The Camera Rig Crane is a great tool for creating smooth, cinematic camera movements, similar to the kind of shots you’d get with a real-world crane. In this tutorial, I will walk through the process of setting up and using the Camera Rig Crane in Unreal Engine 5.
[Step 1: Setting Up Your Project]
First, open Unreal Engine 5 and create a new project. If you already have a project, you can skip this step, but if not, create a new one with the ‘Film, Television, and Live Events’ template or any template that fits your project. Now, open any map that you choose.
[Step 2: Adding the Camera Rig Crane to Your Scene]
Once you have your project open, it’s time to add the Camera Rig Crane. To do this, go to the ‘Place Actors’ panel on the left and type ‘Camera Rig Crane’ in the search bar.
You’ll see the Camera Rig Crane appear in the list. Simply drag and drop it into the viewport to place it in your scene.
[Step 3: Understanding the Camera Rig Crane Components]
The Camera Rig Crane consists of a crane base and a crane arm. The base of the crane is the object you’ll be moving to adjust the crane’s position, and the arm can extend or rotate to change the camera angle.
[Step 4: Adding the Cine Camera]
To add a Cine Camera to the Crane Arm, go to the ‘Place Actors’ panel on the left and type ‘Cine Camera.
Use the Transform tools to move and rotate the Cine Camera into place at the end of the Crane Arm.
Next, you need to attach the Cine Camera to the Camera Rig Crane. This can be done by selecting the Cine Camera in the Outliner and dragging it onto the Camera Rig Crane. This will parent the Cine Camera to the Camera Rig Crane and allow both to move and rotate at the same time.
[Step 5: Adjusting the Crane Arm and Camera]
To control the crane arm and camera, you can move the entire rig or adjust individual components. First, try moving the entire rig by selecting the base and using the transform tools to move it around the scene. You can translate, rotate, or scale the base to get your desired position.
[Step 6: Setting Up Controls for Cinematic Movement]
Now, let’s set up some controls so you can animate or manually control the crane during your shot. First, select the Camera Rig Crane and go to the ‘Details’ panel. Here, you’ll find several properties you can modify, like the crane arm length, crane pitch, and crane yaw.
For cinematic shots, you can animate the crane movement using keyframes in the Sequencer. To do this, under the Level Sequence menu, choose ‘Add Level Sequence’ and save the Sequence.
In the Outliner, select the Cine Camera and drag it into the Sequencer. You can now animate the base’s position, the arm’s rotation, and the camera’s focal length to create a smooth crane movement.
[Step 7: Animating the Camera]
Now, let’s animate the camera and add some Keyframes. To do this, make sure you are on frame 0. Select the Camera Rig Crane in the Outliner. Activate the diamond shape Keyframes in the Properties Panel to add a keyframe to the Sequencer.
Move the Playhead to the last Frame. Now, you can use the Camera Rig Crane properties to change the Properties of the Camera Rig Crane. Add new Keyframes to this end frame.
[Step 8: Finalizing and exporting the Shot]
Once you’ve set up your animation, preview it by pressing the play button in the Sequencer. You’ll see the camera move smoothly along the crane’s path, capturing the perfect shot.
If you’re happy with the result, you can finalize your shot by rendering it out in Unreal. To do this, go to the Window menu and select ‘Movie Render Queue’.
In order to add your Sequence to the Movie Render Queue, click on the Render tab and choose your Level Sequence. Under the Settings property, select ‘Unsaved Config’. Here you can choose your Output Directory, File Name Format, and Output Resolution. If you wish to change any of the Export, Rendering, or Settings properties, you can do so by Selecting the Setting options.
Once you have the Settings options set up, select ‘Accept’. On the Movie Render Queue window, select ‘Render (Local)’ to render the Sequence.