3D Digital Media Changing The Way We Make Things

I started retraining in real-time 3D computer graphics 9 years ago. The speed of change means that continual retraining is basically the standard practice.

Video game engine technology has developed so far and fast that working and creating within Real-time 3D simulations will become the normal way of doing things over the next decade. This will be true not just for video games, but for all creative technical fields.

Why is this? Because these virtual production tools are absolutely f**king awesome!

So powerful, if it’s imaginable you can make it.

Unreal Engine is currently the most accessible real-time software ecosystem and it’s free to use and to learn. Epic, who own it, have acquired and are integrating a raft of systems and resources that make the work of virtual 3D production much more attainable to those from creative backgrounds. E.g. Megascans, which allows you to drag and drop cinematic-grade environment components into scenes, and Metahumans, which allows near-photorealistic animated characters to be made in a matter of hours. Add to this the Unreal Fab Marketplace, where people sell the worlds and systems they have created so that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. These things added together liberate months of labour. So that attention can be more focussed on creation.

However, learning it is not straightforward. You cannot just read some instructions and get down to it. UE5 and similar real-time engines consist of vast, multilayered, modular, interconnected and open-ended systems. It is designed to be adapted and altered to suit any kind of project at any scale, which means there is no single method to learn. And even if there was, there is so much to learn that it is impossible to achieve as a sole human. If you try to learn the software speculatively, you will get very lost, very quickly. Besides, many of those skills and knowledges will be automated and consolidated within a few years of learning them. Traditional education methods which centre on personalised learning are not that helpful. It is possible, but it will take you years.

Instead, you must learn how to identify and acquire the relevant skills and knowledge to solve the particular problems of your specific project. It’s a research skill.

So, the most valuable skills to develop with regard to these complex software ecosystems are those that articulate your vision. Both creatively and technically. If you can clearly express what you intend, then the tasks and waymarkers that need to be completed become obvious, so when you approach these behemoth real-time engines you know which systems you need to understand and control. The tasks will drive your learning. The clearer your intentions, the more efficient the learning process becomes.

But it doesn’t stop there. These new software tools, or perhaps a better metaphor would be ‘entire encapsulated simulated industrial processes’ necessitate cooperative and collaborative working methods.

The systems contained within the real-time engines have inscribed in them references to the deep knowledge bases from the real-world practices that they simulate. To create something, you must have knowledge of multiple disciplines, for example cinematography, character animation, architectural design, game design, lighting, narrative design, scriptwriting, garment design, simulation, programming, etc., etc., etc. Basically, it is beyond normal human capacity to become accomplished in all these things.

So, methods of building teams with diverse interests and expertise are of the highest value. As is working effectively with them.

Generally, a traditional education places value on and encourages sole authorship and self-determined working methods. Great! But most people have little or no exposure to complex team working until they are several years into their working careers. It is pure chance whether those collaborative experiences provide good, best-practice skills or just whatever worked at the time. It’s a really good idea to build effective collaborative working methods into your repertoire.

So, if you are interested, I am developing new programmes and workgroups to help people develop into this new area. Please get in to discuss.