I've made this, because I want to help improve the overall quality of movies on this forum. I'm not a film god, but I've got my fair share of experience.
[b]What we will cover![/b]
[LIST][*]Style
[*]Faceposing
[*]Ideas, concepts
[*]Content
[*]Flow
[*]Humor
[*]Tools
[*]Maps
[*]Settings
[*]Editors, voice actors
[*]Rendering
[*]Organization
[*]Groups
[*]Constructive Criticism And You[/LIST]
[b]Style[/b]
What's the "style"? It's, basically, well, uh... the word is self-explanatory. For instance, DasBoSchitt uses a "Robot Chicken" style.
The style can be dictated by the Content, and its the flow in the movie; small random clip plays that are humorous, then goes onto a non-related clip with a flash or a transition. Be aware that choosing the style is [U]very important[/U], so be careful; the "Robot Chicken" one is generally the easiest to stick with, as it does not need a very complicated plot.
ROBOT CHICKEN — It's best that people avoid it [U]unless[/U] they are going to devote a lot of time to it, and stay original. It is recommended for very few people, as you require experience and a good, creative humor. The main issues with it is that people think they're humor gods, and then they don't get a good finished product. It is like quicksand; it looks harmless, yet it's not.
Idiots Of Gmod 1
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh8VfFH78jY[/media]
Gmod Idiot Box 1
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2eUUHkpvQA[/media]
DRAMATIC - Wherever the plot is serious and not "random". This form is recommended for medium to high experienced film makers.
A Day In Time 1
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP58JWC1gE4[/media]
Rainy Days ep 2
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smqm8TmPt9A[/media]
Shorts - This is a clip with a small plot. it can contain humor, but a short stays on one scene, or one idea, or story; it is recommended if you're a novice film maker and don't know where to begin.
The Cube
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkr08uG5F0U[/media]
Solider describes the blue team
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q2_sFhBfXc[/media]
this is a example of a BAD thread and movie [url]http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=909097[/url]
[b]Faceposer[/b]
The Faceposer software, bundled within the Source SDK, is relatively easy to use. It does takes time to learn, but once you're high enough in the learning curve, you'll never have problems again. However, it will always prove itself to be time-consuming. It drastically improves the technical quality of your film, and clearly shows you care about the result of your work. Recommend you use face poser, for everything. It is recommended for medium to high film makers, novices should experiment with their style, and work before addressing this area.
Some tutorials
Basic
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwjNBrRfRWAp[/media]
Using faceposer with windows vista
[media]http://youtube.com/watch?v=gqlsgFNTmRI[/media]
[b]Ideas[/b]
This comes down to "ARE YOU ORIGINAL?". A major mistake people make in this area, mainly when doing a "Robot Chicken style" work, is to re-use content. If you use a meme, a fad or anything that is not necessarily funny, you'll be deemed as unoriginal. DasBoSchitt's "HAAXXXX" is an example of this. A good way to get ideas is to merely to create a global rough draft. Yup, you're going to have to go "pre-write" style for this. Use whatever skills you have mastered during your English or Journalism classes.
FIRST GENERAL IDEA - You got a idea, but you're not fully there. For example, Rainy Days was first thought of as "crazy guy killing people".
ROUGH DRAFT - You got a solid story down, but changes will occur. This happens around the release of your teaser.
FINAL IDEA - This is when you are ready to start producing content, got a script down and a voice actor recording it.
[b]Content[/b]
Content is what you have filmed. Is it of good quality? Was the scene filmed decently? Was your Character, Actor, or NPC doing the right actions, or the right facepose at the right time? Was the hud showing?
HUD - You want it to be gone any time you film. Use the console command " cl_drawhud 0 " or/and use the Camera STool.
ANGLES - You are able to control this through Noclip and the camera STool. Keep them interesting and varied, or else it gets tiring and boring very quickly. TWO GOLDEN RULES: never ever film with a high FoV (that means you've got to zoom in), and remember the rules of thirds. Use the Catmull-Rom camera STool to move the camera automatically, do pannings and more interesting stuff. Now your movie should never have a full moving angle; however, if your movie has action in it, you want to combine moving shots with static moments; balance it out wisely, but a safe proportion is 2,5 static for 1 moving.
[b]Flow[/b]
The way content goes; does the scene, camera angles, plot make sense? Don't branch off all of a sudden meaninglessly. The "Robot Chicken" style isn't meant to have any plot, the "Dramatic" can afford to lose a bit of it, but the shorts, due to their extremely short length and single plot, should never lose the flow.
What is bad flowing? Two men are talking and then the camera goes off to the right where a man is dancing then it goes back to the men talking, the guy dancing is no way related into the plot (unless he pops up later...) and it's generally put in there as a attempt of humor but the director is trying too hard.
Good flowing - Two men are talking, we get some close shots of there faces to express their feelings/emotions,the camera stays on focus, doesn't go off to the right or left, and nothing random is happening in the background that isn't related to the story.
[b]Humor[/b]
Something right now we are drowning in; humor should be used to relieve tension, or as a quick laugh. BUT, if you want to go full head on humor, you need to be very careful and be experienced, having strong solid ideas, and a plot is greatly recommended. Humor is also abused, where people use bad humor that will only grab a immature 13 year old in, and hold him in your movie, as you slap Gmod around. This is called the "Family Guy Effect". Avoid doing random movies at all cost, unless you really really feel the urge to, but don't be surprised when you release a poorly made random movie.
For example, if you just had a crazy action scene and want to slow the flow down or relieve tension, put in a snappy line, or have something decently funny. AVOID OVERKILL AT ALL COSTS.
[b]Tools[/b]
The Source Recorder is the best method you'll ever come up with if you want to smoothest possible action. It works in tandem with the demo smoother if you recorded in multilayer, or you can use it live if you do it all by yourself on your computer with NPCs. If you want to record in "real real-time", which means a substantial drop in quality / smoothness (depends on your computer though), take a look at these tools:
WEGAME: [url]http://www.wegame.com/download/[/url]
Wegame is a free fraps alternative, and works just as good
Fraps (bought version only): [url]http://www.fraps.com/buy.php[/url]
This is here if you have problems with wegame and rather buy a recorder.
[b]In-game tools[/b]
Catmull-Rom Cinematic Cameras
[url=http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=56328][img]http://www.garrysmod.org/img/?t=dll&id=56328[/img][/url]
Machinima Hands SWep
[url=http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=38625][img]http://www.garrysmod.org/img/?t=dll&id=38625[/img][/url]
Npc Scene (Fixed) Addon Format
[url=http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=78208][img]http://www.garrysmod.org/img/?t=dll&id=78208[/img][/url]
Npc Animation V4
[url=http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=73627][img]http://www.garrysmod.org/img/?t=dll&id=73627[/img][/url]
NPC camera
[url=http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=32053][img]http://www.garrysmod.org/img/?t=dll&id=32053[/img][/url]
Prop resizer
[url=http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=25740][img]http://www.garrysmod.org/img/?t=dll&id=25740[/img][/url]
Particle maker
[url=http://www.garr
Nice job scoutking. An admin should sticky this. It would also be cool, if people could give you ideas to add on to this great article.
Admin should sticky, now.
Now let's hope there are a lot more better videos
EDIT: Thanks Benji
I'll make some title word pictures mmm k?
added groups, and constructive criticism.
Along with style examples.
[QUOTE=coolguyfourteen;17801787]An admin should sticky this.[/QUOTE]
Done
I will supply updates as the need for them calls for.
Added:
faceposing tut
Ingame and out of game tools
maps
and links to examples, tools, ect.
A few quick things that I think are relevant and appropriate:
So, you have an idea for a movie or video, neat. Now, before you muddle up a perfectly good idea with a muddled, rushed video, sit down beforehand and write down an outline covering the basic plot. Once you've done that you should go over it again, pick out the flimsy part and beef it up. Then, after that, devote some time to writing a proper script, something that anyone could understand and hopefully enjoy. Once you are satisfied, and once whoever you had read over it is satisfied, then you should start filming. Otherwise it'll just be a dreadful crapshoot that no one will enjoy.
Basically, treat your movie like a proper film, and work it over until it's perfect; if you don't like your product, others sure as hell aren't going to like it either.
[QUOTE=Junku;17804544]A few quick things that I think are relevant and appropriate:
So, you have an idea for a movie or video, neat. Now, before you muddle up a perfectly good idea with a muddled, rushed video, sit down beforehand and write down an outline covering the basic plot. Once you've done that you should go over it again, pick out the flimsy part and beef it up. Then, after that, devote some time to writing a proper script, something that anyone could understand and hopefully enjoy. Once you are satisfied, and once whoever you had read over it is satisfied, then you should start filming. Otherwise it'll just be a dreadful crapshoot that no one will enjoy.
Basically, treat your movie like a proper film, and work it over until it's perfect; if you don't like your product, others sure as hell aren't going to like it either.[/QUOTE]
thats rough draft, then final draft.
Edited with renders and settings.
Amazing guide, Scoutking. Really great job. You've impacted the videos section more than you can possibly imagine.
This should be re-adapted into a nice, long, properly written and spellchecked series of tutorial videos. If I get a break from working on college projects, I'll definitely try and do something about it.
[QUOTE=Captain Comedy;17806269]This should be re-adapted into a nice, long, properly written and spellchecked series of tutorial videos. If I get a break from working on college projects, I'll definitely try and do something about it.[/QUOTE]
I have run spell check numerous times.
I'm no English major.
Very detailed. Hope it's effective.
I'm going to correct your guide (proper spacing, spelling etc.) and PM it back to you in a few hours :smile:
looks like the PM character limit is way too short, I'll send you a link to a TXT then
-snip-
Havent read it all yet, but when i do ill give some feed back.
[QUOTE=Max of S2D;17811463]Here's the corrected and improved guide; as soon as you'll put it in the OP I'll delete it from this post :smile:
Click "Reply" so you get all the BB Code
[code]
DELETE THE CODE BALISE ABOVE
I've made this, because I want to help improve the overall quality of movies on this forum. I'm not a film god, but I've got my fair share of experience.
[b]What we will cover![/b]
[LIST][*]Style
[*]Faceposing
[*]Ideas, concepts
[*]Content
[*]Flow
[*]Humor
[*]Tools
[*]Maps
[*]Settings
[*]Editors, voice actors
[*]Rendering
[*]Organization
[*]Groups
[*]Constructive Criticism And You[/LIST]
[b]Style[/b]
What's the "style"? It's, basically, well, uh... the word is self-explanatory. For instance, Das Bo Schitt uses a "Robot Chicken" style.
The style can be dictated by the Content, and its the flow in the movie; small random clip plays that are humorous, then goes onto a non-related clip with a flash or a transition. Be aware that choosing the style is [U]very important[/U], so be careful; the "Robot Chicken" one is generally the easiest to stick with, as it does not need a very complicated plot (if there is even one!).
ROBOT CHICKEN — It's best that people avoid it [U]unless[/U] they are going to devote a lot of time to it, and stay original. It is recommended for very few people, as you require experience and a good, creative humor. The main issues with it is that people think they're humor gods, and then they don't get a good finished product. It is like quicksand; it looks harmless, yet it's not.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh8VfFH78jY[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2eUUHkpvQA[/media]
DRAMATIC - Whereever the plot is serious and not "random". This form is recommended for medium to high experienced film makers.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP58JWC1gE4[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smqm8TmPt9A[/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8k-BxqVHOI[/media]
Shorts - This is a clip with a small plot. it can contain humor, but a short stays on one scene, or one idea, or story; it is recommended if you're a novice film maker and don't know where to begin.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkr08uG5F0U[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q2_sFhBfXc[/media]
[b]Faceposer[/b]
The Faceposer software, bundled within the Source SDK, is relatively easy to use. It does takes time to learn, but once you're high enough in the learning curve, you'll never have problems again. However, it will always prove itself to be time-consuming. It drastically improves the technical quality of your film, and clearly shows you're not being half-assed, and care about the result of your work. Recommend you use face poser, for everything. It is almost a requirement as soon as you can handle the rest; so if you're still a novice, don't focus on this first.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwjNBrRfRWAp[/media] [media]http://youtube.com/watch?v=gqlsgFNTmRI[/media]
[b]Ideas[/b]
This comes down to "ARE YOU ORIGINAL?". A major mistake people make in this area, mainly when doing a "Robot Chicken style" work, is to re-use content. If you use a meme, a fad or anything that is not necessarily funny, you'll be deemed as unoriginal. Das Bo Schitt's "HAAXXXX" is an example of this. A good way to get ideas is to merely to create a global rough draft. Yup, you're going to have to go "pre-write" style for this. Use whatever skills you have mastered during your English or Journalism classes.
FIRST GENERAL IDEA - You got a idea, but you're not fully there. For example, Rainy Days was first thought of as "crazy guy killing people".
ROUGH DRAFT - You got a solid story down, but changes will occur. This happens around the release of your teaser.
FINAL IDEA - This is when you are ready to start producing content, got a script down and a voice actor recording it.
[b]Content[/b]
Content is what you have filmed. Is it of good quality? Was the scene filmed decently? Was your Character, Actor, or NPC doing the right actions, or the right facepose at the right time? Was the hud showing?
HUD - You want it to be gone any time you film. Use the console command " cl_drawhud 0 " or/and use the Camera STool.
ANGLES - You are able to control this through Noclip and the camera STool. Keep them interesting and varied, or else it gets tiring and boring very quickly. TWO GOLDEN RULES: never ever film with a high FoV (that means you've got to zoom in), and remember the rules of thirds. Use the Catmull-Rom camera STool to move the camera automatically, do pannings and more interesting stuff. Now your movie should never have a full moving angle; however, if your movie has action in it, you want to combine moving shots with static moments; balance it out wisely, but a safe proportion is 2,5 static for 1 moving.
[b]Flow[/b]
The way content goes; does the scene, camera angles, plot make sense? Don't branch off all of a sudden meaninglessly. The "Robot Chicken" style isn't meant to have any plot, the "Dramatic" can afford to lose a bit of it, but the shorts, due to their extremely short length and single plot, should never lose the flow.
What is bad flowing? Two men are talking and then the camera goes off to the right where a man is dancing then it goes back to the men talking, the guy dancing is no way related into the plot (unless he pops up later...) and it's generally put in there as a attempt of humor but the director is trying too hard.
Good flowing - Two men are talking, we get some close shots of there faces to express their feelings/emotions,the camera stays on focus, doesn't go off to the right or left, and nothing random is happening in the background that isn't related to the story.
[b]Humor[/b]
Something right now we are drowning in; humor should be used to relieve tension, or as a quick laugh. BUT, if you want to go full head on humor, you need to be very careful and be experienced, having strong solid ideas, and a plot is greatly recommended. Humor is also abused, where people use bad humor that will only grab a immature 13 year old in, and hold him in your movie, as you slap Gmod around. This is called the "Family Guy Effect". Avoid doing random movies at all cost, unless you really really feel the urge to, but don't be surprised when you release a poorly made random movie.
For example, if you just had a crazy action scene and want to slow the flow down or relieve tension, put in a snappy line, or have something decently funny. AVOID OVERKILL AT ALL COSTS.
[b]Tools[/b]
The Source Recorder is the best method you'll ever come up with if you want to smoothest possible action. It works in tandem with the demo smoother if you recorded in multiplayer, or you can use it live if you do it all by yourself on your computer with NPCs. If you want to record in "real real-time", which means a substantial drop in quality / smoothness (depends on your computer though), take a look at these tools:
WEGAME: [url]http://www.wegame.com/download/[/url]
Fraps (bought version only): [url]http://www.fraps.com/buy.php[/url]
[b]In-game tools[/b]
NPC First Person Camera: [url]http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=32053[/url]
Catmull-Rom Cinematic Camera (it moves, easy to use, recommended for all): [url]http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=56328[/url]
Camera Tween (not recommended, but still here if anyone needs it): [url]http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=3912[/url]
NPC Control:[url]http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=35751[/url]
Effects (fire, smoke, glow, electricity...): [url]http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=59471[/url]
[b]Maps[/b]
Number #1 rule concerning the maps: [u]DO NOT USE GM_CONSTRUCT[/u]
Avoid default maps, it's better to use custom maps, and obviously, always credit the map that you used in your film. It's even better if you have a map made JUST for the film, as long as it's better than what you would have got otherwise.
Sometimes, people edit default maps. E.G., in Source Wars, de_dust got a wall that fell apart th
Max no way in disrespect, but that was sort of a jerk move, you removed alot of useful content on maps, and put in your own videos and words to almost make it as personal gain.
Then you say "I will remove it once you fix it" almost as your holding me hostage with it.
- I merely removed the links to the maps as it could lead people to always use them, and then it'd go just like Construct.
- I put one trailer, nothing more, nothing less. It would have been a jerk move if I had removed yours from the guide.
- I never forced you to accept it
Another point, people should think about the music they put into a machinima, pick music that fits the scene, don't put in your favourite song simply because you like it.
Ill make a section, about music, sound, and posting your movie's.
unstickying just because garry doesn't like stickies up for more than a day or two.
[QUOTE=Uberslug;17892137]unstickying just because garry doesn't like stickies up for more than a day or two.[/QUOTE]
Garry can go fuck himself
Come on now what's the reason for such an action? If anything, this will improve the videos section for the better!
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("Flaming" - Uberslug))[/highlight]
Does garry got a grudge against enlightening people
All the effort gone to waste.
Your smug smile avatar only makes it worse uberslug...
Hopefully the week it was up at least 5 people read it, and hopeful that's 5 novice/amateurs who learned something.
[editline]05:22AM[/editline]
[QUOTE=faolco1;17892888]Garry can go fuck himself
Come on now what's the reason for such an action? If anything, this will improve the videos section for the better![/QUOTE]
Faolco1 im not happy, but I think your over reacting.
[editline]05:32AM[/editline]
no wait wait wait.
heres what doesn't make sense...
The comic making tutorial, stayed sticky, but the video section doesn't.
[QUOTE=ScoutKing;17892909]
no wait wait wait.
heres what doesn't make sense...
The comic making tutorial, stayed sticky, but the video section doesn't.[/QUOTE]
^ This
No need to unsticky
Yeah, some of the videos on this forum need some serious help. I'm tired of seeing the same lame comedies.
[QUOTE=Hiccuper;17875563]Another point, people should think about the music they put into a machinima, pick music that fits the scene, don't put in your favourite song simply because you like it.[/QUOTE]
I'd recommend looking on Dogmazic for royalty-free tracks
[url]http://www.dogmazic.net/[/url]
Well I believe I learned a lot from this article and I don't want to see such great material be washed away into the depths of the underworld of FP.
Re-sticky this please, it will help a lot of people AND the part of the community which makes Ragdolls with thrusters "OLOLOLOL HE FLIES" machinima...
I can't re-sticky it, you guys will just have to keep it alive.
Eh I guess I can update it each week and bump it.
[QUOTE=Uberslug;17897641]I can't re-sticky it, you guys will just have to keep it alive.[/QUOTE]
We could try asking garry, couldn't we?
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