Creating High-Quality Batman Cinematics in Unreal Engine 5

Introduction

My name is Alireza (Mehran) Fattahi, and I am an animation/cinematic director and CG artist with a specialization in cinematography and rendering. I am also responsible for CG supervising and technical directing for most of my projects.

After several years of working on various commercial projects, I decided to pursue a lifetime passion project of mine. As a child, I grew up loving Batman and its cinematic world and stories. Therefore, it was natural for me to choose this as the theme for my cinematic animation.

The Batman Project

Initially, I decided to create only a short teaser, all by myself with no budget, using new and fast software solutions without traditional pipelines utilizing new and fast software solutions such as Unreal and iClone. After receiving positive feedback from numerous CG artists, I decided to expand the project into a full 15-minute short animation. To achieve this, I collaborated with a group of highly skilled friends from various departments.

Our main hub is Unreal Engine 5 with its various tools like MetaHuman and Megascans. We use Maya for rigging and animation and ZBrush for character modeling. We also utilize some marketplace assets for the environments.

Lately, my focus has been on developing distinct vertical slices of the project, aiming to achieve a seamless and polished appearance while addressing technical challenges. The most notable difficulties have arisen from tackling the following tasks:

• Merging the MetaHuman face with our Batman body, allowing for synchronized animation between the face and the mask.
• Creating a versatile rain shader that can be applied to different objects without relying on simulations.
• Implementing cloth simulation using Marvelous Designer for various characters.

To facilitate our motion capture process, we plan to utilize Move.ai, and for face animations, we will rely on MetaHuman Animator.

Conclusion

With the invaluable assistance of my artist friend, I am optimistic that we will successfully complete and launch the entire project this year.

I believe that this new pipeline and software are capable of achieving the impossible by allowing us to create high-budget-looking animations with a fraction of the cost and manpower. It opens up new possibilities for small teams and independent artists, giving them the opportunity to create impressive animations that can compete with those produced by larger studios. 

Alireza Fattahi, Unreal Engine Cinematic Director