#
2023
#
June
#
22nd June 2023
Today is day two (and the final day) of Unreal Fest 2023 in the Gold Coast. Woohoo!
I'll be around at Unreal Fest all day, so if you see me, come and say "hi".
I'll continue to document the sessions I attend here. Enjoy!
Sam Anderson (Technical Marketing Manager @ Epic Games) just did an epic presentation that blew my mind.
I've never heard of Twinmotion before - but it looks AMAZING. It's been described as "Unreal Engine for Dummies", but it's actually basically a much more non-technical user friendly interface for Unreal Engine.
The schedule says:
Twinmotion is a quick visualization tool with solutions for many. This talk will cover "Why Twinmotion?" and how the tool could fit nicely into creators' workflow. The session will include an introduction to Twinmotion as well as a deeper dive into the tools that Unreal developers can utilize including interoperability with the Epic ecosystem.
For us this is SUPER interesting, as it means non-technical users, such as directors, art directors, etc. would use Twinmotion for throwing stuff together on Mac, and then we can send across to PC to continue in Unreal Engine.
You can learn more about Twinmotion here.
Here's some slides from the presentation, however the presentation was mostly a hands on demo. Sam was awesome - such a good presentation!
The second session I attended today was Fortifying Your Delivery Pipeline: Repurposing Technology and Solutions for Live Events.
It was a really awesome highly technical talk, with lots of great questions from the audience at the end.
They've set up a page on the Dev Community about their session here.
Presented by Andrew Joy (Lead Developer, 2Bit Studios), Ash Sewell (Lead Realtime Developer, S1T2) and Natalie Robinson (Producer, S1T2).
You can follow Andrew on Twitter here.
You can follow Natalie on Twitter here.
The schedule says:
Let’s look at DevOps and SysOps through a different lens. Join us to discover how leveraging proven solutions from outside the Unreal ecosystem can enhance your delivery pipeline.
We’ll dive into how we've been able to integrate live data, automation and analytics into our projects by repurposing solutions from live shows, web and IT. Together we’ll explore how thinking laterally can revamp your own pipelines.
There was lots of juicy geeky technical slides:
This was THE session that made me want to come to Unreal Fest and I so glad I came - it's been an INCREDIBLE two days.
Liam O'Leary (Unreal Technical Director @ Cheeky Little) did a talk on Unleashing Animation Superpowers: A Guide to Creating an Epic Animated Series.
You can follow Liam on Twitter here.
The schedule said:
This talk will explore the benefits of using Unreal Engine for creating animated preschool series. We will discuss the ease of use and flexibility of the engine, as well as its ability to integrate with other software and pipelines. Join us as we delve into the world of real-time rendering and how it can empower your creative vision.
It was a truly awesome talk, and they do such great work.
Here's the slides from the talk:
The fourth session I attended was An Artist’s Path to Becoming a Successful Unreal Generalist by Nathan Farquhar (Lead Digital Artist, Wētā FX).
The schedule says:
Ever wonder how someone can end up working on projects ranging from films to Fortnite? Join Nathan Farquhar from Weta FX on a deep dive into his journey becoming a successful Unreal Engine Generalist with case studies, insights and tips along the way.
It was a really great talk covering what makes a really useful/great Unreal Generalist.
There's the slides:
Talk about ending on a high! Wow.
The last session I attended was The Secret Kingdom Revealed: Unleashing VFX Magic with Matt Drummond (Writer / Director / Producer, Hive Studios International).
Matt basically created an entire Weta/ILM-level feature film... essentially solo. Just, wow.
You can find The Secret Kingdom on IMDB here.
Here's the trailer:
The schedule said:
Delve into the captivating world of 'The Secret Kingdom' as we unravel the secrets behind its stunning visual effects, showcasing the triumphs, challenges, and creative solutions that brought this extraordinary realm to life using the power of Unreal Engine.
The series has been sold as a 8 x 30min series.
Here's the slides, but they really don't do it justice. This talk was AMAZING.
...and with that, that now concludes my time at Unreal Fest 2023, however it's definitely inspired me to keep adding to this site and learning as much as I can about Unreal Engine.
Onwards & Upwards!