The Oscar-winning director’s long-rumored sequence, ‘The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge,’ comes alive as Epic Games and The Third Floor use UE’s virtual production and MetaHuman tools to merge live-action, animation, and interactivity in real-time for a ground-breaking cinematic experience.
More than 20 years ago, Quentin Tarantino wrote a scene for that was cut from the film - a lost chapter known only through old script pages and fan legend.Last week, that story came to life as , for the first time inside Fortnite.
Now, Epic Games has pulled back the curtain to show how the team employed Unreal Engine to make a first of its kind cinematic experience. Directed by Tarantino and starring Uma Thurman, used Unreal Engine’s virtual production tools to bring his vision to life, letting him direct the actors and see their performances inside Fortnite in real time.You can watch the BTS video here. The Third Floor and Epic Games then merged those performances with stylized animation, using MetaHuman technology to craft the actors’ likenesses.
By drawing on Unreal Engine’s MetaHuman technology and virtual production tools, filmmakers were able to experience the immediacy of live-action in a flexible, integrated system.The team used a high-fidelity MetaHuman facial rig, trained on 4D scans, to achieve more nuanced facial expressions and emotions within Fortnite’s style.Using MetaHuman Animator with standard mono cameras — webcams and smartphones — as well as stereo HMC’s, the team captured real-time, high-fidelity animation on set.
To enhance actor interactivity, the team developed MuzzleReport, a prototype hardware attachment for Airsoft prop guns that detects when shots are fired, and sends those events directly into Unreal Engine.This enabled the team to see real-time muzzle flashes, tracers, and bullet impacts in the virtual scene, giving the actors instantaneous visual and haptic feedback.The production also incorporated real-time destruction, making it possible for physics-driven breakage and impact effects to play out live in engine during capture.
This made shot composition more precise, helped actors adjust reactions in the moment, and freed up the team to refine key destruction beats during filming rather than in post.highlights how Epic’s real-time tools made it possible to bring film and interactive storytelling closer together, transforming a cinematic moment into a shared experience for millions in Fortnite.
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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