Industry first: Documentary Film uses Unreal Engine

Blindflug Studios and Dschoint Ventschr announced that they are collaborating for the latest film project by Swiss filmmaker Samir titled THE MIRACULOUS TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORKING CLASS INTO FOREIGNERS.

For his new documentary movie, Samir uses animated sequences that represent his memories of growing up in the working-class milieu in Switzerland. But instead of going the traditional animation route, these sequences are being produced inside Unreal Engine.

With this technology, the scenes do not get animated frame by frame as it would be the case in typical animation. Instead, the filmmaker can use the camera freely in a “virtual set”. The scenes get prepared in the game engine with all the needed 3D models, backgrounds and effects, and the animation for the human characters gets realized thanks to motion capturing.

When all the assets and animated characters are prepared for the virtual set in the game engine, the filmmaker can choose the light source, camera position and framing in real time however they like. This whole process is quicker, more flexible and cheaper than traditional 2D or 3D animation. The goal is to create a modern audiovisual experience and to use the new design possibilities of game technology, which allow a mixture of photorealistic and fantastical representations.

Check out the official teaser trailer here.

“With the successful docu-animation film CHRIS THE SWISS, I gained extensive experience as a producer in the possibilities of incorporating animation into documentary film work. I have always liked the fact that animated sequences in documentary films also allow for a ‘liberation’ of the classic documentary narration,” explains Samir, the director of the movie. “Based on these experiences, I would like to delve into these new possibilities of documentary animation in my documentary essay project THE MIRACULOUS TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORKING CLASS INTO FOREIGNERS. In particular, I have been drawn to the new technological possibilities created in the game industry for quite some time. It was a stroke of luck that the professional game specialists at Blindflug Studios in Zurich were willing to cooperate. I'm happy that we're both moving into new territory and creating a bridge with this work in the two previously separate fields of ‘audio vision’.”

“I have always been very interested in producing cinema and games from a single mold and merging the two media. With this project, we're one step closer to this great goal,” adds Moritz Zumbühl, president of Blindflug Studios.

For more information about THE MIRACULOUS TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORKING CLASS INTO FOREIGNERS: www.working-class.ch

Find more behind-the-scenes material in this blog post by Blindflug Studios: https://www.blindflugstudios.com/blog/combining-film-and-game-technology