Some thoughts on quality of filmmaking

[GRUNT -Shrek-]

Hi there!

 

It is quite sad that a bunch of people is able to capture high res videos, but has few knowledge of how to cut nice stories.

 

A common mistake is to focus on your own experience, showing where you have been cool and put a stress on that in temporal context.

 

Short: You create a 10min video for one excellent 30sec weapon run. Noone will take a look at that, well, and if... once. The next video will not be viewed in full extension but instantly fast forwarded.

 

 

Here are some thoughts (well after graduating in arts, this might not be too selfish but should help the whole community on the long hand.

 

And of course, I am looking forward to critical/controversial comments rather then praying the commandments.

Defining the goal

 

 

• Spend some time to precisely define the outcome. Should your video achieve a tutorial, promotional function or is it just entertainment.
  
• Focus, focus, focus: What is the core message? Is it a procedural behaviour (e.g. setting up a weapon run)? Is it a single action (cluster bomb destroying whole group)? Is it weather, missile dodge, teamwork, or the great achievement of a mission?
  
• Helpful is also to write down the completed sentence (multiple facts possible): After watching my video the viewer [knows/feels/wants to/is inspired to do]... but remember the focus!
  

Play with moods

As old a theatre: developement, tension, surprise, ending. Or in terms of Hitchcock: tension and suspense.

Develop a story that raises tension "what will happen?" and do surprise the audience "nice weather ... nothing bad... RWR tracking unit". Or milkrun on convoy... an Igla appears. landing run, bird strike one engine off.

 

Generate:

 

• relaxed moods, happy, bright weather, procedural actions, all gauges in norm.
  
  
• tension: new thread, faults, missile incoming, weather change, audio request, an enemy grouping/setting up
  
  
• action action action: quick movements, explosions, fire fire, flares, shootings, near misses, canyons, high speed
  
  
• salvation: peace again, no thread, nice weather, situation stabil
  
  

 

Make it viewable

 

 

• First of all: make short cutscenes, short short short. While older films (80ies) had longer timespans, it only takes up to 3 secs for a viewer to get most visual informations out of one picture. This means, if scenes are cut longer, you have a high chance to annoy the viewer.
  
• Make a story, make the story consistent. Well I know for tech geeks being proud it's difficult not to rest in front of your hardware. Give it a try. You do not need to draw a whole storyboard, but fixing on the storyline (words) adding some important visual aspects does the job. e.g. attackrun on AAA, approach into sunset overcast cloudcover, camera low rear (7 o'clock low) into the sun. Try sketching. If you like movies, you'll enjoy re-working your animation in game. Storyline is also important to avoid errors. (e.g. payload after attack run is different/not spend). Not to get me wrong: cutting together different captures is possible, but please do not cheat on that viewer, he'll quickliy find out. Be honest and cut it like its a collection and no single story.
  
• Keep in mind: short. Spend time on how to present and tell one situation. Well now, I think it is time for an example.
  

Example: Attack run on AAA

through the clouds.

 

 

 

Bad example: cockpit view, 2min to target. You see the sun, you click around. RWR goes of, you dive. You show full weapons release in externals. Focus on destroyed unit for 1min. Bad. Very bad. WORSE.

 

 

Good example: focus on exorbitant weather (see section moods), dive through the clouds, hit with one burst, maneuver after engagement.

Playing on the axis of detail. (Camera distances to motive, different views of same situation/object, perspective). Playing with time (rhythm change: quick, slower).

 

 

EXTERNAL Openning scene beautiful weather, flight into sunset 7 o'clock low.

 

INTERNAL Cockpit view pan from HUD into sun/3 o'clock wing.

INTERNAL close short: RWR on (only clicks), close shot Lights off) aka "fence in".

EXTERNAL fly by view (not whole flyby max 5secs) ... "time passes"

INTERNAL wide... another pan looking out of the canopy

 

TENSION INTERNAL: close shot RWR [A] AAA indication tick tick tick.

EXTERNAL "reaction": F2 bank 60° left (RWR!) away from sun. Crash dive through the clouds.

INTERNAL: forward view. white out clouds... RWR active 3-4secs.

EXTERNAL: AAA tracking turrent movement, elevation of barrels.

INTERNAL: breaking through cloud cover, aligning target.

EXTERNAL f2 front shot: small burst.

EXTERNAL target, but camera as "journalist/observer" bit away. Only impacts -1sec wait for famous groahhh sound.

 

(different view angle: explosion of unit if not happened, 2secs)

INTERNAL: banking (only the first second)

EXTERNAL F2 from rear: banking to 90° dropping flares.

EXTERNAL F3 turn and flares (4 secs, longer if audio confimes the kill. e.g. "Mission complete, target destroyed, Whoo-hooo, ....")

That's it. That's it, why there are cut programs.

 

I know that's hello of a job but if you know the storyline and plot it WILL BE FUN to record these scenes focused on that message.

 

 

 

Finishing

 

 

• Audio! See moods, choose different music/sounds for different moods. E.g. epic "nero - united we stand" beginning is not suitable for an relaxed opening scene. Feel the musics mood and speed! Use it accordingly to the scenes. (In our example with the RWR/AAA aligning, crashdive but not before that event). If you play one track for 3min filling visual material, you will end up with something else: a music video. Go back to "defining goals", start up again and seek to express the musics moods with the mean of DCS. But again, start over at defnining goals. Do not wait for radio to happen. Record it and mix it into the images... you do not want the audience wait for 10secs feedback after you requested takeoff. Seek music, radio coms (which is a good behaviour anyways). Having a storyline and a pre defined goal (remember that?), this one should be easy.
  
• If you spend time creating... do mention you, an appropriate title, the music used (copyrights? legal usage, try: jamendo and/or freemusic) programs and save the teamwork by mentioning helpers. And even contact (webpage), where to find more videos regarding one can download and do not see those videos in youtube. e.g. youtube channel.
  

 

 

Looking forward to comments, discussions and - of course - stonishing videos.

Have fun flying'n'recording!

 

 

 

Words of the master: "Alfred Hitchcock On Mastering Cinematic Tension"

Edited April 25, 2012 by GRUNT -=Shrek=-
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[Glowing_Amraam]

[*]First of all: make short cutscenes, short short short. While older films (80ies) had longer timespans, it only takes up to 3 secs for a viewer to get most visual informations out of one picture. This means, if scenes are cut longer, you have a high chance to annoy the viewer.

 

Just an example, Steven Spielberg is a man who has frequently showed long and uncut scenes in many of his films (Saving Private Ryan pops to mind). It's not the length of a clip that makes it good or bad.

It's the context within those seconds/minutes that counts. IMO ofc... :)

 

Making movies is quite dynamic. It will always change, depending on the video, the setting, the pace, the story, the intention behind it, etc.