Documentation: Film & VHS Filters for Unreal Engine
Available on the Unreal Engine Marketplace
Contents:
- Overview - What is this
- Presets
- how to set up
- Post Process Materials
- Surface (Screen) Materials
- Material Function
- Parameters
- Global Settings
- Color Correction - Contrast
- Color Correction - Desaturation
- Color Correction - Tint
- Color Correction - Clamp Values
- Color Correction - Shadow Tint
- RGB Shift
- Image Effects - Chromatic Aberration
- Image Effects - Noise
- Image Effects - Image Distortion
- Image Effects - Scratches
- Image Effects - Vignette
- Screen Settings
- Advanced Usage - tips and tricks
1. Overview - What is this
“Film & VHS Filters for Unreal Engine” is a collection of several Surface- and Post Process Materials for Unreal Engine 4 & 5. The materials imitate different iconic Film & VHS looks, to be applied either onto a scene via a Post Process Volume or onto in-game screens & projections.
For both variants, there are 12 presets that can be used directly, or freely adjusted, according to your needs.
The pack also contains a Material Function, that can be plugged into a custom material.
2. Presets
The following presets are available, both as Post Process- and as Surface Materials:
- VHS (high wear)
- VHS (low wear)
- modern Black & White Film
- oldschool Black & White Film
- Sepia
- Super 8mm Film
- Super 16mm Film
- Technicolor
- Cinestill 800T
- Bleach Bypass
- Matrix Movie Look (Green)
- The Revenant Movie Look (Icy Cold)
3. how to set up
3.1. Post Process Materials
- open the level which you would like to apply the effects to
- through the Place Actors Panel, add a Post Process Volume (PPV) to your level, if you don't already have one
- (optional) in the Details Panel of the PPV search for “Infinite Extend (Unbound)”, and activate it, in order for the PPV Effects to be applied onto the whole scene
- also in the Details Panel of the PPV, navigate to “Rendering Features” --> “Post Process Materials”, or simply type “Post Process Materials” into the search bar
- under “Array”, click on the little plus to add an Element
- in the drop down menu, select “Asset reference”
- In the Content Browser, navigate to “Content” --> “Film_and_VHS_Filters” --> “Preset_Materials” --> “Post_Process_Presets”, select or copy a material of your choice and drag and drop it into the Array Asset Reference.
the Material is now ready to be used
3.2 Surface (Screen) Materials
To apply the effects on an in-game screen, projection, or asset of your choice:
- In the Content Browser, navigate to “Content” --> “Film_and_VHS_Filters” --> “Preset_Materials” --> “Screen_Presets”, select or copy a material of your choice and drag and drop it onto the surface of the Asset you want to apply the material to.
- To change the media texture to a custom video of your choice, there is great documentation on how to do that here.
3.3. Material Function
The pack also includes a Material Function that can be added to any custom material. In order to use it:
- open the material you want to apply the Film and VHS Filters to
- navigate to “Content” --> “Film_and_VHS_Filters” --> “Parent_Materials”, and drag and drop the “MF_Film_and_VHS” Material Function into the Material Graph
- connect the output with the "Emissive Color” or “Base Color” slot, or both
- connect a “Constant” (1) node to any input slot with an “(S)” in the name, you want to adjust
- connect a “Constant3Vector” node to any input slot with a “(V3)” in the name, you want to adjust
- connect a “Texture Object Parameter” node, with a Media Texture in the Texture slot, to the “Media Texture” input
4. Parameters
4.1. Global Settings
"Enable Image Effects"allows you to turn on and off all active effects below with one klick"Media Texture"(only available for Surface Materials): Insert a Media Texture to be played here
4.2. Color Correction - Contrast
Controls the contrast.
4.3. Color Correction - Desaturation
Controls the saturation.
4.4. Color Correction - Tint
Adds an overall tint.
4.5. Color Correction - Clamp Values
"Clamp Dark Values"groups the image information in the shadows"Clamp White Values"groups the image information in the bright areas
4.6. Color Correction - Shadow Tint
A tint that is only applied to the dark areas of the image
"Shadow Tint Color"controls the color of the tint"Shadow Tint Intensity"controls the strength of the Shadow Tint Color
4.7. RGB Shift
"Red Channel Shift"increases or reduces the intensity at which the red color channel is mixed into the image"Green Channel Shift"increases or reduces the intensity at which the green color channel is mixed into the image"Blue Channel Shift"increases or reduces the intensity at which the blue color channel is mixed into the image
4.8. Image Effects - Chromatic Aberration
Adds Chromatic Aberration. If used subtle, it also doubles as blur or to produce unclean edges.
4.9. Image Effects - Noise
Adds a noise.
4.10. Image Effects - Image Distortion
Image distortion in the form of “waves” moving top to bottom across the screen.
"Image Distortion"controls the strength"Distortion Speed"controls the speed at which the waves move across the screen
4.11. Image Effects - Scratches
Adds film scratches.
4.12. Image Effects - Vignette
Adds a Vignette.
4.13. Screen Settings
(only available for Surface Materials)
"Screen Brightness"controls the overall brightness"Screen Roughness"controls the roughness of the material
5. Advanced Usage - tips and tricks
- All parameters have a minimum and maximum value set for the sliders. In case you want to exceed these values, type in any numeric value manually.