The cinematic capabilities of Unreal Engine have taken significant strides over the years. A feature that’s making waves amongst creators and filmmakers alike is the advanced Movie Render Queue. Today, we’ll delve into one of its distinctive applications – integrating User Interface (UI) Widgets into your cinematics.
Why Use UMG Widgets For Cinematics
Widgets are UI elements that can add a considerable layer of depth to your cinematics. These could be anything from interactive menus and buttons to scoreboards and health bars. Unleashing the power of these Widgets in your Unreal Engine project significantly contributes to creating an immersive, interactive experience.
Adding widgets to Sequencer
You can show widgets in a cinematic with Create Widget and Add to Viewport from an Event track or the Level Blueprint. The UI Renderer below captures anything on the viewport. We made this easier in our UMG Cinematics plugin, which adds widgets as their own Sequencer track.
Rendering UI Widgets with the Movie Render Queue
Once you’ve added your UMG Widgets, it’s time to render them to a JPEG sequence. Start by opening the Movie Render Queue tab. Refine your render settings and add a new setting – the ‘UI Renderer’. This ensures the inclusion of UI elements in your final output.
Don’t forget to enable the “composite into final image” option. This is crucial to ensure your Widgets aren’t left on the cutting room floor but included in your finished product.
After you’ve set up everything as required, you can initiate the rendering process. It’s recommended to use the “Render Local” option for optimal results. And voilà, you’ve successfully integrated UI Widgets into your cinematic scene!
Conclusion
In a nutshell, mastering the art of rendering UI Widgets using the Movie Render Queue can add a layer of sophistication to your Unreal Engine cinematics. It’s all about creating a more dynamic, engaging visual experience, and these tools are here to make that process as seamless as possible. So why wait? Let’s start rendering!