Yu Gong

Restart is a one-minute visual effects short film inspired by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Many survivors, especially those left disabled, now share their daily lives online. I have been curious about how their lives have changed more than ten years later—how they have learned to accept themselves and move forward after experiencing such a life-altering event.
The film focuses on one symbolic moment, contrasting a dreamlike imaginary world with the simple and raw reality, to show people’s emotional growth between “dream” and “reality”.

In production, the project experiments with two different techniques to compare the strengths and limitations of traditional visual effects and virtual production.
The dream sequence was created entirely inside a virtual production studio, using Unreal Engine 5 for real-time background rendering and LED wall integration, allowing immersive lighting interaction and smooth camera movement.
The reality sequence followed a traditional VFX workflow, including on-site shooting, compositing, and post-production in Blender.

Restart combines emotional reflection with technical experimentation. By integrating traditional VFX and virtual production, the film explores a more efficient, flexible, and emotionally engaging approach to visual storytelling.