Learn the fundamentals of Unreal Engine and real-time production in Epic Games’ new course, 15 hours of curated content with skills and techniques to apply to the emerging area of virtual production.

Epic Games announced a new addition to its free library of Unreal Online Learning resources: the Virtual Production Primer. The Virtual Production Primer provides over 15 hours of curated content in a self-paced learning path, featuring eight courses and 10 videos designed to teach the fundamentals of Unreal Engine and real-time production, and how these skills and techniques may be applied to the emerging area of virtual production.

These free Unreal Engine educational resources for Virtual Production which are available to all through Unreal Online Learning, are inspired by the Unreal Fellowship initiative, announced here at ProVideo Coalition last July. Conducted remotely, the four-week full-time intensive learning program tailored for film, animation, and VFX professionals, aimed at helping them understand the state of the art in virtual production.

The Unreal Fellowship received over 6,000 applications for 50 spots in just one week. The accepted 50 Fellows had an orientation day on Friday, August 21, with classes running from Monday, August 24 to Monday, September 21. All the learning tools were available completely free of charge, and Epic provided each participant with a $10,000 stipend to ensure that they can dedicate ample time to successfully complete the rigorous curriculum.

Producing content in real time

The Virtual Production Primer is Epic’s next step after the overwhelming response to the Unreal Fellowship. The new Virtual Production Primer aims to share foundational materials with the general public, regardless of their level of experience with Unreal Engine or professional background. This collection features two brand new courses on the core principles of virtual production, led by Epic’s Luis Cataldi and Cinetracer’s Matt Workman, packaged with select resources from existing Unreal Online Learning paths and recent presentations at Unreal Fest Online and Inside Unreal.

According to Epic Games, “this curated collection will teach users how to work with the Unreal Editor, projects, file structures, and more, as well as the basics of producing content in real time and key considerations for performance and design. Recorded talks by industry experts will provide hands-on details about what goes into creating world-class virtual production pipelines and how to deploy them.”

In addition to this new Virtual Production Primer, Unreal Online Learning offers hundreds of hands-on video courses and guided learning paths across industries – all completely free and available to users of all skill levels. Unreal Engine beginners can learn the fundamentals, and more advanced users can dive deep into courses tailored for specific features or industry workflows.

Visit the Unreal Online Learning homepage to create a free account and get started with the Virtual Production Primer or any number of other curated learning paths.