Real-Time Explainers

Welcome to Real-Time Explainers, a constantly expanding resource that aims to shine some light on a range of topics relating to real-time technology and the Unreal Engine ecosystem. Ready to get started? Go ahead and dive right in!

Courtesy of It Takes Two | Hazelight Studios
Courtesy of ICG IATSE Local 600

Virtual production

Virtual production is changing the face of storytelling across the entire media and entertainment industry. Find out how it’s giving directors, cinematographers, and producers more creative control, while slashing production schedules and budgets.

Real-time broadcast and live events

Whether used to entertain or explain, 3D graphics have helped broadcast and live events for years, adding visual intrigue to what might otherwise be a dull screen. With real-time technology, teams now see a way to create viral concert moments, mixed reality broadcasts, virtual sets, and more in one place. 
Courtesy of FOX Sports

Animation

Animation gives us the means to tell stories through characters, worlds, movement, and visual effects, whether based on real life or completely imagined. 

Augmented reality

Augmented reality (AR) might sound like a thing of the future, but it’s one of the most accessible new technologies around. From social media to mobile games, most of us walk around with AR-enabled devices and applications in our pockets, making its potential almost limitless.
Epic Games | Microsoft | HoloLens 2

Digital humans

A key component of the metaverse, digital humans are 3D computer-generated versions of human beings that can be animated to move and behave like real people, but in a virtual world. 

Ray tracing 

Ray tracing is a rendering method that mimicks the behavior of real light as it interacts with objects. Find out more about ray tracing and how it can be used in real-time engines to create more realistic images without slowing you down.