Terra - Unreal Engine Short Film

A lonely service drone scans the planet surface for signs or sounds of life.
Terra is a short film that I used to demonstrate and begin learning the filmmaking possibilities of Unreal Engine. My goal was to tell a fun and minimal story using these vast new tools.
I wanted to start simple, using all Quixel Megascans and Epic Marketplace content.
This was created on a 2016 iMac without the breadth of visual enhancements that come from a Ray-Traced render GPU, but I wanted to see how much I could push the look working with the basics.
All of the sound and original score was created by Andrew Morgan Smith, accompanied by a music track by Mas Donkey. Drone model/rig by Dspazio.

[@jesterspawn]

This is really good work. Obviously your technical skill with the engine is solid, but in my opinion it's the pacing, storytelling, and cinematography that really set this apart from a lot of shorts. This is more than a tech demo, it is real filmmaking. Bravo.

[@j.thomaswilson3543]

Thanks! That means a lot. I always try to tell some kinda story no matter how short the piece is. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@murielvaillancourt3855]

@@j.thomaswilson3543 i agree. You have a real great talent! Merry Christmas and i wish you a great great future!

[@redfawnstudios]

Outstanding use of free assets & making the most of the limitations of non-RTX card. Great job!!

[@TheGrandmaster1]

Goodness Gracious!!! I mean look at that! Just LOOK AT IT! Man. It's to the point where we can just sit and home and literally make prett damn close more or less Hollywood film quality movies without leaving our chair. Man this is BEAST MODE

[@tinmanspartan7551]

Just once I would like to see someone make something that shows the vibrancy and resilience of Mankind and life itself. Beautifully crafted, I just believe it's a talent wasted on negative energy.

[@j.thomaswilson3543]

you'd be happy to know I came to this conclusion myself in the 4 years since I made this!

[@rysacroft]

Congratulations for piece of totally original sci-fi. I really hope that the little drone lived to a ripe old age and carried on boogieing.

[@3dchick]

This is the best of this kind of short I've seen. Great animation, cinematography, and an actual story with a character who draws the audience in. Fantastic! Thanks for sharing it!

[@lukout]

Super cool, love the grainy texture of it as well, nicely done !

[@jamesplant7415]

Brilliant !!! A Masterclass in the potential of this new creative medium for visual story telling, and an inspiration work of cinematic art. Well done Sir!

[@johndicus123]

Well done.... the animation, the set and scene are all really nicely done. That is, the technical side is done excellent! But that's just learning and diligence..... It's the cute story here that really sets this as a great little film. I started to identify with the drone. You have caused me to anthropomorphize a machine! I like the little guy! I'd want to take him home and show him to my wife but he'd probably take me to his planet as a specimen.

[@call_me_stan5887]

good work! Everytime I watch it I can't help but notice the production quality (not only graphics-wise) and attention to detail.

[@saltydogduoify]

A beautiful surreal short film. Cameras placement and lighting amazing, as well as wonderful textures.

[@edbarnes98]

I know I’m coming in late but what a brilliant piece of work, very much enjoyed this 😊

[@Repented008]

If by brilliant you mean visually appealing, then fine. Conceptually unoriginal though, imo. It comes off to me as borrowing heavily from Oblivion, Prometheus and Guardians of the Galaxy. Probably just me.

[@aTomFX1]

@@Repented008 you missed the most obvious one of all .. wall-e

[@MichaelKarius]

This is amazing. Looking beautiful and a really cool story!

[@cureniaone]

What story?

[@carreteFILMSPro]

Gorgeous WallE look alike film. Loved it.

[@digitalsketchguy]

Loved it. Not too long. Little drone bot was cute. Funny ending.

[@adeusexmachina]

This film makes me smile, while eyes enjoying the perfect picture and atmosphere.)

[@timmsmedialtd]

I am also a very late commenter but this is an amazing example of a simple short film that can be made using Unreal Engine. Fantastic Job! Well done! We will probably work on something similar in the future. It would be great to get some insight into how you brought this to life for educational purposes. Kind Regards, Jack from Timms Media

[@incantantrixy1]

I love the little (wall-e like) dude bumpin' in space. It's great! 😁

[@weirdshit]

Good job! For someone new to unreal, this is incredible feat.

[@iwona917]

Very engaging compared to many other short films, beautifully done and surprisingly funny :) Wonderful work! Thank you!

[@silvaright]

Loved it, gave a wall-e vibe, great job Thomas!

[@Luffy_08402]

Me: oh , I will also create something like this In UE4 My internet while the video : you have exhausted your daily data pack

[@sogman808]

Your work here is exceptional, though you've only cracked the surface. Believe.

[@InnerSunshine]

I'm Dan Jones below. What also makes it work is the contrast in audio moods between the landscape and the music. If you watch it without sound--no drama at all.

[@ASHISH_KR_DUTTA]

Simply Outstanding

[@962momo]

very good now robots can dance ! this is great !

[@bakkerem1967]

Amazing job ! Well done !

[@yhird]

This is great work. Thanks for sharing!

[@Axgoodofdunemaul]

Very good indeed. Excellent art, and a original plot.

[@Maxparata]

I like it! The little drone didn't understand what it was but he sure enjoyed the music! It's a cool thing that could be left on earth after humankind extinction. This kind of short film is refreshing from all propaganda we see on Netflix. Keep it up!

[@Sharmantis]

I am a rookie, I guess., now. this benchmark makes me wanna scrap and rebuild from scratch. in my little book you are a sir Mr. Wilson

[@dallasjoy2182]

Ha....that was fun to watch. Nicely done.

[@ivechang6720]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! A non claustrophobia inducing cave adventure was that gift I didn't even know I needed. (Too much MrBallen😵 lol.) Such a beautiful story with an intriguing character. More please?♡

[@jsl6155]

Didn’t expect to find a MrBallen fan here. Much less from 7 months ago when he wasn’t that popular yet

[@ivechang6720]

@@jsl6155 LOL. Hi Friend😁👍 We are *everywhere!*

[@NV_SunshineRush13]

My name is Terra.. Awesomeness

[@RockEdison]

Beau-t-ful!! Bravo, well done.

[@stevenvprasad5029]

Wonderful work brother... Really Appreciated ❤️

[@tammycosta7678]

Fantastic , my cosmic minded friend

[@degibocu]

Just awsome, congratulations man, this Is another lever. How long take to you make this peace of art?

[@j.thomaswilson3543]

This took me just about a month to complete. It’s a fairly simple animation with lots of pre-made assets so I was able to mostly focus on the scenes and cameras!

[@markmuldoon805]

Very nice. Your teams skills in setting the story, the shots and the ambience are very evident. Something longer next please - this is a team I want to see grow.

[@timmayvns]

10 times better than the others on yt claiming to be award winners lol , way better

[@chiliphrosting9059]

here after the ue4 spotlight. Fantastic job, man!

[@juandedioscepaconforme4926]

SI MUY BUEN TRABAJO DEL CORTOMETRAJE EXELENTE GRACIAS POR COMPARTIR Y MAS EXITOS 🇪🇨😀👍

[@descampsf]

Amazing! Will share broadly!

[@joanteran4710]

Excelent Job! I haven't words for this.

[@myxsys]

I really like the camera work, how you've transitioned from one shot to the other.

[@robotsandpolygons]

great work! love the epic landscape

[@louteix9981]

A little glimpse of Oblivion.

[@sagar_sree2715]

amazing totally fantastic.

[@techtim123]

Very well done!

[@Wallkysek]

Really cool piece! Loved it

[@petervonfrosta8369]

Awesome Bro... Awesome 👏 Keep up the good work !

[@PIPOXO]

This is great!!!

[@Medicbobs]

Making a game with a drone and was wondering if you could help me make a scan effect or at least let me know how you did the light?

[@imagin64]

Super awesome !!!!!!!!!!!! Ultra Art

[@tomwebbnz]

Well done. Really enjoyed the short and the story!

[@cynthiahenderson450]

Wow! Very cool.

[@atomer13cz]

Nice one

[@OldBenK]

Simply, wow!

[@jimmahbee]

So awesome

[@nextanimationsindia]

Amazing. Great use of UE and Mega Scans. I think in future will be able to produce entire movie in it.

[@Desertpunk1986]

That was so good! Loved it.

[@mrstarfire9336]

This is insanely good ....awsome work

[@fabianoperes2155]

really well done.

[@eugenesharov]

looks very good

[@Xavwanderboy]

This is breathtaking Thomas! Even without Rtx. The lighting in the cave is just insane, did you use any form of GI ? It looks like the torch light is bouncing on rocks. Congrats for achieving that quality.

[@j.thomaswilson3543]

Thanks man! Without ray tracing I did a cheat where I parented a point light with a large attenuation radius to the spot light and animate its distance based on location of the bot to objects hahah. It’s a decent solution for faking non-baked GI.

[@Xavwanderboy]

@@j.thomaswilson3543 This is absolute genius man! And also the way to create incredible things with unreal engine :) Thanks for the breakdown!

[@ugoangeletti3556]

@@j.thomaswilson3543 That's such a clever alternative... Great job on this!

[@TheJoshLange]

@@j.thomaswilson3543 is this method in a tutorial somewhere? Asking for a friend :)

[@kernuba3916]

Love it. and a good tune as well.

[@massimodefrancisco2349]

Nice work!

[@aashay]

Would love to know more about your process in a tutorial please

[@j.thomaswilson3543]

Thanks for the interest! I hope to make a tutorial this fall when I am back with my HDD that has the project. What aspects of the short would you find interesting for a tutorial?

[@aashay]

@@j.thomaswilson3543 You are welcome Thomas. I hope you soon get the hard drive. :) I'd interested in knowing the technical things like Asset Creations for the film, Assembling in Unreal (What is done in Unreal and what is imported), Lighting and Post Process, Camera movements and the particle effects that I see at the end. Basically, understanding your mindset on how you approach making a film and what all you consider for real time rendering. Also, other aspects of Filmmaking like Sound design are super interesting to learn from fellow filmmakers. Thanks. :)

[@HandsomeDragon]

Great work, J. If I may ask, I've been teaching myself Cinema 4D & Redshift, but I've been hearing awesome stuff about Unreal. While you were learning, where did you go for tutorials, and how long did it take you to grasp this engine. Was it a huge learning curve?

[@j.thomaswilson3543]

Thanks! I learned everything from the Unreal Engine Learning platform you can access free with an Epic account on their website. Also subscribe to the Unreal Engine YT Chanel which has tons of great tutorials. It took me about 1 month of learning before I started making this short film!

[@HandsomeDragon]

@@j.thomaswilson3543 That's incredibly amazing, congrats on the process. I have an Epic Account and I just downloaded Unreal, is there one course that pops into your head that stood out to you then the rest, or are all the film ones pretty equal in material?

[@j.thomaswilson3543]

Hard to say. I'd start with the fundamentals and learn all the basics, then start diving into the stuff that interests you most.

[@HandsomeDragon]

@@j.thomaswilson3543 Yeah I'm doing exactly that. Thank you for getting back to me, I really appreciate it, brotha!

[@maciejklosowski6006]

Very good compositing :). Was sound editing done in UE4 or other program?

[@hilaryc3203]

Superb

[@wilcombebolger]

Just love it....nice work indeed

[@sumchi3690]

I really enjoyed that… Very cool👍

[@tineasgia9124]

good job buddy; where did you get the spaceship?

[@corrysvang]

Music is not from Wall-E but from Kiss-Me !!!

[@sananshgarg6524]

Hello man, I just noticed that you are replying to the comments so decided to ask that how much time would it take for me to build something like this, i do not have any experience in this field and decoded to start learning, and it would be really beneficial if you could share some links for tutorials Thank you

[@j.thomaswilson3543]

Hi! I recommend watching through this as a good starting demonstration: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zpq0e56JpbSihbM And then from there, you should create an Epic account, login to the Unreal Engine Learning site, and go through some of the courses, all free!

[@sananshgarg6524]

@@j.thomaswilson3543 thanks a lot bro, forgot to mention in the earlier comment that I simply loved your video, be it the animation or storyline... Keep up the good work!

[@diversityunityharmony]

Bravo!!!

[@blenderzone5446]

GREAT work!

[@beyourarchitect]

impressive !!!

[@SazSupreme]

this is so cute skfjdksksk tron meets walle vibes

[@max8286]

and some kind of music from Wall-E?

[@marcelovera8004]

Amazing work, Thomas, when you have a chance make a simple tut on how you achieve the atmosphere feel, besides the fog, there are some particles in the air!

[@j.thomaswilson3543]

Thanks! I'm working on my next UE4 cinematic but I hope to put out a breakdown of this short after that!

[@GovernmentPigeons]

Man, that's cool. you should animate some more!

[@raleeuw]

Music mwahhhhh😤nice movie

[@Donkichoff]

Bien vu ! et bien fait ! bravo et merci

[@londoty4469]

Very entertaining !

[@mostafar8514]

How mech did it take to render?

[@UnrealTutorialsPro]

This is amazing! good job!!

[@moosabman]

Baller.

[@alexjr977]

WoW Man Amazing ! :)

[@GaryParkin]

This is amazing Thomas. Just getting into the engine, and this shows possibilities beyond what I imagined. I saw it on the Weekly Spotlight section. Congrats! Well done. Now I want to learn how. :)

[@GaryParkin]

I'd like to see a sequel. :)

[@juandedioscepaconforme4926]

J THOMAS WILSON SALUDOS CORDIALES DESDE GUAYAQUIL ECUADOR 🇪🇨🙋‍♂️

[@softdreams1776]

Renderd in real time so inpressive what unreal can do and what people can create with it now days :);

[@wakeup2.369]

super!! please create videos, lessons, you are very cool at it, I also want to learn how to make such cinematics.

[@paladin0654]

Nice graphics; that's about it.

[@LiTTleGaBi21]

This is really well done!

[@HalNordmann]

0:35 Was that robot humming Ride of the Valkyries?

[@j.thomaswilson3543]

lol correct, nice catch. A fun easter egg my music/sound guy dropped in there.

[@themercifulboy2865]

Really look nice! good job!

[@dvine3488]

How long did it take to make.....looks overwhelming and satisfying

[@vivektyagi6848]

Very engrossing and interesting.