The Journey Day 12
Unity engine and motion pictures
Being old enough to have seen the first Star Wars in a theater and still have a sliver of memory around the day is kind of cool. Being only four at the time, I can still remember my awe and wonder at the special effects of George Lucas’ classic sci-fi flick. From the flashing lasers, to the intensity of the lightsabers I was hooked. There was a level of fantastical that immediately engaged my imagination. My world would be altered significantly from that day forward.
Since that day I have been a lover of all things special effects. From Battlestar Galactica, to more modern, Avengers, X-men, Blade Runner and more. Special effects and cinematography in general have become less of an observation and more of a goal. I love movies. Framing shots, lighting, setting mood and tone are such an amazing art form that I had only really dreamed about learning until now.
While my GameDevHQ internship IS about game development, in our last meeting Jonathan, the owner and head instructor, clued us in on an avenue that I’m not sure many of us had considered. Motion Pictures. There are two special effects engines that handle the mass majority of special effects these days. Unreal and Unity. Aside from the fact that most of the games that I play are made using those engines, I was surprised to discover many of my favorite movies were in fact, made with Unity.
The Lion King, Ready Player One, Blade Runner 2049 all feature Unity special effects on the big screen while shows such as The Mandalorian use it on our smaller screens. Just the thought of this brought me immediately back to last week’s episode of the Mandalorian. When Boba Fett dropped that seismic charge on the incoming Tie Fighters as the crew attempted to escape their last mission, that really cool and nostalgic scene was made using the tool that I am currently being taught how to use as part of my internship. Mindblown.
So today, with that inspiration I played with making game elements. I reviewed Al’s videos on animation. I found fun sprites to play with and got some really wonky looking animations working. Much like a newborn foal struggling to stand on new legs, my first animations were shaky at best. But from humble beginnings come feature length movies. So, with practice, I know that I can take the tools I’m learning and be successful with them.
As a person new to creating animations in this manner one of the hardest parts is really just manipulating your camera angle and view. Getting used to scaling and zooming and centering your shot. Giving your animations that sense of wonder and amazement takes time. Put in your time, be diligent, and if you walk in a direction, you’ll eventually get to to where you’re going. You just have to stick with it.
I remember my first times at anything. Playing ice hockey, any number of instruments, sketching, painting, poetry, etc all started with a few sour notes and missed shots. I stuck with it, applied a passion towards it, learned my lessons and eventually the tools become integral in my quest to put my mark on life. Lots of practice time was always in order.
I may not have ended up with much to speak of today other than experience and the beginnings of some ideas but that’s where it starts, from humble beginnings. I know that as the days go on taking time to make those life changing scenes and effects such as those in my favorite movies and tv shows is all part of the journey. These things can’t be rushed and slammed through. You can see the difference. I’m enjoying this part of the journey. Taking time to make things special is all part of experiencing and appreciating the path.
