The Unreal Engine from Epic Games has been used to create a large number of video games, and back in August 2019, a video from the Unreal Engine YouTube channel showed off how real-time technology can transform the art of filmmaking. A brand new video from Industrial Light & Magic shows how this technology was used for Disney's The Mandalorian.

Using an LED set, the crew behind The Mandalorian were able to capture an entire scene by simply using a camera to film the subjects while the background was captured in a single pass. You can see examples of the technique being used in the behind-the-scenes video below.

Jon Favreau explains how over 50% of the first season of The Mandalorian was filmed using the new technology made possible by the Unreal Engine. The sets are 20' high and are a 270-degree semicircular LED video wall and ceiling. The actors are able to move around with a 75'-diameter performance space where practical set pieces were combined with digital extensions on the screens.

The 3D environments were created by Industrial Light & Magic and edited in real-time during the filming process. The power behind all of this came from Nvidia GPUs. According to the description of the video, the scenes were "lit and rendered from the perspective of the camera to provide parallax in real-time, as if the camera were really capturing the physical environment with accurate interactive light on the actors."

The video certainly shows off the incredible technology in action with scenes showing how the background moves with precision as the camera moves. If only the technology allowed that awful Baby Yoda to be painted out of existence.