EXiT: Digital characters, real emotion.
“EXiT” is a full CGI short film and an in-house production by zeit:raum, made in our own storytelling studio, zeit:raum studios. 15 minutes, created in real time with Unreal Engine 5 and Xsens motion capture, featuring the voices of Marco Sven Reinbold and Janka Horakova. It received two Golds at the ADC Talent Award 2024.
- Production
- zeit:raum studios, in-house production
- Year
- 2023
- Industry
- Film, festival
- Production type
- Real-time full CGI, motion capture
- Running time
- 15 minutes, trailer
- Services
- Screenplay, motion capture, virtual cinematography, editing, sound design, music production, DI
A film without a camera.
With “EXiT”, we explored how far a real-time pipeline can go when it has to tell an entire story: characters with expression, spaces with atmosphere, suspense over 15 minutes. No client, no briefing, just our own standards.
Since its premiere in November 2023, the film has been running at festivals. What we learned along the way, we now use for CGI spots, digital brand characters and product films.
Real time instead of waiting.
In science fiction films, humanity often sets off for the stars after exhausting the Earth. But what happens if we ruin the Earth faster than our technology develops? “EXiT” is set in a Europe we no longer recognize: sea levels have risen so far that the Netherlands and Germany's coastal states are largely flooded. Mass migration has shifted old borders and created new ones.
The characters' movements come from Xsens motion capture and were transferred to digital characters. In Unreal Engine 5, we designed light, camera and shots just like on a set, except that every perspective could be chosen anew at any time.
The 2.39:1 format is a deliberate choice: the film is made for the festival screen, and the width gives industrial halls and tunnels their scale. For advertising, the same pipeline delivers any format, from widescreen to 9:16.
Xsens motion capture
Real movement as the foundation, so the characters' body language and weight feel believable.
Unreal Engine 5
Light and camera in real time, textures from Substance, final color in DaVinci Resolve.
Sound and music made in-house
Sound design and custom-produced music give the digital spaces depth and pace.
One short film, two Golds.
The result is “EXiT”, a 15-minute full CGI short film in the 2.39:1 cinema format, plus a trailer. Since its premiere in November 2023, the film has been running at festivals. It received two Golds at the ADC Talent Award 2024, plus Silver at the COMM Award Talent 2024.
For our clients, the film is more than an in-house project. Today we use the real-time pipeline of motion capture and Unreal Engine 5 for CGI spots, digital brand characters and product films, in any format down to 9:16.
- Short film “EXiT”, 15 minutes
- Trailer in 2.39:1
- Motion capture with Xsens
- Virtual cinematography in Unreal Engine 5
- Sound design and music
Stills from EXiT.
- Production
- zeit:raum studios GmbH (now zeit:raum film)
- Executive Producer
- Thorsten Hary
- Voices
- Marco Sven Reinbold, Janka Horakova
- Direction
- Tristan Karsch
A short film in real time.
How was “EXiT” made?
As a full CGI film in real time with Unreal Engine 5. The characters’ movements come from Xsens motion capture, and the voices are by Marco Sven Reinbold and Janka Horakova.
Where has the film been shown?
At festivals since its premiere in November 2023. It won two golds at the ADC Talent Award 2024 and silver at the COMM Award Talent 2024.
Why real-time CGI for a short film?
Light, camera and shots can be designed like on a set, and every angle stays open until the very end. You see changes right away instead of waiting for new renders.
