I have worked in the animated feature film industry for almost 20 years, contributing to 17 animated feature films at various studios. Recently, I teamed up with my friend Kevin Kapersky to establish our own studio, Amulet Studios. Our goal is to produce our own stories using the Unreal game engine.
Before diving into larger projects, it is crucial to have a reliable production pipeline. Throughout my career, I have encountered various pipelines, witnessing what works and what doesn’t. However, what works for big studios with substantial budgets may not be suitable for a small team with limited resources.
In this series of behind-the-scenes videos, I will focus on specific aspects of the production process. Please note that this is not a tutorial or a definitive guide. Instead, it is an exploration of different approaches and their outcomes.
To kick off the series, I wanted to create cinematics that were separate from our existing stories and characters. To generate fresh ideas, I turned to an AI tool called Mid-Journey. This popular image generation tool uses text prompts to create images. By tailoring the prompts, I was able to spark my imagination and generate numerous ideas quickly.
From the generated images, I selected a few favorites that could realistically be completed within a few weeks. I chose one image as the basis for the first scene I would create. With the concept in mind, I started building the scene in Unreal Engine. I experimented with different angles and considered the potential story.
The process of developing the scene was fluid and non-linear. I set up cameras, rendered test shots, and brought them into DaVinci Resolve for editing. This iterative process allowed me to refine the scene until I arrived at a preliminary final edit.
To add depth to the scene, I decided to use a narrator instead of character dialogue. To create the narration, I utilized two AI tools: ChatGPT and 11 Labs. ChatGPT helped me generate a script based on a detailed description of the scene, conveying the mood, actions, and overall atmosphere. I selected the parts I liked from different iterations and combined them into a cohesive final script.
Next, I needed to create the narrator’s voice. 11 Labs provided excellent text-to-speech tools, allowing me to design a cinematic and appealing voice for the narrator. I fine-tuned the voice settings and experimented with different readings to achieve the desired tone.
Mid-Journey, ChatGPT, and 11 Labs played invaluable roles in bringing the scene to life. Their capabilities allowed me to quickly generate ideas, develop the script, and create a captivating voiceover. I plan to continue using this workflow for future cinematics in this series.
This video marks just the beginning of our journey at Amulet Studios. We have ambitious plans for the future and aim to create more useful and interesting content. Your support would mean the world to us. If you enjoyed this video, please like, subscribe to our channel, and turn on notifications to stay updated.
Thank you for joining us on this exciting adventure!
