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Adjusting Lights

Light Color, Brightness and other Light Settings are adjusted in this scene.

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In the following steps, we will create a light that moves, changes colors and brightness using Matinee .

Creating the Project

In this section, we will set up the project.

  1. From the Unreal Project Browser window, create a New Project and use the Blueprint Third Person template.

    MatineeHowTo.jpg

  2. Make sure that Include starter content is enabled.

  3. Give the project a name.

  4. With each of the above defined, click Create Project to create a new project.

Add the Matinee Actor, Hallway and Light

In this step, we will add our Matinee Actor , create a small hallway and add a light.

  1. From the Toolbar menu, select Matinee and click the Add Matinee button.

    MHT1_AddMatinee.png

  2. If the Matinee undo warning message appears, click the Continue button.

    MHT1_MatineeWarning.png

  3. The Matinee Editor window will open.

    MHT1_MatineeOpen.png

    Click for Full View.

  4. Minimize the Matinee window, then from the Modes menu under the BSP tab, drag a Box into the viewport.

    MHT5_DragInBox.png

    Try to drag the box onto the Template Text icon, it will center it on the text.

  5. In the Details panel for the box, set the Brush Settings to the values below.

    MHT5_BoxSettings.png

  6. Fly inside the box and grab the Red arrow of the Translation widget and move it towards the text to remove the pieces of geometry that clip inside.

    MHT5_MoveBox.png

    You can also grab the blue arrow of the Translation widget and pull it up slightly to raise the roof of the box.

  7. From the BSP tab, drag-and-drop another Box into the viewport and set its settings to the values below.

    MHT5_SubtractBrush.png

  8. Move the Subtraction box to one end of the Addition box to create an opening in the box.

    MHT5_Opening1.png

  9. With the Subtraction box still selected, press Control+W to duplicate it and move it to the other end of the box to create another opening.

    MHT5_Opening2.png

  10. From the Lights tab of the Modes menu, drag-and-drop a Point Light into the level and center it near the top of one of the door openings.

    MHT5_AddPointLight.png

Add the Light to Matinee and Setup Tracks

In this step, we will add the light to Matinee and set up our tracks with keyframes.

  1. Open Matinee by clicking on the Matinee Actor in the World Outliner and choosing Open Matinee from the Details panel.

    MHT5_OpenMatinee.png

  2. Minimize Matinee, click on the Point Light then re-open Matinee and Right-Click in the Tracks window and select Add New Lighting Group .

    MHT5_AddLightingGroup.png

    In the Name Group box that appears, give it a name such as Light1 .

  3. Grab the ending marker at 5.00 and drag it over to 8.00 to increase the length of the Matinee.

    MHT5_IncreaseLength.png

  4. Right-Click on the Radius track and select Delete Track , then Right-Click on the Light1 group and select Add New Float Property Track .

    MHT5_AddPropertyTrack.png

    We will be adjusting the Attenuation Radius which will affect the range at which the light is displayed.

  5. In the pop-up menu that appears, select LightComponent0.AttenuationRadius and press Ok to add the track.

    MHT5_AttenuationRadius.png

  6. Click the Movement track, and press Enter to add a keyframe then Right-Click on the keyframe and choose Set Time and set it to 2 .

  7. Repeat the previous step and assign keys to 0 , 2 , 4 , 6 , and 8 .

    MHT5_MovementKeys.png

  8. Repeat the previous two steps for the Intensity , Light Color , and AttenuationRadius tracks.

    MHT5_AllKeysAdded.png

Adjust Movement and Intensity

In this step, we will set up movement for the light and adjust its intensity.

  1. In Matinee on the Movement track, click on the second keyframe (at 2.00 ) then minimize Matinee and move the light to the center of the hallway.

    MHT5_MovementKey2.png

    You can zoom out then grab green arrow of the Translation widget and slide it to the right into the center.

  2. Return to Matinee and click on the third keyframe of the Movement track (at 4.00 ), minimize Matinee, then move the light to the end of the hallway.

    MHT5_MovementKey3.png

  3. Return to Matinee, click on the fourth keyframe of the Movement track (at 6.00 ), minimize Matinee and then move the light to the center of the hallway.

  4. In the Details panel for the light, under Transform , find the Mobility section and click the third icon to enable the Movable setting for the light.

    MHT5_LightMobility.png

  5. In Matinee, Right-click on the second keyframe of the Intensity track (at 2.00 ) and Set Value to 20,000 ; do the same for the fourth keyframe (at 6.00 ).

    MHT5_IntensityValues.png

    This will increase the intensity of the light, making it brighter, as it moves to the center of the hallway.

Adjust Light Color and Attenuation Radius

In this step, we will adjust the color of the light as it moves through the hallway as well as its size (or Attenuation Radius ).

  1. In Matinee on the Light Color track, click on the first keyframe (at 0.00 ) and select Set Color ; in the Color Picker window select any color.

    MHT5_RedLight.png

  2. Repeat the previous step for the third keyframe (at 4.00 ) and in the Color Picker window, select a different color.

  3. Repeat the previous step for the last keyframe (at 8.00 ) and in the Color Picker window, select the color that was used in step 1.

  4. Right-click on the second keyframe of the Attenuation Radius track (at 2.00 ) and Set Value to 250 , do the same for the fourth keyframe (at 6.00 ).

    MHT5_AttenuationKey4.png

Finishing Up - Building and Playing

In this step, we will finish the Matinee , Build the geometry and lighting, then Play in the editor to see the finished result.

  1. In the World Outliner, select the Matinee Actor and under the Play section, enable Play on Level Load and Looping.

    MHT5_MatineeSettings.png

  2. From the main toolbar, click the Build icon, then when building is complete, select the Apply Now button in the lower right portion of the screen.

    MHT5_BuildIcon.png

    When building is complete...

    MHT5_ApplyLighting.png

    will appear. Click the Apply Now button."

  3. From the main toolbar, click the Play icon to play in the editor.

    When you enter the hallway, you should see the light moving up and down the hallway.

    The light will blend between colors as it moves through the hallway and reduce in size as it enters the center of the hallway.

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