Fireman Sam

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Project Details

Fireman Sam is a long-running Welsh children’s television series centered on everyday problem-solving and safety awareness. I worked as a Lighting Artist on the show, where I was responsible for lighting and rendering shots using Unreal Engine, ensuring consistency with the project’s established visual style while addressing technical challenges as they arose. This role provided an opportunity to work with Unreal in a professional production environment and to contribute directly to the look and pacing of each episode.

The series was FX-heavy, frequently involving complex scenarios featuring fire, water, smoke, and emergency lighting conditions. These situations required careful balancing of readability, performance, and visual impact. Through this work, I refined my understanding of Unreal Blueprints, Niagara FX systems, and Sequencer, along with broader engine features related to lighting, rendering, and optimization.

Production on Fireman Sam was a multi-studio collaboration with WildBrain, who provided the show’s assets. This setup required close coordination to ensure that lighting and FX integrated seamlessly with externally developed content while maintaining visual continuity across sequences. Communication and problem-solving across studio boundaries were an important part of the workflow.

This project was one of various that allowed me to work on entire sequences, giving me greater creative control over the tone, rhythm, and continuity of longer sections of each episode. This broader ownership encouraged me to think about mood, storytelling, and progression across scenes.