Unity is enabling film and animation studios to revolutionize their pipelines with features developed specifically to empower storytellers who are creating linear and interactive content. Learn more about features such as Python, Shotgun, the Arbitrary Output Variables (AOV) used in Recorder for export, Alembic, and Universal Scene Description (USD).
Speaker:
Mathieu Muller - Unity
Watch the session on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wrc3R-BoDGs
30. 30
Treasure Trekkers (Bwater) – 52x11min TV series (2018-2019)
China Transylvania Irland
Kenia Arizona Sahara desert
Ness lake Fantasy forest Under the ocean
35. Internal
Demos
35
The butterfly Effect
BlackSmith
Adam
Book of the Dead
Lexus demo
The Heretic
BMW Real-time raytracing
Sherman
Jungle Book Previz
Mr Carton
Adam Episode 2
Adam Episode 3
Sonder
MPC Genesis
Heidi saison 2 (Studio 100)
Timboo & Tuskar
Baymax Dreams
Baobab Rainbow Crow
Disney Cycles
The Third Floor
Deltatre
Eurosport
DV Group
Miam! + Artefacts Studio
Wise Blue Studio
Gaumont Animation
Fauns
Atlas V
Umanimation
Big Company
Small
OnAnimation
The Mill
…
External
Productions
37. 3D Rendering for episodic
content: real-time
rendering is good enough
or better than offline +
compositing.*
37
*Depends on how much hair and fur!
Short by Sparx - Offline rendering (2018)
Short by Sparx - Real-time rendering (2018)
38. Working in smaller group,
gain in creativity and
productivity (eg: less need
of storyboard)
38
39. No happy accidents.
People always control
what they do because
they see what they
get.
39
Premier Festival de films temps-réels (Unite Los Angeles, 2018)
41. Exchange with DCC and
production pipeline are
critical, as well as
organizing team work.
41
42. Pipeline: Formats and
standards (USD,
MaterialX,
OpenSubDiv,...) are
converging but more work
needs to be done both on
Unity and studios side.
42
43. Many possibilities to
explore and develop in
productions (virtual
production, mocap, live,
controllers, AR Walls,
realtime raytracing,
photogrammetry...).
43
Passage (Theoriz, 2018) – AR Wall
Disney Miraculous Live chat (Big Company 2019)
44. Estimated productivity
gain: 2x
44
Collaborative & parallel workflow
PreProduction =
Production
Instant review and
iteration
Creative decisions even late in the project
Artists work in
context of the
film amd other
departments
48. Who and what
48
Location based
entertainment
High end location based VR,
theme parks rides, and
derived home entertainment.
Animated films
Animated TV series, shorts,
and feature film.
VFX & Virtual
production
Previz, on-set previz, post-
viz, tech viz, AR walls, until
actual production and post
production.
Advertisement
Multi-channel marketing
content creation including VR,
installations, digital signage,
and web configurators
Broadcast
Broadcast overlays, virtual
studios, AR walls, OTT/
streaming apps
50. Infrastructure
Floating license, closed
network, Linux Unity
Editor on CentOS, Cloud
services
Pipeline
Integration with DCCs (roundtripping, live link,...),
python, asset management (eg: shotgun, Ftrack),
recorder, render passes, color pipeline, and formats
standards (eg: USD, MaterialX, OpenColorIO,
OpenTimelineIO,...), workflows for large teams,...
Graphics
Rendering to 11 (eg: Soft shadows, real-
time raytracing, high end post processing,
hair and fur, stacked lit shaders,...),
advanced camera (Cinemachine, physical
camera), HDRP VR
50
Animation
Advanced animation inside of Unity (free form
animation, custom deformers, all running with
ECS, new animation workflows,...), and
sequencing tool (Timeline)
Performance Capture
Plug any capture device
(mocap, virtual camera,...) and
record performances and re-
takes.
Video
Professional video IO (SDI, NDI,...),
advanced compositing (chroma key,
lens distorsion and calibration, node
based compositing,...)
6 pillars of development
51. Success in large scales
productions (eg: 500min)
51
Infrastructure
Floating license, closed
network, Linux Unity
Editor on CentOS, Cloud
services
Pipeline
Integration with DCCs (roundtripping, live link,...),
python, asset management (eg: shotgun, Ftrack),
recorder, render passes, color pipeline, and formats
standards (eg: USD, MaterialX, OpenColorIO,
OpenTimelineIO,...), workflows for large teams,...
Python + Shotgun in Unity (2019)
52. Continue to push graphics for more
ambitious visuals
52
Graphics
Rendering to 11 (eg: Soft shadows, motion
blur, real-time raytracing, high end post
processing, hair and fur, stacked lit shaders,
tissue, muscle, cloth simulation...),
advanced camera (Cinemachine, physical
camera), HDRP VR
Animation
Advanced animation inside of Unity (free form
animation, custom deformers, all running with
ECS, new animation workflows,...), and
sequencing tool (Timeline)
Unity Megacity demo (ECS demo)
Real-time raytracing
Fur
53. Virtual production
integrated to pipelines
53
Performance Capture
Plug any capture device
(mocap, virtual camera,...) and
record performances and re-
takes.
Video
Professional video IO (SDI, NDI,...),
advanced compositing (chroma key,
lens distorsion and calibration, node
based compositing,...)
Facial AR Remote
Digital Media Monarch Virtual production
DeckLink support
63. Example of Editorial Pipeline in Unity
63
Sequence01 Sequence02
Shot10 Shot20 Shot30 Shot40
MEDIA01
Video
Snapshot
Real-time
Video Take03
Video Take02
Video Take01
Shot50EDITORIAL
Photography
REAL-TIME
MEDIA
Actors
Set, FX, Crowd,...
Actor1
Actor2, ...
Camera Anim
Dolly, crane,...
ACTOR1
PHOTOGRAPHY
ACTORS
Body Animation
Facial Animation
Cloth cache,...
BakedReal-time
79. Convergence of Pipelines (“Hybridization”)
79
● Physical based shading, lighting, and physical camera
● Convergence of data and material formats (FBX, Alembic, USD, MDL, MaterialX, USDShade,…)
● Improvement and Standardization of real-time materials (Stacklit, GGX, Disney SSS)
● Real-time Raytracing
CHALLENGES:
● Large scenes, large number of triangles, large texture size
=> Hybrid pipeline (real-time and offline rendering)
Þ Data transformation pipeline
● Distributed teams, fast iterations, collaborative workflow
=> Cloud based production pipelines
80. Convergence of Distribution Platforms
80
● Google Stadia and Nvidia GeForce Now
Þ From buying hardware and installing games to Streaming Games!
● Streaming games vs Streaming Films?
=> Difference is a Game pad
● Netflix streaming games ? Steam streaming films? Or…
● 5G = Streaming anywhere
81. A New Entertainment Era
81
● Value is Consumption and User Acquisition, not # of sales
Þ New formats (short, long, interactive, asynchronous, social,…)
● Giants building differentiable catalogues
=> Need a lot more new IPs!
● Switching from linear to interactive is instantaneous
=> Natural transmedia
● Need for social entertainment
Þ VR, AR, LBE, Immersive Theatre