Category: The Last Influencer Standing

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It’s a wrap! Storyboards with Unreal Engine and MetaHumans

We just did a shoot for a short horror film using our virtual production setup, shooting about 15 minutes of script over 15 hours of production. We’re making this film for the Louisiana Film Prize, a short film competition taking place in October 2023.

One of the things that made the shoot go so smoothly was the fact that we made a storyboard ahead of time using MetaHumans. Most of the cast and crew was new to virtual production, and the storyboard gave them insights into what we’d be shooting and how it would work. We were also able to use the same camera setups from Unreal Engine to get the backgrounds up in seconds, and to pose the actors according to the storyboard.

Check out our video about the process:

One of the best aspects of doing storyboards and production with Unreal Engine and MetaHumans is the way the cast and crew responded. Everyone was excited to be part of this new technology, and many came up with creative ideas on the fly. Because it’s so easy to adjust the background, lights, and camera angle, we were able to try different things and get a lot of footage for the editor to play with.

We’ll have more as we get into post and complete the film.

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Table read!

One of the best ways to get cast and crew excited about a film is to host a table read, where we read through the script together. It’s great for learning what works in the script (and what doesn’t), and in getting everyone on board with what you’re looking to accomplish.

Left to right: Kay (lighting), Yvonne (PA), Jarrod (actor), Lizzy (Script Supervisor)

Last week we held a table read at our home for our upcoming short film “The Last Influencer Standing,” a comedic horror story of influencers battling to the death for one million followers. About half the cast and crew were able to attend, and we assigned some crew to read for the cast that wasn’t there.

Terese (lead actor), Michele (director), Jen (costumes)

It also gave us an opportunity to do a quick costume fitting for the lead actor, and for the director to model the T-shirts the “influencers” would wear during the shoot.

It was great to see everyone have such a great time, and also to hear the laughs come at all the expected spots.

Principal photography is scheduled for next month. We can’t wait!