Project Idea: UE4 XR Camera Operator

Concept

As film, television, and video-game productions move further into the digital realm, there has been a blurring of the lines between reality and virtual with ever increasing aspects being motion captured or replaced with CGI elements. As this has happened, production techniques have had to change, with motion capture stages incorporating virtual cameras allowing directors and actors to have greater understandings of how their digital counterparts will look situated within the scene.

Tethered and especially untethered VR have increased in availability, quality, and performance such that it is easier than ever to get a true sense of scale for entirely digital worlds and creations.

These are the two worlds I wish to combine with my project, putting the camera operator within the 3D scene, allowing them to view the greater environment the actors will be situated in, whilst also being able to see exactly what and where the actors are.

Problem

Fully and partially CG landscapes and actors are currently limited to being viewed through a directed screen (the virtual camera) in the current production process limiting the creative potential of the director, cinematographer, and the production crew.

Methodology

Using Unreal Engine 4 as a production tool, create a virtual camera that can be used to view and record within the scene. Then create a real life camera rig that can be controlled by the VR Controllers that will match the virtual camera adjustments to a physical camera. Finally, combining these two together to give the Camera Operator a composited image in VR of the real and virtual worlds, allowing to record from both and have them each as reference for production.