The Thread • A Groundbreaking Animation Adventure Built in Real-time

Epic Games invited us to create an immersive animation for their Unreal Build livestream. Titled The Thread, the film was made entirely in Unreal Engine. Ordinarily used as a video game development tool, we set out to showcase the engine’s cinematic qualities by taking Epic’s audience of developers through a variety of scenes—demonstrating the possibilities Unreal Engine’s technology can achieve–all in real time.

Billed at halftime during Epic’s livestream event, we knew in order to hold viewers’ attention, we needed to show up with an immersive experience that expertly illustrated concepts touched on throughout the show. Led by a neon-lit thread, the audience was launched into a cinematic sequence of all the live possibilities Unreal Engine can enhance, such as: science visualization, music concerts, automotive races, or even sports.

Pushing Unreal Engine’s boundaries even further, we also integrated the Niagara particle system to create and adjust visual effects in-engine and without the assistance of a programmer. While traditional entertainment production uses additional 3D software for particle effects, our film proves entire broadcast segments can be made exclusively in Unreal Engine—down to the last pixel.

By rendering expertly crafted scenes, we reinvented the typical title sequence and brought imagination into tangible reality, connecting with Epic’s global audiences on an emotional level. With real-time technology, we proved the endless possibilities that Unreal Engine offers in blending reality and entertainment together.