Project Peters Launch Out of this World Music Video ‘Instant’ Crafted Entirely in Unreal Engine

Musical duo Project Peters are today launching their truly out of this world music video for ‘Instant’, a track from their latest EP. The promo is directed and created by Joe Simmons in collaboration with Unreal Artist/DOP Ben Halford, and is one of the first narrative music videos to be created entirely in Unreal Engine 5. Joe recently signed to Ballistic - Great Guns for global representation.

The epic space odyssey follows two astronauts whose shuttles crash onto an alien planet, inhabited by powerful - potentially hostile - extraterrestrials. As the two make individual journeys across the planet’s dunes, we are treated to incredible CGI renderings of explosions and sandstorms while they discover the striking architecture and mysterious artefacts this new world has to offer.

Project Peters, composed of Sydney-based siblings Darlington and Joseph, approached Joe Simmons and Ben Halford after seeing ‘Martian House’ - the duo’s first foray into Unreal Engine. After playing them the track, Darlington shared his original creative vision for the video, which the team quickly developed into the final narrative.

Project Peters initially envisioned two characters - also brothers - around whom the story would centre, with space exploration as the backdrop. From that starting point, Joe and Ben, in close collaboration with the pair, shaped the story by crafting a beat-to-beat narrative to work alongside the track. The innovative futuristic architecture created by Engeland Apostol and the outstanding character design of Samuel Swanborough not only shaped the narrative with their work, but also gave the video a clear “alien” identity. The final product consists of stellar sequences and shots created by Ben Halford within Unreal Engine that showcase the outstanding capabilities of the engine, experimenting with all the medium makes possible.

The sci-fi genre is one director Joe has frequently returned to, considering it the perfect vehicle for asking meaningful questions. Forever questioning the status of society and the direction in which it is heading, Joe’s work often presents future-facing narratives and tackles the thought-provoking ideas and themes which sci-fi naturally facilitates, namely philosophy, psychology, modern technology, and science.

Director Joe Simmons comments: “Since watching The Mandalorian, I have been fascinated by the enormous potential of Unreal Engine, and I truly believe it’s this generation’s DSLR revolution. It grants developing filmmakers a level of choice and flexibility in creative storytelling that’s only afforded to projects with massive budgets and huge teams. Though it’s still a complex new technology and inverts standard production, our team held some of the most creative people I’ve ever met, who had equal parts talent and patience to tackle it!”

He adds: “Working in Unreal has completely opened my eyes to what is possible, and the look and feel of this music video couldn’t have been created without it. It has allowed me to dream with the camera without restriction, and to try things I thought I’d be unable to for years. I’m very proud of the work we’ve made together as a team, and know that my approach to all future work has been massively impacted by this formative experience.”

DP Ben Halford comments: “Though I’ve been primarily a live-action cinematographer, I got to work learning Unreal Engine at the start of the pandemic, finally having the opportunity

to study a skill I’ve aspired to pick up since I was 15. I love the control it affords me in comparison to real world shooting - anything you can imagine, you can pretty much do. So, when Darlington from Project Peters approached me about making a music video entirely in Unreal Engine, I jumped at the chance to make something real in Unreal.”

The video will premiere on February 25th on VEVO.