When we talk about development platforms like Unity, we always do so thinking of them as tools to make videogames, whether they are for mobile or console. However, at Wise Blue, a Valencian studio, they’ve found a completely different use: making animation for series and films.
During her public talk, Nathalie Martinez (producer and director at Wise Blue) not only shared her experience in using Unity for animation, but also encouraged the teams of the F2P Campus to try their luck in the animation industry.
The advantages of using Unity to animate series and movies
“Using Unity for the production of Hero Dad has completely changed our production pipeline,” Martinez said. Firstly, Wise Blue has moved from a linear workflow, in which each department couldn’t do its bit until the previous one was finished, to a multi-process one in which all departments can work on the project at the same time. “This way, if we make a mistake, we don’t have to do everything again, and it has increased the collaboration between each part of the team.”
As a result, the director is able to see a final picture of the project throughout the entire production. Something that gives them much more information when making creative decisions.
Since an engine designed for videogames is being used, rendering times are reduced to almost nothing. “We’ve gone from taking 2-12 hours for every second of video to doing it in real time: 1 second of video in 1 second,” Nathalie Martinez said. “The most we’ve taken is 1.5 seconds of rendering for every second of video, but we were exporting to 8K.”
All this allows you to carry out much more efficient productions in both cost and time, something that allows the studio to be more competitive. According to Martinez, with Unity production time can be reduced by 50% and cost by 20%. “Being able to produce many episodes of Hero Dad in a short time was a determining factor in selling the project.”
Last but not least, animating using a video game engine like Unity allows you to have your assets ready for all kinds of 360° product strategies like videogames, apps, or spin-offs at no extra cost.
All of this makes challenges such as using new technology, changing the structure of your studio, or facing the search for talent, worthwhile.