UNREAL
on-line workshop to master Unreal Engine by Epic Games
About the workshop:
The goal of the workshop is to broaden students’ intellectual and technical mastery of the communicative role of contemporary digital visualization and in particular the unique power of colors to define the current times. The class will offer a combination of Theory classes -held by SCI-Arc Graduate Programs Chair Elena Manferdini- and Unreal Engine tutorials –held by SCI-Arc Faculty Eda Tarakci.
Developed by Epic Games, Unreal Engine is the world's most advanced real-time 3D creation platform for photo-real visuals and immersive experiences. The open platform is free and currently used for architecture, VR, game development and movies. In addition to introducing the students to the software, the series of theory classes and keynote lectures by SCI-Arc leading UE Faculties will offer a critical perspective for the use of UE and show just how visual effects and simulations can be a critical factor in communication and the power they can exert on perception in architecture.
By the end of the workshop, students will produce a real time simulation, that comes alive under various lighting conditions. The subject matter for the final simulations will be the city in a bottle. In terms of colors, the class will explore a series of colors -visible and invisible to humans. This class literally will change how you see the world.
Course Organization:
Open to creative individuals, inspired professionals, and current college students and graduates, the workshop is a 8 days’ full immersion in the world of Unreal Engine. The workshop is a portfolio building workshop that introduces students to visual experimentation.
The workshop will offer a series of foundational Color Theory classes in tandem with Unreal Engine tutorials in a unique and lively on-line setting. Students will work in small tactical units and will receive personalized feedback throughout the length of the workshop. The workshop will expose participants to a wide range of contemporary digital tools and techniques to promote active viewing, along with facilitating the visual representation of their architectural designs. The class will culminate with a public broadcast final review, where students present their design work and receive feedback from noted architects and design professionals.
The daily assignments will rely on original workflows that will be covered during the online tutorials. Such assignments are designed to target specific aesthetic and chromatic results. Unreal Engine, After Effect, Photoshop are the most used tools during the workshop. Please consider the use of a camera connected to your main workstation, as this will be used during all meetings with instructors.
About the Tutors and Keynote speakers
Elena Manferdini, principal and owner of Atelier Manferdini, has twenty years of professional experience in architecture, art, design, and education. Elena currently teaches at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and is the Graduate Programs Chair. In 2019 Manferdini was honored with the ICON Award as part of the LA Design Festival, which is a prize that recognizes iconic women who have made an indelible mark on Los Angeles, culture, and society in general through their work, character, and creative leadership. Elena Manferdini loves art, creativity, inventions and deeply believes in the positive power of education and creative collaboration.
Ayse Eda Tarakci is an architectural designer based in Los Angeles. She is currently teaching at SCI-Arc as an assistant teacher. Prior to completing her March-II studies at SCI-Arc in 2022, she received her B.Arch degree from Bilkent University with a degree of high honours.
She believes that contextually conscious ideas, once explored with contemporary representation methods, are capable of creating change, and shifting the paradigm of architecture from what it was into what it can be. She is interested in exploring the expanding grounds of architecture where it meets visual arts and virtual media.