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What’s the big deal with real-time rendering in real-time animation? Sure, you can shorten production by cutting out the long render timeouts, but there is so much more to it. The scale of renders from game engines has grown in recent years, their quality now on par with indie renderers. But more importantly, real-time technology can take the animation from linear to parallel.
The entire team can review the interface development as each scene is developed, and iterate over the lighting, camera angles, and post effects in real-time. Team members can suggest different approaches, and the concept can appear in minutes, not hours or days. In a nutshell, teams can try different ways to tell the story and see what works best, all in real-time. No more seeing the end result.
Faster, more iterative processes also mean that previously shipped style groups are now within reach. When you can quickly try out new styles for characters, environments, and lighting, the sky is the limit. Another benefit of a real-time workflow is the media content: print media, trailers, and social media, all using the same assets as the production process itself.
Game engines for animation
The real-time workflow for animation is rooted in game development. As real-time tools like Unreal Engine have evolved to produce picture quality worthy of the last pixel, TV, and film production teams are turning to real-time technology to develop interfaces, previs, virtual production, trailers, and post-production. Real-time rendering for animation is a natural extension of using this technology.
Related post: What is Unreal Engine? Unreal Engine history and current development trend
The story is king in Real-time animation
One fact remains the same: the story is king. You can have a great environment and voice actors, but unless your audience interacts with your characters and story, it’s all in vain. One place where the real-time pipeline really shines is during story development. While storyboards are still important, sometimes you can’t see the best way to tell a story until the scenes are staged.
With a more traditional approach to cartoon production, each artist is passionate about his or her specific work. By the time the issue is resolved – such as the environment needing more rocks and trees, or the post effects not working with the rendered image – there could be days or weeks and the director could face the difficult decision of having time to send notes back to the artists. With a real-time pipeline, there is no such compromise.
Artists can review footage directly with the director and make any suggested changes while the meeting is still ongoing. Teams can try out different lighting positions, color schemes, and camera angles in real-time. If further editing is needed, the director can speak immediately. Special effects can be added instantly to see how they work with the scene.
Changes that can take weeks with traditional pipelines can happen in minutes or hours. Storytelling meetings can range from tough decision-making challenges to creative brainstorming sessions where ideas can be explored in real-time. This is the advantage most often cited by animation producers and directors: that the real-time system leaves more time for the creativity of storytelling.
Conclusion
Above is some information on Real-Time Rendering in Real-time animation. To learn more about this animation technology, you can read the post “Real-time rendering in real-time animation – What is the big deal with it?” of us. Remember to come back to Animost for the latest update of the animation industry.
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