Quick answer: every cutscene in Unreal is a Level Sequence edited in Sequencer. You need:
- Cameras with a Camera Cuts track to switch between them.
- Animation for characters and objects.
- Sound: music, voice and effects on audio tracks.
- Text: subtitles, titles or UI.
- A way to start it from gameplay, and to skip it.
Real-time or pre-rendered?
| Real-time (in-engine) | Pre-rendered video | |
|---|---|---|
| How | The Level Sequence plays in the game | Render with Movie Render Queue, play the file with a Media Player |
| Quality | Same as your game | As high as you like |
| Player’s outfit and choices | Can show them | Fixed |
| Download size | Tiny | Large video files |
| Changing it later | Edit and play | Re-render and re-encode |
Most indie games use real-time cutscenes: smaller, consistent with gameplay, and easy to change. Pre-render when a shot is too heavy for real time, such as a huge effect or a complex crowd.
Cameras
Add Cine Camera Actors to the sequence and key their position and focus. Add a Camera Cuts track and drop each camera in where you want to cut. Start the first shot close to where the gameplay camera is, so the switch into the cutscene isn’t jarring.
Animation
- Characters: add animation clips to each character’s track. Blend between clips by overlapping them.
- Objects and lights: key transform, intensity and colour directly.
- Facial and fine adjustments: Control Rig lets you key poses directly in Sequencer.
Sound
Add audio tracks for music, dialogue and effects, and key their volume to duck the music under voices. Sequencer audio plays in sync with the timeline, so scrubbing lets you line hits up with the picture.
Text, subtitles and UI
You can play a widget during a sequence with Blueprint events, or animate widgets inside the sequence itself. Our tutorials on UMG widgets in Level Sequences and text overlays and subtitles cover both.
Playing it from gameplay
- Place the sequence in the level, or create it with Create Level Sequence Player.
- On a trigger, disable player input and call Play.
- Bind On Finished to give control back.
- For a skip button, jump the player to the end and run the same “finished” logic.
Use the Director Blueprint for events inside the sequence, such as opening a door at the right frame (how).
The honest drawbacks
Cutscenes take longer than people expect, mostly in animation and camera work, not in the engine. Keep the first ones short, reuse animations, and let the camera do the storytelling.
For UI on the cutscene timeline, this is what we did in our UMG Cinematics PRO plugin.
FAQ
Can the player character appear in the cutscene?
Yes. Bind the sequence’s track to the player’s actor at runtime, so their outfit and gear show.
Can I make a cutscene without animating characters?
Yes. Camera moves over still scenes, with voice and text, can carry a lot.
Can I use the same sequence for my trailer?
Yes. Render it with Movie Render Queue (trailer guide).