Unreal 5 Secrets Every Filmmaker Must Know

Join our Unreal Filmmaking Bootcamp🚀 www.unrealforvfx.com/fundamentals
Want to make better films and cinematics? Win more clients? Make 2024 your best year yet? It starts with this video.
We'll explore advanced Unreal Engine 5 techniques, from lighting and rendering to animation and real-time visual effects. Here's a sneak peek at a short film I'm working on with Mr. Freeze in the Batman Beyond universe.
Incredible Mr. Freeze model/concept by the one and only Pietro Nume!
Whether you're transitioning from traditional filmmaking to Unreal 5 or seeking to enhance your VFX skills, this video offers valuable insights and practical tips. Get ready to transform your creative workflow and elevate your cinematic projects with Unreal 5's unparalleled capabilities in rendering, real-time interactivity, and photorealistic environments. Perfect for both professional VFX artists and hobbyists, this video is your key to unlocking the full potential of Unreal Engine 5 in the realm of filmmaking.
CHAPTERS
0:00 - Do your renders look like a video game?
0:50 - How to make Renders look Cinematic
2:08 - Lighting Breakdown
3:25 - How to Animate Your Lights
4:45 - The Secrets to Photorealism
8:47 - Compositing for a Photoreal Image (The 3 Imperfections)
10:37 - Chromatic Abberation (The Right Way)
14:11 - Level-Up as an Unreal Filmmaker
#UnrealEngine5 #IndieFilmmaking #VFX #TesseracT #WarofBeing #CGArt #FilmmakingTutorial #MotionCapture #ue5 #vfx #vfxbreakdown #blender3d #animation #rokoko #maya #substance3d #lovedeathrobots #unrealengine #unreal #vfxtutorials

[@JoshToonen]

Want to level up your renders? Join my LIVE Unreal to Nuke Masterclass by Dec 30th 👉🏻 www.UnrealForVFX.com/nuke Did you know 90% of VFX artists don’t know Nuke? This is the software behind your favorite Hollywood films If you want to go from beginner to job-ready in Nuke, this is for you!

[@21stcenturyscots]

Don't make your own movies, because.. "8 Million Subs and 1.6 Billion Views... NOBODY CARES" | Freddie Wong

[@TheTristannn]

How do you cause things to break in unreal doing a movie I remeber you couldn’t only if ur making a game

[@TridentKeeper]

Hey Josh, great video super informative. I was trying to check out on your site for the course but the coupon code doesn’t work, do you have another?

[@hosstam]

Condensing years of learning into one video is truly impressive. Your knowledge amazes me.

[@Eden_Vision]

where have you been all of this time??? youre videos are pure gold!

[@matteo.grossi]

Man, this is hands down the most informative, transparent and straight to the point breakdown video about cinematics one can find on the internet. Hats off.

[@venomtang]

how do his nuts taste

[@elainascott7496]

You are by far the BEST Unreal tutorial channel I've ever seen!! Thank you for communicating these principles so clearly!!

[@aedelya]

A little tip on the anamorphic, you can use the "crop" setting beneath the "focus" setting to change the ratio of the image, instead of tinkering with the filmback, that way you can keep your original sensor size

[@developingtank]

I really want to learn how to make Unreal Engine cinematic videos. This walkthrough was well paced and avoided being overwhelming, while giving a lot of good ideas of what to investigate more to gain more understanding of how to build these types of scenes. I appreciate this kind of video so much. Subscribed and ready to see what else you've put together. Cheers!

[@raymondfox7583]

Just an amazing overview! Thanks for putting that together.

[@FameAvenue]

Loving the way you share information. Appreciate it ❤

[@AgentKain]

I've been looking for a video like this. Thank you!

[@BB-oq4sb]

I liked this video because: - It provided initial info value: shotdeck - No canned phrases or imagery, this was actual footage with a point - It talked about the simplicity of lighting and power of contrast that is used by legendary professionals/projects - It broke down actual imagery, UE and video editing values with a very cause and effect style This was one of the most informative, clean videos I've seen on youtube. Thanks and well done.

[@robertdouble559]

Excellent video Josh, keep 'em coming! That "before DoF" tip for translucent materials is a particularly good one. Lens focal length actually changes the "perceived" depth of field, not the actual depth of field. If you crop the center section of a shot filmed on a 25mm lens and enlarge it to match the equivalent crop of the same scene captured with an 85mm lens they will be pretty much the same in terms of framing, apparent "depth compression" and DoF. A subtle difference in terminology, but a truth of lens physics many people overlook. Sure there will be differences in barrel distortion, diffraction etc, but that's a chat for another day. I imagine you probably know all of this and you're just keeping the video simple for your viewers. Also, nothing screams "CG" more than overuse of chromatic aberration. Thanks for telling the viewers to be subtle with it. It tends to be done to death by beginners and looks....really sh!t. Keep in mind Deakins used some reeeeeally old lenses on Jesse James. REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEALLLLLY old! I remember reading about it in American Cinematographer back when the movie came out. Like yeah, an actual paper magazine from 15 years ago. I'm old. 😁 Looking forward to the next video!

[@thegildededge]

Wow thank you for this! It looks amazing after you added the post process effects, definitely more cinematic. Well done! Inspired to try this now.

[@AAvfx]

That's great 👍 thanks for sharing your techniques

[@olgapoli3040]

My new favourite channel :) Awesome content! Thanks a lot!

[@copilotco]

This video is fantastic!! Thanks for the tips

[@NoobHit]

Thanks, its usually what I'm stuck with all the time, but after following the techniques I leant a lot.

[@aaronrorey638]

Wow amazing techniques Can’t wait to implement them into my workflow.

[@fishingwithcav8240]

Instead of building the physics setup to animate a light, a simple blueprint class actor could be set up to animate the motion of the light. Instead of a fan model, a simple animated light function material could be used.

[@JosephWraith]

Awesome information, Thank you!

[@albertusbodenstein1976]

Amazing.. thanks man!

[@ycaro.3d]

Great! Could you make a video with this idea but focusing on indoor lighting? I work with architectural visualization and have difficulty achieving high levels of realism in interior scenes.

[@ljfproduction]

Unbelievable helpful.. thank u so much

[@dpixvid]

Thanks! These are great tips!!!

[@alxleiva]

I just discovered your channel and I love it! Have you considered making all of the 'lens imperfection' inside unreal? Like the diffusion and halation? I made a Post Process material and it works quite well.

[@SourceAwareness]

Amazing Work, thanks Josh! New subscriber here. 👍🏾

[@leo_n3103]

Great informative video!

[@EmaJinaTionGames]

Really useful explanation, please keep making videos like this. Regards from Costa Rica.

[@atrysk]

you blew my mind, thanks!

[@bibliothequedemode]

Guy !!! You are top and generous ! tks for sharing😀

[@HeadlessStudiosDotCom]

Awesome and Amazing. I want my interactive experiences: {games, films, music videos} to look cinematic. Going to take this knowledge to develop a means to procedurally orientate and adjust the Light/Shadow based on camera position and spatial triggers to select desired lighting effect.

[@IliaCinema]

Chromatic abberations do not appear because of imperfections of the lens, they appear because the refractive index is defferent for different light wave lengths. And different colors have different wave lengths. Like and thanks tho))

[@critchee]

Wow so glad I stumbled across this channel. I have been debating renewing cinema 4S and redshift subscription vs a venture into Unreal 5…

[@jakecolefilms]

You're the man Josh!

[@Mcoivy]

Amazing!

[@jimbobaggins209]

Amazing stuff. I would love to know which scenes you did in the previously mentioned Hollywood films ^___^

[@c10z]

As someone getting their career started in VP, thank you!

[@vinzjralordz6943]

man your office looks cool!

[@curioussoul5151]

Thank you so much

[@jul8803]

Ah ah loved the nod at Roland Emmerich's Godzilla lens flares! :D

[@chelo111]

straight 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@ArthurBaum]

Very important and often overseen topic. Thanks for getting this out. Though I need to add one of the most important if not the important secrets to filmmaking: Story is key! All of the techniques you've mentioned need to be shaped and molded to support the narrative of your film, which often translates to: Break the rules if necessary. For example, there's no point in low-key short side lighting if you're showing a happy conversation between your protagonists. Same thing applies to your other tips. It really depends on the story. Though I really like your approach on lighting: less is more. Sometimes even one light source does more than you'd think. Pro tip: since the introduction of Lumen using bounce cards as fill lights works surprisingly well. Oh, and one other thing about the translucency pass: This is NOT a magic solution for all your DOF issues. It's a temporary fix and will only shift the problem. Translucency will never behave realistically in combination with DOF inside Unreal. That's just a limitation of deferred rendering. I'd advise you to create multiple instances of your TL materials with different pass parameters and / or use masked materials and blur the edges. That was a lot of unstructured informations to add. Again, thanks for the video. It's super important to talk about those topics but let's never forget what makes a movie "cinematic" first and foremost: the ability to tell a compelling story.

[@liuxihe827]

Super useful, make my 3-day apprentice cgi totally different.

[@YiqunMa]

Really gold information, what the monitor model?

[@jeanrenaudviers]

Brillant event Mr Free is completely freezed. Nice video.

[@A.Jackson2848]

Great skills. What’s the best way to keep the chromatic aberrations subtle? I’m noticing it more and more these days and it seems too strong in some cases.

[@GameDev1]

How do you add a shaky-cam? Thanks a lot for the video, it was really helpful.

[@juancarlossolargr]

Y si queremos saber qué es lo que pasa, demos ir a la comunicación de los canales. Gracias Josh.

[@morbidfancy1]

oh man ….. thank you ….so much … i have no words :)

[@eastudio-K]

great video

[@juancarlossolargr]

"Create physics interaction, whith light". Thank you Josh.

[@adz951]

Obviously, everybody is mentioning grain, which is also the first thing that popped into my head and was surprised that you left it out. But I love how you focused on the imperfections of the optics as a way to make the image more realistic. And I agree about lighting - less is often more. Another couple of points - the obvious 24 FPS with a 180 degree shutter angle is always worth mentioning. Using lenses in the 24mm to 50mm range (Super 35 equiv). Exporting the footage in a LOG gamma curve and grading afterwards - which can be really simple with a good colour space transformation and then a print film LUT (Juan Melara has some fantastic ones).

[@apollokreed001]

Loved your video. Don forget grain!

[@thedevo01]

It is genuinely hilarious how lens and camera manufacturers compete to replicate the perfection of CGI while CGI professionals compete to perfectly replicate the imperfections of lenses and cameras 😂

[@TheChroniclesofLouie]

I've always wanted to take the plunge into UE5, Josh. Currently, I'm working on a machinima series using Starfield as a set. Primitive compared to the amazing creations of UE5. Interesting video. Sub'd.

[@VIPAH]

There's a scene from Resident Evil 2 I wanted to recreate without having to get a location scout or production designer to build a set, basically it's a fight scene with zombies in the Police Office at night. I got the right film gear and film crew, gaffer n grips. I just need experience using Unreal engine 5. Looks technically challenging. I also got a High end PC to render (4080 GPU).

[@tamilorejoseph4704]

Hey, are u using ACES Color view transform in unreal ?

[@zenparvez]

Great tutorial and breakdown Josh, I still have the same question, how do you apply the method of 3 point light when the character is moving ? I am working on a shot were the character is indoor and have some moving shots, what method should I follow ?

[@elvismorellidigitalvisuala6211]

Try to parent the 3 lights as child of the character

[@JoshToonen]

You want to use stronger light sources farther away. Take a look at how they shoot on large sets (search for b-roll of Harry Potter)

[@TerenceKearns]

Nice 👍

[@AlgorithimError]

Hey josh could you please make video on animating characters in unreal? Im still so bad at it, and im using an FK control rig (plug in) it would be a huge help

[@FelipeSotoSCel]

incredible..!! Please, how would it be in davinci resolve..!!!

[@umutcoskun4247]

Just the channel I need. Want to learn Houdini + UE5, to create VR movies.

[@lovechopra07]

is this available light linking or unlinking in ue5?

[@TheDailyMemesShow]

14:19 Even for a person that wouldn't create a simple cube in UE5 to save his own life? I'm interested, really. By the way, Josh, I love your content 😊

[@norbertvarga8375]

how do you add lens diffusion in after effects?

[@unfathomable_1999]

Did anyone buy his course, Unreal Fundamentals ???

[@CarolaCDixon]

also looking to find this out!

[@Watermalone-zi6mj]

Yeah I did

[@demonhogo]

God i wish lighting interacted with a media plane so we could green screen characters and have lighting physics interact with them. It's been a huge problem for me

[@sketchinbeats]

Pretty sure it is possible. I watched a video on it. Workaround but still

[@RM_VFX]

How do you expect to relight a greenscreen actor? You need to do some post or add a DMX system.

[@demonhogo]

@@RM_VFX I’m looking into superimposing a mannequin onto the media plane as well. Compositing is still necessary obviously tho

[@tuoni410]

It’s possible off world live plug-in in the market place

[@heathenflair]

Look into wonder dynamics. I had the same problem until I discovered them.

[@arjun220]

Adding a subtle noise also is one of the rule.

[@sinc356]

Can I use ue5 in Asus tuff gaming?

[@HugoArcier]

hello, did you plan to sell you Nuke template separately?

[@srinivaskatta1907]

Can you share your template. Thank you 🙏

[@Malfunction_54]

More vocabulary words for me. I had to search for what is boca. Apparently it's spelled b-o-k-e-h. I realized this is exactly how we draw comic frames, by not overdetailing the background (a few suggestive scribbles will do) and thus losing the character in the visual information overload.

[@user-en5ig3hz9h]

Can you please fix your fundamentals project file downloads? I have tried from multiple computers. Are they available at another location? Would love to get started with the course.

[@JoshToonen]

Hey! This may be fixed by simply double-clicking on the download link. Let me know if you're still having issues, just email us at [e-mail]

Friend, ask me a question, I want to buy a super notebook to work with Unreal, would it be better to have a Macbook M3 Max 64 gigabytes or a Windows Windows notebook also equipped? thanks

[@lovelearn341]

What program did u use for compositing?

[@JoshToonen]

Nuke! Search for NukeX Non-Commercial to try it out for free

[@malz]

5:50 but there are lenses with aperture less than one : P let's take a famous NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct as an example

[@georgikozhuharov2293]

Hi, which of your courses is best for person who will start with unreal engine 5 for the first time :) I am professional videographer and I really want to start doing unreal engine cinematic videos which I could use in my documentary movies. Now for the first time in years I will have 3 months free time and I really want to start learning this software.

[@JoshToonen]

Hey Georgi! Definitely Unreal Fundamentals - it's designed for completely beginners and by the end you'll understand how to create your own action scenes, environments, and animations. Check it out: www.unrealforvfx.com/fundamentals

[@christiandebney1989]

I'm struggling to get really hi quality renders using path tracer do you have an up to date tutorial on this?

[@JoshToonen]

Hey Christian! I do over at UnrealForVFX.com/fundamentals but tbh it’s not something I’m looking to make a video about soon!

[@christiandebney1989]

@@JoshToonen no worries i think ive figured it out

[@jahmazonjahmazon321]

What’s the minimum specs required laptop 💻 would I need to join your “boot camp unreal course”?

[@JoshToonen]

You’d want a laptop with a GPU that has 8GB of VRAM. Otherwise most Gaming PCs run Unreal just fine 👌🏻 Otherwise download Unreal for free along with any free demo project and see how it runs!

[@Zanshu]

w video as usual

[@ramontg5488]

Hi 😁 do you have courses or any ones you recommend?

[@JoshToonen]

Yes! We have an Unreal course to take you from a complete beginner to Unreal Filmmaker in just 3 weeks! Check it out at www.UnrealForVFX.com/fundamentals

[@OOTheBlueAir]

what programs will be the future,???? there's too many for a beginner to select one! I feel im gonna be spred too thin if I dont have a few core programs. 1 blender 2 after effect 3 nuke 4 unreal 5 5 Maya 6 cinema 4d 7 rest what are the program of the future????? UE 5 if you wanna be the director. and film maker, but if you want to maby have a job, like freelance, is it also then UE 5 ? Thanks

[@ahmedshakib3883]

I would two things , Vignettes and Noise.

[@reed4109]

what about grain?

[@madlookzvfx]

How to be part of your team?

[@thedebapriyakar]

HOLY SHIT DUDE YOU MADE THE TESSERACT VIDEO???

[@jochmajor6925]

👍👍

[@SuperlativeCG]

The characters I made move just like video game characters. LOL.

[@Benjamin-vx2ot]

all you need too.... is a damn good computer 😅

[@emumist]

Video starts at 1:00

[@TheBlackbirdii]

Niw i Challenge you to do that in unity

[@creatorediillusioni]

chromatic aberration is very abused by unprofessional developers, to cheaply and easily give more style to their games. but is very to much aggressive and arrogant making games very heavy to be played for long time. this is very good use of CA. good job

[@DoctorPersival]

Hello, how can a character get wet after going in water or rain?

[@peter486]

hey josh.

[@RM_VFX]

Basically, learn to light, use Lumen, and render with the Movie Render Queue.

[@insertanynameyouwant5311]

idk dude, it does look better with your tips, but not realistic that much when it comes to characters. Environments - yeah

[@chooch_mcgee]

amazing, in 10ys this will all be automated via AI

[@serwinzzalot9989]

He days simple and shoes images with 1 to 3 lights. Then creates image with 4 or more lights to make it dynamic. Contradiction

[@serwinzzalot9989]

Not every shot needs shallow depth. Bokeh is so over used with kids these days.

[@betterdeadthanred4196]

But how can you monetize it?

[@JoshToonen]

Charge clients, start small with logo reveals, product shots, and simple animations (fiverr, upwork, linkedin, work at a studio). Then start building up up to 30-second ads and short films with characters. Unreal is the bomb for short freelance work!

[@betterdeadthanred4196]

@JoshToonen thanks! I make architectural visualizations that have almost no value. Im thinking of mixing up with something else but have no idea with direction to go. I'm thinking product design, but I would love to hear from pros like you.