Miles and Flowers, an award-winning animated short by director Danny Volosozhar, demonstrates the stunning potential of real-time rendering, full motion capture, and Sequencer workflows within Unreal Engine 5 to create emotionally gripping cinematic experiences.
Danny Volosozhar, an independent creator and director, spent two years bringing his vision to life: Miles and Flowers, an award-winning animated road trip short. This film masterfully blends drama with moments of levity, following two survivors attempting to escape the horrors of war. Volosozhar’s journey showcases how a small team, driven by passion, can achieve incredible results using modern real-time tools.
Volosozhar’s process was unique and deeply personal. He created the short entirely within Unreal Engine 5, from the initial blockout to the final cut, describing the experience as “having a set that never closes.” This real-time flexibility allowed him to direct, shoot, and edit simultaneously, offering immediate feedback and iteration.
Behind the Scenes: A Solo Virtual Production Effort
What makes this short particularly inspiring is the ambitious pipeline Volosozhar employed. While five talented artists later joined to polish the look, the core directing and performance work was done primarily by him, learning on the job.
He handled the voice sessions, performed the full-body motion capture himself, and even utilized a joystick to record the vehicle movements, treating it like an actor driving on set. This hands-on approach, utilizing tools familiar to the Virtual Production pipeline, resulted in an authentic and highly controlled performance.
Key Technical Achievements in UE5
- Real-Time Rendering: The entire film was rendered in real-time within Unreal Engine 5, demonstrating its capability for high-quality final pixel output, even for animated features.
- Full Motion Capture: Both full-body and facial capture techniques were implemented to drive the character performances.
- Control Rig and Sequencer: These crucial UE5 tools were used heavily to refine and direct the cinematic shots and character actions.
- Hardware Optimization: Remarkably, the project was rendered and optimized on an older laptop, proving that high production value doesn’t always require top-tier studio hardware.
This short is a powerful reminder that creative vision and determination can overcome technical obstacles, especially when leveraging highly efficient tools like Unreal Engine 5. It manages to deliver a poignant and compelling narrative in a cinematic 2.39:1 cinemascope format.
If you want to see more stunning works created using Unreal Engine or dive deeper into character creation, check out our selection of Unreal Engine Showcase pieces or explore our guides on Characters & Animation for the platform.
