Unreal Engine – The Future of Filmmaking
Babiru is an action feature film concept created using Unreal Engine alongside DaVinci Resolve and Fusion Studio. The production, a trailer that’s acting as a proof of concept, centres around the remnants of Babiru, a megalopolis populated by A.I. robots. The conceptual short pitches the idea, what happens when humanity is gone and the machines are left alone to live on?
The Birth of Babiru
The concept is the brainchild of Nguyen-Anh Nguyen, a filmmaker based in Montreal. The idea actually originated a number of years before it finally started to take shape in 2017, when Nguyen met with two concept artists, Nivanh Chanthara and Fred Rambaud. Together, they pitched the idea as a live-action film before realising that something of this scale would be impossible to pull off in the traditional way.
Unreal Engine – The Future is Real-Time
Without Unreal Engine, Babiru would not have been possible. Nguyen considered Unity as an option but landed on Unreal Engine because of its all-in-one solution. Being able to handle pre-viz, animation, lighting, shot acquisition, and even final pixel all in the same software is a big win for any filmmaker. This workflow is becoming increasingly commonplace but was groundbreaking at the time.
Using Unreal Engine
Nguyen found there to be a lot more support from the community with guides, forums, and videos that helped them get started quickly. He also loved “the diversity and quality of content being made in Unreal” and was instantly drawn in. Traditional digital content creators can have steeper learning curves and the fact that they don’t offer real-time results is something that goes against products like Autodesk 3ds Max.
The Future of Filmmaking
The process of making films is changing before our very eyes. This was brought home to me when I interviewed director Freddy Chávez Olmos about his horror film BYE-BYE. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ask Nguyen about his views on it all.
He said that, “Now, with AI and machine learning influencing content creation, we’re only just beginning to see the real impact. I think we’re going to see a huge fragmentation of the industry. On one hand, you’ll have a wave of new talent creating films and content using these accessible tools in ways we’ve never seen before, using technology that was once reserved for big-budget studios. And on the other hand, you’ll have traditional, larger productions that require more resources but still hold onto those established, long-form methods.”
Conclusion
The realisation of Babiru shows that we’re at a point in time where technology is enabling a new generation of creators to do things that were unthinkable a few years ago and explore new, hybrid forms of storytelling. Traditional digital content creators are dead, long live real-time engines (for more, read our guide to the best game development software). It might be overstated but I believe time will prove its truth. If you want to know what the future of filmmaking is going to look like, keep your eye on visionary directors such as Olmos and Nguyen.
FAQs
Q: What is Unreal Engine?
A: Unreal Engine is a game engine developed by Epic Games, used to create high-performance, interactive and real-time content for a wide range of industries, including film, television, architecture, product design, and more.
Q: What is the future of filmmaking?
A: The future of filmmaking is rapidly changing, with the rise of real-time engines and AI/machine learning influencing content creation. We can expect to see a fragmentation of the industry, with new talent emerging and traditional, larger productions holding onto established methods.
Q: What is Babiru?
A: Babiru is an action feature film concept created using Unreal Engine alongside DaVinci Resolve and Fusion Studio, set in a megalopolis populated by A.I. robots.
