My Master’s film Weathering uses changing weather to mirror an elderly man’s journey from loss to acceptance, blending cinematic storytelling with Unreal Engine’s immersive environments.
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Project Description
Weathering explores the transformative power of perspective, showing how it evolves and heals through personal experience. The film uses weather as a symbolic force, reflecting the emotional journey of an elderly man as he gradually comes to terms with the grief and loss of a loved one. Through time and nature, he discovers the path to healing and acceptance.
Created as my Master’s graduation final piece, Weathering was an opportunity to push my environment design, lighting, and animation skills to serve a deeply emotional story. Every creative decision from the texture of a rain-soaked street to the glow of sunlight breaking through clouds was aimed at immersing the viewer in the protagonist’s emotional world.
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You can view the full figma file and live prototype here.
Project Process & Tools
The primary goal for Weathering was to use environment design and lighting to tell a visually rich, emotionally resonant story.
I built the environments and rendered the film in Unreal Engine, leveraging Lumen for dynamic global illumination and Nanite for high-fidelity asset rendering. These tools allowed me to craft detailed worlds with intricate lighting that adapted naturally to the story’s emotional beats.
For characters, I used Reallusion’s Character Creator 4 and iClone, which integrated seamlessly into Unreal Engine for a streamlined animation workflow. Substance Painter was used for texturing and shading, adding depth and realism to every surface. I also used Blender to create background assets, ensuring no frame felt empty or overlooked.
This combination of tools created a cohesive visual language where weather, light, and texture worked together to mirror the character’s emotional arc.
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Personal Statement
Weathering is as much about the human condition as it is about visual storytelling. The weather became my metaphor a shifting, unpredictable presence that paralleled the protagonist’s grief and gradual acceptance.
Through this project, I learned how environment design could go beyond backdrop to become an active storyteller. Every cloud, every ray of light, and every shift in atmosphere was an emotional beat in the film’s pacing.
By blending the symbolic nature of weather with a personal narrative, I wanted to create something quietly powerful a story about resilience, acceptance, and the slow, imperfect process of finding peace.
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