23012322

For the tunnel, I used an Unreal plugin called procedural vortex tunnel.

Procedural Vortex Tunnel is a powerful Unreal Engine plugin designed specifically for generating dynamic, procedural tunnels. It allows developers to quickly create complex tunnel structures that can be highly customized as needed.

Open Unreal Engine, go to the “Edit” menu, and select “Plugins”.
Search for “Procedural Vortex Tunnel” in the plugin window and click “Install”.
Once installed, restart Unreal Engine to load the plugin.
Create a tunnel:

Right-click in the Content Browser and select “Add New” -> “Blueprint Class”.
Select “Actor” as the parent class, and then name your blueprint class, such as “BP_VortexTunnel”.
Open the newly created blueprint class and add a new “Procedural Vortex Tunnel” component in the component panel.
Configure tunnel parameters:

Select the “Procedural Vortex Tunnel” component and configure the parameters in the details panel.
Adjust the tunnel’s length, radius, curvature, number of segments, and other parameters.
Configure materials and textures to make the tunnel meet your artistic needs.
Preview and adjust in real time:

Drag and drop the blueprint class into the scene to preview the effect of the tunnel in real time.
Adjust the parameters as needed and observe the immediate changes.
Add dynamic effects:

Add dynamic elements such as lights and particle systems inside the tunnel.
Configure the interaction effects between these elements and the tunnel, such as light and shadow changes, particle movement, etc.

Finally, the final effect is obtained by editing

For this project, I first created a scene and used MetaHuman to design and present the character. Then, I used the IK retargeting function I learned in the course to import animation data for this character so that the character could work in front of the computer. To ensure that the animation was more smooth and natural, I also created animation layers to adjust and optimize the character’s movements, especially to solve the problem of the character’s penetration during the animation process.

In the process of using IK retargeting, I encountered some technical difficulties. For example, MetaHuman’s finger joints have one more joint than the finger joints in the imported animation data. This caused serious penetration in the character’s hand model after the animation data was imported. To solve this problem, I deleted the extra bones in MetaHuman’s skeleton chain and manually adjusted the character’s hand shape. This not only improved the character’s hand movements, making them more natural and in line with expectations, but also effectively eliminated the problem of penetration and improved the realism of the overall animation.

In addition, by manually adjusting the character’s hand shape and skeleton chain, I have a deeper understanding of the IK retargeting function and mastered more important techniques for matching bones and animation data. These experiences not only made me more comfortable in handling existing projects, but also laid a solid foundation for my future animation production. In the end, through these adjustments and optimizations, I successfully realized the animation effect of the character working in front of the computer, making the whole scene more vivid and real.

For the scene where the protagonist dozes off, I used the character’s first-person perspective to enhance the audience’s immersion and sense of substitution. Specifically, I first created a camera animation in Unreal Engine, and used keyframes to accurately adjust the camera’s position and movement trajectory to simulate the change in perspective when the character dozes off. This includes the gradual drooping of the line of sight, blurring, and slight shaking of the perspective, all of which add realism to the dozing effect.

To achieve this effect, I set keyframe animations for the camera position, adjusting the camera’s position and angle at different time points to simulate the movement of the character’s head during the dozing process. In addition, in order to better express the character’s eyelid closing and opening movements, I animated the character’s eyelids in Unreal Engine. Through meticulous keyframe adjustments, I ensured that the speed and amplitude of the eyelids’ opening and closing were in line with natural physiological reactions, thereby enhancing the realism of the animation.

After completing these camera and eyelid animations, I rendered all the shots and exported the corresponding material files. Next, I post-processed and edited these materials in Adobe Premiere Pro. In Premiere Pro, I further adjusted the rhythm of the shots, added necessary transition effects and sound effects to improve the overall visual effects and atmosphere. For example, I added some slight environmental sound effects, such as keyboard tapping and indoor background noise, to enhance the sense of presence. At the same time, I also did some color correction and sharpening on the picture to make the final video clearer and layered.

Through this series of production and post-processing, I successfully achieved the effect of the protagonist dozing off, making the entire animation more vivid, realistic, and full of narrative tension. This first-person perspective not only increased the audience’s sense of participation, but also added a lot of fun and interactivity to the whole story.

This week, the teacher showed us how to use Resolume Arena software to connect a projector and project our animation works into the exhibition hall. In this way, our project is not limited to the two-dimensional video plane effect, but can also present a unique effect like installation art, which is impressive. In future works exhibitions, I also plan to use this method to make the works more visually impactful and artistic.

The way to operate Resolume Arena includes importing media files (such as animation works), connecting a projector, adjusting projection settings, and using the controls on the software interface to control functions such as playback, transitions, and special effects. By pressing shortcuts on the keyboard or using a MIDI controller, more precise operation and interactive effects can be achieved. In addition, Resolume Arena also supports real-time image processing and audio response, allowing users to easily create unique and amazing visual effects. By flexibly using these features, you can inject more creativity and artistry into your work, enhance the display effect and audience experience.

In this week’s course, the instructor gave us a brief introduction to the software Resolume Arena and explained its basic operations in depth. Each of us learned how to use this tool to generate visual effects videos required for stage performances, and the instructor also taught us how to use the keyboard to operate to show our work. Through these courses, we not only mastered the basic skills of Resolume Arena, but also were able to use what we learned to create stunning visual effects and add more charm to stage performances.

Resolume Arena is a professional real-time video mixing and visual performance software that is widely used in concerts, stage performances, club parties and various art events. As a powerful real-time creation tool, Resolume Arena provides rich functions and flexible operation methods to help artists and visual designers create unique and amazing visual effects.

This week’s course explains in detail how to import visual works created in Touch Designer into Unreal Engine for display and rendering. By learning this skill, students can not only use Touch Designer’s powerful node system to create complex visual effects, but also use Unreal Engine’s excellent rendering capabilities to present these effects more vividly and realistically. The entire process includes data transmission, real-time interaction, and rendering optimization to ensure efficient display and smooth performance of the final work. This technology provides students with an efficient and diverse method for future work display, allowing them to explore more creative possibilities in the field of digital art and interactive media.

In the second half of this week’s course, we dive into how to do inverse kinematics (IK) retargeting of characters using Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). This technology greatly simplifies the character animation production process and makes the character’s action performance more natural and smooth. IK redirection allows animators to easily adjust a character’s body pose and motion path without having to keyframe it frame by frame, significantly reducing manual work. Specifically, we learned how to set up an IK skeletal system, adjust target position and rotation, and leverage UE5’s powerful tools to optimize character animation. In addition, we also discussed how these technologies can be applied to different types of characters and scenes, making the production of complex actions more efficient and convenient. These skills not only improve the efficiency of animation production, but also provide technical support for creating more realistic character movements.