ANIMATION: Downtown Train: Making a music video using Unreal (for the first time)
I’m currently taking a class at NYU called Virtual Performance and Unreal, taught by Professor August Luhrs, and our midterm assignment was to create a music video using Unreal Engine! I chose the song “Downtown Train”, inspired by the ending of one of my favorite shows, “How I Met Your Mother”, following a story of unrequited love on a train platform.
Inspiration
Because “How I Met Your Mother” is one of my favorite shows of all time, I chose the song “Downtown Train” from the moment Ted meets the Mother, and used that as a starting off point to create the animated music video. I also chose the setting to be a train platform, exploring various times of day, weathers, and situations all around the same setting. I was inspired by the show “Better Call Saul” for the sharp compositions and the way characters were framed in the shots. Finally, the themes of the music video were inspired by the movie “500 Days of Summer”, which explores how relationships aren’t meant to last, and how after every experience we have that doesn’t work, there is always the next one.
Storyboarding
I started storyboarding various “key shots” around the train platform that I wanted to keep repeating throughout the story to emphasize changing situations. These shots included one of the characters standing on the platform and an over the shoulder shot of the main character looking at the girl.
Blocking the Scene
I found assets for a train platform, including a model and subway columns, as well as assets for stylized buildings, giving the impression of a city outside the platform. I then laid out the set, and started blocking out the key shots of the scenes based on the storyboard, testing out various combinations of composition, character staging, and playing around with lighting of different colors and placement.
Moving the Characters
After I had set up the environment, I started blocking out the character movements and inserting various animations I had found on Mixamo . I spliced the movements together, and adjusted the spacing of the frames to align with the animations.