REFLECTION ON CREATING THE SEQUENCE
My inspiration for this sequence was my personal inclination for dystopian games and films, with a large inspiration being CDPROJEKTRED’s E3 2018 trailer for Cyberpunk 2077. I wanted to take the audio aspect from this trailer and how it lines up action happening in the sequence to the track’s beats and use it within my own work, as previously discussed in the “Storyboarding for a VFX Sequence” post. The addition of sound effects alongside the main audio track in my sequence such as the explosion, having the fire crackle as the camera passed over it and having an electrical hum in the train platform section amplified the visual effects created and made them feel semi-realistic.
YouTube link if the embedded fails: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X2kIfS6fb8
Predominantly in the creation of the scene I used two kitbash packs that had meshes ready to be placed into the Unreal Project to quickly visualise and make changes to how the scene was being presented to the viewer and other small asset packs for detailing, such as adding in the street bar and the street banners. I used three of the animations that came with the Paragon Wraith character model, namely the “Level Start”, “Idle Noise A” and the “Emote_IDK” as I found that these animations best fit the sequence. The final list of all assets that were employed in the creation of this sequence are listed at the end of this post.
I also considered the use of colour throughout this process, as I was recreating the stereotypical neon look that can be seen in most sci-fi/cyberpunk media. In the screenshot below that has been taken from the E3 Cyberpunk trailer, it features heavy use of bright and vibrant colours contrasted by rather neutral colours for the walls and floor, which I feel I have successfully recreated in my own sequence. In terms of colour theory, this can subtly convey to the viewer an aspect of monotony and repetitiveness through the neutral colours and how this is broken with the inclusion of these bright, energetic lights coming from the advertisements and holograms.
I’m proud of how this sequence came out but especially proud of how the upgraded energy shield turned out from the Rebelway tutorial. The tutorial was very complicated and was using certain techniques that I had not come across before, which made me challenge myself to follow it and create something that complex rather than not pushing myself and accepting the initial version of the shield as the final. I used a range of different camera shots and visual effects to create an engaging and dynamic sequence.
If I were to recreate this sequence again, I would like to make a few changes to the camera, such as extending the amount of time that a subject is seen for and tweaking certain shots to ensure that it is in clear focus. Furthermore, I would like to render the video at a higher resolution, as the final product seen below would not render at 2K resolution for unknown reasons, resulting in the minimum requirement of 1080p.
FINALISED SEQUENCE
Audio Reference List:
EpidemicSound (n.d.) Sound effect: Ambulance Horn Honk | Epidemic Sound. www.epidemicsound.com. Available online: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/XTF3kFe7vt/
EpidemicSound (n.d.) Sound effect: City Ambience Busy | Epidemic Sound. www.epidemicsound.com. Available online: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/TES60gvqSa/
EpidemicSound (n.d.) Sound effect: Dimension Portal 1 | Epidemic Sound. www.epidemicsound.com. Available online: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/hVjuDBdfki/
EpidemicSound (n.d.) Sound effect: Electric Hum 3 | Epidemic Sound. www.epidemicsound.com. Available online: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/hIpfrjjXTO/
EpidemicSound (n.d.) Sound effect: Explosion Crash 3 | Epidemic Sound. www.epidemicsound.com. Available online: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/5awLjkLfcs/
EpidemicSound (n.d.) Sound effect: Fire Auto | Epidemic Sound. www.epidemicsound.com. Available online: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/ocG1h8XMG4/
EpidemicSound (n.d.) Sound effect: Metro Train Pass By | Epidemic Sound. www.epidemicsound.com. Available online: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/Oa7VKZXXMO/
EpidemicSound (n.d.) Sound effect: Rain Gutter 2 | Epidemic Sound. www.epidemicsound.com. Available online: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/EqXEs6qhoW/
EpidemicSound (n.d.) Sound effect: Sci Fi Alarm Device 1 | Epidemic Sound. www.epidemicsound.com. Available online: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/FYaoRBgI4j/
EpidemicSound and Wesky (n.d.) Wesky – Lone Lee | Epidemic Sound. www.epidemicsound.com. Available online: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/TlGwrpaFeB/
Asset Reference List:
4d_Bob (2019) Cyberpunk car – Download Free 3D model by 4d_Bob (@3d_Bob) [b4301ff]. sketchfab.com. Available online: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/cyberpunk-car-b4301ff99d214d16a7a43708a5866bf0.
Dekogon Studios (2022) City Street Props in Props – UE Marketplace. Unreal Engine. Available online: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/8162a702d7c747e9ac544dff38af78c8.
Epic Games (2018) Paragon: Wraith in Epic Content – UE Marketplace. Unreal Engine. Available online: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/paragon-wraith?sessionInvalidated=true [Accessed 6 Jan. 2023].
JustFaith (2022) Ramen Vending Machine – Download Free 3D model by JustFaith (@charljustine). sketchfab.com. Available online: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/ramen-vending-machine-3d3c8affeaa44620b7a04fa4a987ff99 [Accessed 6 Jan. 2023].
Leartes Studios (2019) CyberPunk / Sci-Fi Bar Asset Pack in Environments – UE Marketplace. Unreal Engine. Available online: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/cyberpunk-sci-fi-bar-asset-pack [Accessed 29 Dec. 2022].
Leartes Studios (2020) Driveable / Animated Retro Cyberpunk Hover Train in Props – UE Marketplace. Unreal Engine. Available online: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/driveable-animated-retro-cyberpunk-hover-train [Accessed 29 Dec. 2022].
Leartes Studios (2021) Cyberpunk Holograms / Neon Set ( Set of 33 Holograms ) in Props – UE Marketplace. Unreal Engine. Available online: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/cyberpunk-holograms-neon-set-set-of-33-holograms [Accessed 29 Dec. 2022].
Loux, X. (2018) Blocking Starter Pack in Props – UE Marketplace. Unreal Engine. Available online: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/blocking-starter-pack?sessionInvalidated=true [Accessed 29 Dec. 2022].
Sibiriakov, K. (2021) City Environment Megapack vol 02 in Environments – UE Marketplace. Unreal Engine. Available online: https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/product/city-environment-megapack-vol [Accessed 29 Dec. 2022].
Suzanne, A. (2019) Citypunk / Kitbash Props Cyberpunk – Unreal Engine 4. ArtStation. Available online: https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/kXvl/citypunk-kitbash-props-cyberpunk-unreal-engine-4.
VFX Tutorials used:
Aspland, M. (2022) How To Make Rain | Niagara Rain Particle System – Unreal Engine Tutorial. www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_UQYuM1RWU&list=PLDRPVmk_QCwWTdQNcr2c1mRN-dszxOWg5&index=1 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2023].
Coreb Games (2021a) UE4 How to make Hologram Effects l Unreal Engine 4.26 (Tutorial). www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ3MUQYR7ok&list=PLDRPVmk_QCwWTdQNcr2c1mRN-dszxOWg5&index=5 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2023].
Coreb Games (2021b) UE4 Portal Effect l Unreal Engine 4.26 (Tutorial). www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65hZL9oXD5c [Accessed 1 Jan. 2023].
Coreb Games (2021c) UE4 Shield Effect l Unreal Engine 4.26 (Tutorial). www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jvKAvjNJZE&list=LL&index=27 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2023].
Coreb Games (2022a) UE4 Simple & Advanced Spark Lightning Effect l 5-Minute VFX Tutorial l Unreal Engine 4.26 (Tutorial). www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxVZUzadTQY&list=PLDRPVmk_QCwWTdQNcr2c1mRN-dszxOWg5&index=4 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2023].
Coreb Games (2022b) UE5 l How to Create Sound Visualizer using Niagara l VFX Tutorial l Unreal Engine 5. www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUfFzlfLNXc&list=LL&index=27 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2023].
Rebelway (2022) Energy Shield Portal in Unreal Engine & Houdini (Pro Unreal Engine Tutorial). www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzLfGRp-0_w&list=LL&index=15 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2023].
Sir Fansi Gamedev (2021a) Niagara Explosion tutorial in Unreal Engine 4 (UE4 explosion niagara tutorial). www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfr4hfF8NKw&list=LL&index=31 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2023].
Sir Fansi Gamedev (2021b) Niagara fire tutorial in Unreal Engine 4 (UE4 Fire niagara tutorial). www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKIqa_IUkBo&list=LL&index=33 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2023].
Sir Fansi Gamedev (2021c) Niagara Smoke tutorial in Unreal Engine 4 (UE4 smoke niagara tutorial). www.youtube.com. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTTL_bzQLuY&list=LL&index=30 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2023].