'Awhi' means to embrace and cherish.
‘Awhi’ is an animated cinematic produced in Unreal Engine 4. It follows Bruno, an aging man who wants closure. He returns to his small hometown only to find that it is not as it once was: the buildings are dilapidated, his childhood friend Awhi has passed away, and automation has taken over his pub.
ThIs project was created by Jason Spicer and me.
"Awhi" intends to subvert the notion of a nostalgic narrative and portray a sense of closure for rural communities facing hardship due to automation. Using real-time rendering technology, the goal was to speed up the creative pipeline to yield a higher quality project.
Real-time virtual production allowed us to work at home and create a cinematic that was not stifled by COVID-19. Inspired by the quick and iterative nature of game production, the methodology of practice-based research ensured we did not succumb to technical, creative, or mental limitations.
With Unreal Engine 5 being released soon, the variety of quality tools put into the hands of students is only going to increase. This opens the opportunity to develop amazing work. Due to what we accomplished, we see our future work and studies going in the direction of real-time technology.
