Terrain To Mesh Conversion For Unity Filmmakers

Invariably you’re going to want to stage a scene outdoors in a natural environment that you’ve created using Unity’s terrain creation system.

Personally, I streamline this process using the estimable Microverse Core Collection built to simplify the process of working with Unity Terrains.

Workflow Challenge:

Getting terrain data out of Unity and onto your production stage requires exporting to the Universal Scene Description (USD) file format.

USD files are ideal for exporting entire scenes out of Unity for use within Lightcraft Jetset (an invaluable realtime virtual production tool for productions of all sizes), however USD does not support Unity Terrain Data.

If you want to stage your actors within a natural setting such as a forest, valley, or mountainside environment you will need to convert Unity Terrain Data (Heightmaps, Trees, and Detail spawners) from data to a mesh object.

Workflow Solution:

Mesh Terrain Editor is a free asset in the Unity Asset Store which will convert Unity Terrain Data into Mesh objects which are fully compatible with the Jetset virtual production workflow.

Virtual Production Supervisor’s Note: When working within HDRP, you’ll need to manually reassign the terrain texture for on-set pre-vis because Mesh Terrain Editor supports URP and Built-In Render Pipeline material shaders only.

#realtimeVFX #virtualProduction #Unity3D #indieFilmmaking