I have some prior experience building environments in Unreal Engine, but I don’t have any experience with recording or the Film/Video templates. I’m not sure how much of what I want to do is possible directly in UE5, so I’m hoping for clarification and maybe some guidance on where to start and which template might be best suited.
Here’s my setup: I have an animated PNG character that I record in OBS (outputting as MP4, but I can change formats if needed). My goal is to chroma key the background so that only the character is visible, and then place that video of the character into my UE5 environments.
The bigger picture: I want to make short sketches using these “PNG characters” inside 3D environments I build. The recordings capture the character’s lines and movements (gestures, leaning, swaying, etc.), while Unreal would handle things like walking from point to point or interacting with the environment. For scenes with multiple characters, I’d like to sync up different recordings so they play out together, then record the full scene as it happens in-engine.
So my main questions are:
1. Is it possible in UE5 to bring in video that has been chroma keyed so only the character shows up?
2. What’s the best way to sync multiple character recordings to play together in a scene?
3. What’s the recommended workflow/template for recording the final scene once everything is choreographed?
Welcome to UE! Checking with my peers, I think your setup should be possible, if you use the following resources for your inquiries:
Regarding your chroma keyed characters, there are two paths to get them to work. Either using the alpha channel, exporting your recordings with alpha transparency baked in, or implementing a green screen workflow inside the engine. Both methods can be reviewed in the guides below:
Next, to sync-up multiple recordings and put everything together on scene, the right tool is Sequencer. You can setup a track for each character, drop in the records, trim and align everything on the timeline. Please check UE’s documentation on the matter:
Finally, once the scene is choreographed, you can render the final shot with Movie Render Queue, which ties directly with Sequencer. All you need to know for that can be checked here:
Hope these pointers are helpful for your project, good luck!
Could anybody help with the last question on here? I can start with a blank template no problem but if there are any templates from the media category that could be better suited I’m open to that as well.
I would say, testing the Film templates for your setup could be useful. They come pre-configured with a few useful elements (media plate actors in the level, Sequencer open, CineCamera rigs ready). For your character footage, the Virtual Production template should give good results.
On the other hand, starting from blank, it might just be the best approach. Everything you need is already available on that setup (media player assets, Sequencer, Movie Render Queue) , you would only need to play around with media framework components and camera setups.
As for what can be obtained from the film templates, since you are getting started on UE, it could lead to a bloated project, with features that are not necessary, or you have to learn how to handle, on top of basic operations for your PNG character setup.
In short, I would stick to the blank template, and work your way up to more advanced features, once you have the grasp on the basics.