Kids animation meets virtual production: Innovating children’s content with unreal engine
In today’s evolving media landscape, EITB Lab has embarked on an ambitious project in children’s animation, harnessing the power of virtual production to push creative and technological boundaries. In collaboration with Raised by Monsters, a Madrid-based studio specializing in Unreal Engine and real-time rendering, this initiative is not just about content creation—it is about redefining animation production. By utilizing advanced virtual production techniques, the project seeks to increase efficiency, flexibility, and creative possibilities, offering a more dynamic approach to storytelling
Ameslarien Banda: A New Generation of Preschool Animation
Ameslarien Banda (The Dreamers Band) is an animated series designed for children aged 2 to 6, set to premiere on EITB’s OTT platform, Makusi. The series follows three puppets aboard a sky-bound dream boat, traveling through children’s dreams to fix ‘incorrect’ dreams and help them understand concepts like colors, emotions, and animal sounds in a playful and immersive way. Each episode presents a unique dream-based challenge, where reality and imagination merge. The dream-traveling team detects dreams that have gone awry, intervenes, and resolves the confusion through adventure and music. Every episode ends with an original song that reinforces the educational message in an engaging and memorable manner. With 10 fully produced episodes of 5 to 7 minutes each, Ameslarien Banda represents a significant leap in children’s animation, offering real-time animation, seamless workflow integration, and scalable production.
Revolutionizing Animation: The Production Workflow
Rather than following traditional animation pipelines that rely on rigid workflows and time-consuming rendering processes, Ameslarien Banda was developed using a real-time production approach powered by Unreal Engine 5. The project was structured around a parallel workflow where scriptwriting and the 3D creation of the world and characters were developed simultaneously. This approach allowed for a more dynamic and efficient process, ensuring optimal production times while maintaining high-quality visuals.
Within Unreal, two distinct systems were implemented: one for recording and another for final production. This separation ensured a smooth transition from performance capture to fully polished animation. In the recording system, Blueprints were used to connect character rigs to VR headsets, enabling real-time puppeteering. The headset’s buttons were mapped to secondary character functions such as mouth movement, eyebrow expressions and blinking, allowing for an immersive and expressive performance. To optimize the recording process, simplified and lightweight replicas of the environments were used, reducing system load and ensuring a seamless real-time capture experience. Once performances were recorded, they were transferred to the final production system, where high-resolution assets, advanced grooming techniques and volumetric effects were applied to achieve a cinematic finish.
The use of real-time technology also changed the way animation was structured. Unlike conventional linear pipelines, Ameslarien Banda adopted parallel workflows where scriptwriting, animation, and voice recording happened simultaneously, enhancing both time efficiency and creative integration. Voiceovers were recorded in advance, allowing performers to bring the characters to life through VR-driven puppeteering. The captured performances were then refined in Unreal Engine, with camera direction and final animation touches applied to ensure a cohesive visual flow. The last step in the process involved audio post-production, including sound design and mastering, to create an immersive auditory experience.
What’s Next?
One of the most significant advancements in Ameslarien Banda’s production is its capability to extend beyond traditional animation. The real-time nature of Unreal Engine allows for live interactive performances, where puppeteers can control characters in real time at festivals, events and digital platforms, enhancing audience engagement. This feature transforms the way animation interacts with its viewers, creating a more immersive and participatory experience. Mixed reality integration further expands the potential of the project. The Unreal Engine workflow enables animated characters to be seamlessly incorporated into live-action environments, opening the door for new storytelling formats that blend real and virtual worlds. This approach not only enriches the viewing experience, but also paves the way for new applications in education and entertainment. Additionally, the adaptable workflow allows for the rapid production of additional content, making it possible to develop new formats and versions adapted for different platforms.
For more information, feel free to reach out to the EITB Lab team.
