Discovering the Sequencer

The Sequencer is a pivotal tool to learn for Unreal Engine in general and is mandatory if you need to render anything. While it was, for me, an entirely new concept coming from the world of offline renderers, I found it quite intuitive and essential, and I learned it rather quickly. The Sequencer, as its name suggests, is where your shots – ultimately, sequences of images – are assembled before being rendered. However, the Sequencer is more than just this; through it, you can not only access rendering functions but also animate all types of things, including the camera. These animations are then accessible from within the game and Blueprints as well, becoming an integral part of your scene. Learning how to use the Sequencer and animate through it is of the utmost importance, especially for our purposes. So, don’t waste any time and follow me into this new chapter.

In this chapter, we’re going to cover the following main topics...

Technical requirements

The project files for the chapter can be found at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Architectural-Visualization-in-Unreal-Engine-5

Discovering the basics of the Sequencer

The concept of sequences initially struck me as a bit unfamiliar, given that my previous years of experience with Blender and 3ds Max did not involve anything equivalent. While everything else I had encountered so far (except for Blueprints) was somewhat familiar to me, as is typically the case for anyone working in the CGI field, the Sequencer and the entire rendering process presented a degree of novelty that required some time for me to acclimate to.

To elucidate the nature of the Sequencer, let’s momentarily reflect on the concept of a timeline, which is a staple in traditional offline renderers. In this timeline, keyframes are utilized to animate a wide array of elements, correct? Now, within Unreal Engine, there isn’t a single consolidated timeline, given its status as a game engine geared for real-time interaction. Therefore, the concept of “sequences” comes into play. A sequence functions akin to a timeline...

Sequencer for cinematics

As the main task for Archviz artists revolves around rendering and animations, the Sequencer’s key role is to manage this. Understanding how to connect cine cameras to sequences, configure rendering settings, and delve into camera animation via keyframes will be covered since it is the only way to render our camera views.

In the subsequent sections, open your project scene with 2-4 designated cameras, and systematically follow the instructions to associate them with sequences (which we will render in the next chapter).

Creating a sequence with linked cameras and spawnable cameras

Having covered sequence creation, our focus will shift to generating renderable sequences by linking our cameras to them through tracking. As highlighted earlier, theoretically, any sequence can accommodate numerous cameras using cut tracks or shots. However, for still images, I prefer individual sequences for each camera by utilizing standalone single sequences (since...

Sequencer for animations

As we mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, Sequencer is a powerful tool. Using it to record camera views and render them is just the tip of its capabilities. We can utilize it to animate actors in complex ways – for example, we can track various properties and create intricate animations. In this section, we will cover the basics, but it’s important to keep in mind its potential for handling more complex tasks in the future.

Next, we will delve into animating static meshes and light actors and explore how to reuse these animations. This concept applies not only to skeletal actors but also to Blueprint actors and alembic assets. Each of these actor types offers properties that can be animated.

Before moving on

As I’ve said many times now, naturally, these concepts hold relevance when working with animations exclusively, not with still images – especially in advanced animations where not only cameras but also objects...

Summary

This chapter has been quite lengthy, but I hope it hasn’t been overly so, as it’s packed with valuable information. However, as I’ve mentioned several times, not all the information presented here will be immediately applicable to your needs. Don’t stress about absorbing every detail. The key concepts you need are centered around creating a Level Sequence Actor and linking a camera to it – that’s sufficient for rendering. Nonetheless, delving into the other concepts outlined here will greatly benefit you, both in cinematic productions and interactive gaming experiences. Learning Unreal, like many other pursuits, is best done in incremental steps. Begin with something small and gradually increase the complexity as you gain proficiency.

Throughout this chapter, we explored the Sequencer comprehensively – its significance, how to open it, its interface, and its functionalities. We learned about three different methods for creating...