Global VFX & animation company Goodbye Kansas Studios has partnered with Epic Games, creators of Fortnite, on a game-changing project that will power the future of content creation. Intersecting award-winning filmmakers with traditional pre-rendered pixel perfectionists, and empowered by game industry pioneers, Goodbye Kansas has revealed “Troll,” a real-time cinematic technology demonstration created with Epic’s Unreal Engine, directed by Björne Larson, and developed by the Goodbye Kansas VFX, CGI and Motion Capture studios in Stockholm and Los Angeles.
To drive a new generation of content creation for film, TV and games, Goodbye Kansas and Deep Forest Films built the tech demo using Unreal Engine 4.22 ray tracing and camera effects to achieve an unprecedented level of cinematic-quality lighting in the short, which features a digital princess, fairies, and trolls in a misty Scandinavian forest.
3Lateral, as a part of Epic Games, carried out 3D and 4D facial scanning and applied its META Human Framework to create the digital princess capable to convey subtle and emotionally rich facial performance. This is the first preview where 3Lateral’s 4D based technology was applied in relevant shots of a story-driven cinematic piece.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”227″]Goodbye Kansas’ Fredrik Löving (Studio Manager, Goodbye Kansas US), Tobias Dahl (VP Production and Executive Producer, Goodbye Kansas US) and Björne Larson (Director, Deep Forest Films) introduced “Troll” to captivated audiences during Epic Games’ State of Unreal presentation at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco.
“This collaboration between Goodbye Kansas and Epic Games is a statement of how far Goodbye Kansas already has come, and is a true milestone in our success story,” Annika Torell Österman, CEO Goodbye Kansas Studios. “It also shows how serious we are with our intention to push the borders of what’s technically possible, and to explore the amazing opportunities of using real-time technology in the visual storytelling we are so passionate about.”
“Goodbye Kansas has always strived for working with the best talent in the industry, and it has been a very rewarding experience to team up with the not only the great people at Epic Games but also incredible talent from the film industry, intersecting creative minds and technology pioneers in ways never seen before,” said Fredrik Löving, Studio Manager, Goodbye Kansas LA.
“Our ‘Troll’ cinematic demo proves the power of Unreal Engine, Epic Games’ absolute passion for cinematic realism, and how their pioneering technology creates new storytelling opportunities,” said Björne Larson, Director and Writer, Deep Forest Films.
“Goodbye Kansas captures the imagination with ‘Troll,’ a new feat in real-time visual effects,” said Kim Libreri, CTO of Epic Games. “Their use of Unreal Engine ray tracing to create beautiful cinematic lighting brings a new level of realism to the fantasy world and its digital protagonist.”
