GONE WITH SRV

Gone with SRV is a Student Music Video Directed by Camilo Saboya shot on the XR stage. I was responsible for the XR environment used on the stage in Unreal Egine 5.1

Student Music Video

APPROACH

The XR environment was originally envisioned as a glowing forest. To achieve this, I utilized the Unreal Marketplace to acquire a tree asset pack. Leveraging the existing albedo texture from the pack, I created a custom three-color combination material using material nodes to generate the glowing effect for the leaves. Additionally, I implemented material instances and foliage instancing techniques to efficiently populate the forest environment.

Challenges & Learnings

During the load test, we encountered performance issues on the LED volume (XR stage), specifically noticeable frame drops due to the high number of tree instances within the environment. To address this, I optimized the scene by reducing forest density and removing non-essential assets, carefully balancing performance with visual fidelity. This adjustment significantly improved real-time playback while preserving the intended atmosphere of the scene.

In the final recording, some technical limitations of the LED stage became apparent—particularly the visibility of panel seams and challenges with camera integration. These issues highlighted the importance of precise on-set lighting and gaffing, which in this case, did not fully align with the virtual environment. While this temporarily disrupted the illusion of immersion, it provided valuable insight into the need for tighter calibration between physical and virtual elements.

These challenges reinforced the importance of early-stage performance profiling and interdisciplinary coordination. They ultimately strengthened our understanding of real-time virtual production workflows and prepared us to approach future projects with improved foresight and technical precision.