Any tips on making a video or movie by using DCS ?

[Grey Hawk]

Hello, guys! These days I tried to make a video by using DCS, however, I'm a beginner in making the video about DCS, so I have a lot of problems, the biggest problem is that shooting the dogfight scenes, I use the AI as actors but the AI seems not very smart… So any one has any tips in making a video? Thanks a lot! 

[cfrag]

Well, assuming you have all the other issues sorted (video editing, audio editing, video capture, audio capture) out, my (quite limited) exposure to creating videos with games in general (and DCS in particular) has left me with the following hints 

• (Have the storyboard and all dialogues finished before starting to shoot -- I guess that's a given, but once I foolishly attempted to wing it, and lost a day)
• Whenever possible, don't use AI but human pilots as actors and use mods for those planes that currently aren't available as player planes (e.g. Blackhawk, F-117). Note that this can get expensive quickly since you may require multiple computers: one for each actor, plus a server. If you use the internet with friends, make sure that there is very little latency and that your node is hosting. Have your actors rehearse each scene (you may be able to use that footage as B-roll, get the tracks), and be prepared to re-shoot multiple times. The good thing here is that they can use the .miz offline to practice.
• Use the mission editor for each short sequence, don't try to shoot everything as a single long video. It won't work, and the replays usually don't work past a few minutes. This means that usually each frame in your storyboard is at least one, if not more missions.
• Use replay to render to video [also allows you to change quality and use a high-octane computer for rendering], and also use it for your reverse shots, you won't be able to re-create the scene well enough otherwise. Run through your replays multiple times, pause, set up your cameras and then record and un-pause a few seconds at a time. This is where short replays come in handy - remember that DCS's replay feature is not geared towards video editing. Take a couple of beta blocks before creating footage else you smash your monitors in frustration. A good rule of thumb is that you should expect a 1:5 to 1:10 ratio - for every 10 second of usable footage, expect to require one to two minutes of real footage. 
• Add voice and color grading (and any fx) in post only, never expect to be able to use actual game voice unless you have really capable actors. It's much easier to narrate over existing footage, and much better to time it too.
• Always capture your actor's footage as B-roll (including rehearsals) that you may be able to use later as filler, background, effects or inserts.

[Grey Hawk]

2022/4/7 AM12点47分，cfrag说：

Well, assuming you have all the other issues sorted (video editing, audio editing, video capture, audio capture) out, my (quite limited) exposure to creating videos with games in general (and DCS in particular) has left me with the following hints 

• (Have the storyboard and all dialogues finished before starting to shoot -- I guess that's a given, but once I foolishly attempted to wing it, and lost a day)
• Whenever possible, don't use AI but human pilots as actors and use mods for those planes that currently aren't available as player planes (e.g. Blackhawk, F-117). Note that this can get expensive quickly since you may require multiple computers: one for each actor, plus a server. If you use the internet with friends, make sure that there is very little latency and that your node is hosting. Have your actors rehearse each scene (you may be able to use that footage as B-roll, get the tracks), and be prepared to re-shoot multiple times. The good thing here is that they can use the .miz offline to practice.
• Use the mission editor for each short sequence, don't try to shoot everything as a single long video. It won't work, and the replays usually don't work past a few minutes. This means that usually each frame in your storyboard is at least one, if not more missions.
• Use replay to render to video [also allows you to change quality and use a high-octane computer for rendering], and also use it for your reverse shots, you won't be able to re-create the scene well enough otherwise. Run through your replays multiple times, pause, set up your cameras and then record and un-pause a few seconds at a time. This is where short replays come in handy - remember that DCS's replay feature is not geared towards video editing. Take a couple of beta blocks before creating footage else you smash your monitors in frustration. A good rule of thumb is that you should expect a 1:5 to 1:10 ratio - for every 10 second of usable footage, expect to require one to two minutes of real footage. 
• Add voice and color grading (and any fx) in post only, never expect to be able to use actual game voice unless you have really capable actors. It's much easier to narrate over existing footage, and much better to time it too.
• Always capture your actor's footage as B-roll (including rehearsals) that you may be able to use later as filler, background, effects or inserts.

Thank you very much !