My scene looked fine, but the shot felt boring. The camera moved, yet it didn’t feel cinematic. That’s when camera rigs started to make sense.
This post is part of my daily learning journey in game development.
I’m sharing what I learn each day — the basics, the confusion, and the real progress — from the perspective of a beginner.
On Day 36 of my game development journey, I learned about camera settings and camera rigs in Unreal Engine.
What I tried / learned today
I learned that camera settings control how a shot feels, not just what it shows. I adjusted the FOV to make shots feel wider or more focused.
Lower FOV instantly made the scene feel more cinematic. I explored focus settings and learned how aperture affects depth of field.
A closer focus distance created a nice background blur.
Then I added a Camera Rig Crane.
It helped with vertical movement, smooth arcs, and reveal shots by adjusting:
- Crane arm length
- Crane pitch
Next, I added a Camera Rig Rail.
This allowed the camera to move along a smooth path.
By editing the rail spline, I could control exactly where the camera travels.
I attached the camera correctly to the rigs and used rig controls to animate movement, which works well with Sequencer.
What confused me
At first, the camera didn’t move with the crane at all.
I was confused about:
- The difference between crane and rail
- Why focus distance felt unpredictable
- Why camera rotation looked wrong
- How to combine crane and rail together
It felt like too many controls at once.
What worked or finally clicked
I finally understood that:
- Crane is for up, down, and arc movements
- Rail is for straight or curved tracking shots
- The camera must be attached to the rig to move correctly
Once I treated FOV and focus as creative tools, shots started to feel intentional instead of random.
One lesson for beginners
- Camera movement affects emotion
- Low FOV feels more cinematic
- Crane for reveals, rail for tracking
- Always attach the camera to the rig
- Test movement inside Sequencer
Slow progress — but I’m building a strong foundation.
If you’re also learning game development,
what was the first thing that confused you when you started?
See you in the next post 🎮🚀
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