, old and dusty. This design fits the time period and adds a sense of mystery to the whole scene.

As I needed to create the entire environment, I had to consider the decorative style of each object to ensure that they blended in with the entire scene and did not look out of place. In particular, when considering the design of the jars, I worked with my team members on this task. I was involved in the modelling of the top section as well as the mapping throughout. The use of UDIM made the jar visually more realistic and detailed.

The worn look of the props and signs of use was one of the key points I concentrated on. Through clever texture and texture processing, I endeavoured to present the historical traces of each prop so that the audience can feel the passage of time and the depth of the story in the scene.

The whole process requires in-depth collaboration and team communication to ensure that each prop fits the background of the story and the overall atmosphere of the scene. This has been a valuable experience for me in terms of creativity and teamwork, and I look forward to presenting a realistic and engaging scene to the audience through these efforts.

This week I worked on a hospital corridor scene to fill in plot holes. In order to build this scene, I purchased some specialised assets and worked on making the entire corridor feel realistic. When designing the corridor, I delved into a number of references to ensure that the scene was fleshed out and layered with detail. I paid special attention to small but not negligible elements, such as switches, alignments, column structures, doors, etc., which together form a life-like scene.

I spent a considerable amount of time on the basic layout of the scene. In order to make sure that each area is sensible and perfect, I need to consider every aspect, including the placement of props, the position of doors, the alignment of structures, and so on. I wanted the main scene to have a grandiose atmosphere, so I chose to design large architectural structures, but at the same time kept the props in normal proportions to ensure that the overall visual effect was both grandiose and natural.

In the lighting design of the scene, I paid special attention to how to achieve a depressing atmosphere to better serve the needs of the plot. The use of lighting is crucial to the atmosphere of the scene, and I endeavoured to create a sense of both realism and unease in the hospital corridors to immerse the audience in the story.

The entire process of scene building is a constant pursuit of attention to detail and creative design. Through these endeavours, I look forward to presenting the audience with an engaging and nuanced virtual world that will better support the plot.

This week I threw myself into building scenes for Unreal Engine 5 in order to meet the demands of the script. For the desert areas, I made full use of Quixel’s asset library, which contains a large number of scanned models. The accuracy of these models is very detailed, and the combination of natural lighting and richly detailed rendering makes for an impressive scene. The textures and details in the desert areas make the scenes look outstanding.

As for the construction of the indoor scenes, I focus on creating DIY props that adapt to the plot, such as sofas, tables, cake beds, and so on. These props were designed to fit in with the plot and provide a more realistic and interesting backdrop for the storyline. Through clever layouts and colour schemes, I tried to create a dark and cosy atmosphere throughout the interior scenes, allowing the audience to feel the depth and emotion of the story within it.

Overall, this week’s work has allowed me to become more familiar with the building and rendering capabilities of Unreal Engine 5, and I have managed to cleverly incorporate external modelled assets into my scenes. Through careful design and layout, I endeavoured to create a visually pleasing virtual world for the audience that fits the plot.