Epic Games Research Paper

Epic Games: real-time production is the future of content creation

What started as a games engine is now the center of multiple experiences, with AR/VR and real-time CG animation as potential uses. At Siggraph 2017 Epic Games revealed new advancements in the Unreal Engine.

Real-time production is the future of content creation, according to Epic Games, and Unreal Engine is putting that front and center at Siggraph this year.

The afirmation above, made by said Marc Petit, Enterprise GM, Epic Games, suggests the direction the company is taking. We’ve seen the presence of the Unreal Engine grow in recent years, “bridging” different segments of the imaging industry, and this edition of Siggraph represents a bold step forward, as the software appears

Epic Games believes that the future of “film is real-time” and has already demonstrated that in a project developed with The Mill, "The Human Race", an interactive film made possible by real-time VFX, blurring the line between production and post. Powered by UE4, The Mill Cyclops, and The Mill BLACKBIRD, the film revolutionizes the conventions of digital filmmaking to create a film you can play.

Epic Games has been at the forefront when it comes to exploring new technologies for storytelling, as ProVideo Coalition documented in one article last May, and at Siggraph their presence goes in different directions, from the VR Jam, at the VR Village, where finalists learn how to transform their cinematic assets into VR experiences, to simulations of autonomous vehicles driving or urban design visusalization.

Real-Time, is a key word for Epic Games now, so it comes as no surprise that the keynote presentation at DigiPro, this year, was titled “Real-Time Technology and the Future of Production”. The keynote presenter was Epic CTO Kim Libreri, and the meeting was used also to present a talk about creating a three-minute cinematic trailer 100% in Unreal Engine and 100% in real time for the video game

“Unreal Engine is powering Siggraph’s most impressive new AR/VR showcases along with the first ever real-time CG shorts at the Computer Animation Festival. Real-time production -- with the ability to iterate interactively without render farm delays -- is the future of content creation and Unreal Engine is putting that front and center at Siggraph this year.”

Datasmith, which will be available as a private beta in August (unrealengine.com/beta), is designed to help artists and designers simplify the process of importing data into Unreal Engine from over 20 CAD/DCC sources, including Autodesk 3ds Max. Datasmith provides a high-fidelity translation of numerous common scene assets like geometry, textures, materials, lights and cameras. This results in significant time savings as content creators don’t need to replicate this work again in the