Matt Rowell

A screenshot of a short cinematic by MA Games student Matt Rowell, showing a virtual woman’s face in shock.

As an aspiring cinematic designer, I decided to pursue a Master’s Degree in Games in response to the rise of virtual production technologies and techniques used in the film industry, and the shift toward a cinematic approach for contemporary, narrative-focused video games.

With a background and prior education in filmmaking, my goal for the Master’s study was to assimilate my practical filmmaking skills into an entirely virtual workspace. This included my introduction to working within Unreal Engine, a platform that was entirely new to me from the developer side.

A screenshot of a short cinematic by MA Games student Matt Rowell, showing a woman walking her dog in a forest.

Additionally, Unreal Engine has recently seen its most recent iteration, Unreal Engine 5, released publicly, which has afforded me plenty of opportunities to experiment and innovate in a new and exciting landscape.

Whilst bringing practical filmmaking expertise and techniques to a virtual workspace has had its challenges, it has been an exciting and enriching experience that has taught me a great deal in not only the various applications of the technology, but how I approach my art. I intend to continue my technical and artistic development following the conclusion of my postgraduate degree, and aspire to work as a cinematic designer within game design or virtual production for film and television.

MA Games cinematic by Matt Rowell that was built using Unreal Engine 5 and inspired by The Rendlesham Incident. It centres around a woman walking her dog in a forest as they encounter a strange creature.

MA Games