My roll with IMERZA was to manage production of all company-created videos. This entailed cinematography within Unreal, rendering, editing, SFX, motion graphics,all the way through final export. Due to the nature of the company - which was fast-paced and would often call for creative solutions - there would be a variety of approaches. Sometimes we would start with creating a storyboard, or the client would send one. Typically, there was little direction and I would end up just jumping into a project and surveying an architectural space while reviewing notes I'd have access to.
The architect team at HOYT ARCHITECTS would create and provide files of the client’s building for the 3D team at HAL VR. That team would create these exterior and interior spaces within Unreal Engine, in different levels. This is a standard practice in the interactive architecture industry, however I can not expand beyond the basics of our process. I would find the most complimentary angles we could use for our marketing videos and begin setting up shots. I'd often consider the composition, leading lines, the verticals, lighting, and so on during this process. After I set up standard shots of the space I'd start thinking about additional shots we could implement; shots that would play with depth of field or act as macro shots, something that makes a space feel more intimate. Lighting would be baked into the interior scenes, so I would not make adjustments other than swapping HDRIs, however I would be allowed to play with lighting in the exterior levels. I would adjust the sun controller to see what lighting conditions make our buildings look the best. So, during this process I would act as a virtual cinematographer, and make whatever adjustments the client would like and cover notes on other key focuses.
These shots would allow the HAL VR team to communicate about any mesh, material, lighting, and any issues that would need to be addressed before a review from the client. Often times I would have to reconsider a shot due to strict turnarounds when the 3D artists do not have time to make these corrections. From there I would incorporate blueprinting nodes in preparation of rendering these sequences out. After rendering, either directly from the sequence or the render que, I would have a library of shots to choose from during the editing phase.
I would make these marketing videos based off notes of the direction of the client. I would also consider motion graphics, if they were wanted, and create designs and animations. Based on budget and time we would weigh in any additional shots that may need to incorporate people or effects. I would look into any brand guidelines, or search for info on the company if we didn't have the resources available. I would make lower thirds, intros/outros, and any transitions that were requested. There was also the inclusion of stock footage that either the client would provide or I would include that narratively worked with a client's video. After we established a marketing video we would go through various stages based on client feedback. These videos would be located anywhere from their website, social media, or for their internal meetings/pitches.