What are general elements/used-techniques of a machinima? General film stuff helps, but the more it relates specifically to machinima, the better. I know how to make a machinima, I don't need advice on technique...I just need help figuring out what to comment on. The ones I've come up with: camera placement headbobbing narration (also voice actors) soundtrack (thanks to DrawingMan) subtitles explosions genre raised/lowered weapons I know the topic is rather vague, but I'm working on a project that requires a certain kind of knowledge on the various aspects and want to get the script finished tonight so I can release it next week. Thanks. Filming a scene from it soon, sign up here if you're interested in helping:http://www.forgehub.com/forum/halo-discussion/99606-need-body-actors-machinima.html#post1191644
I'm fairly new to making machinima, but have watched a good deal of Halo machinimas to get a basic idea of the general elements needed. You've mentioned most of them, but I'd add camera movement alongside placement. Panning can be very effective if used properly, to give a full view of a certain scene, or create a setting by panning across part of a map. I would also recommend to any machinima maker to steer well clear of the Digital Ph33r-esque camera shake. The amount of amateurs which have attempted it is unbelievable, moving the camera about so wildly and aimlessly doesn't work for me and doesn't show the audience anything. Video editing and special effects is also becoming more prevalent in recent machinima. Personally, I prefer a good storyline to fancy editing, but it is becoming more and more popular and I have to admit some of the things people have managed to pull off is very impressive. I've always found setting to be quite important as well. I feel that to get an audience more involved with your machinima you have to almost make them forget that it takes place in a video game, if you know what I mean. If you watch a machinima and you recognise the map it's on, it'll detract slightly from the video. Obviously it's impossible to film something on Halo 3 without people recognising the map it's on, but simple items added in Forge and proper filming techniques can give the impression that it doesn't take place on bog-standard default Last Resort you play Big Team Slayer on. I'm not really sure if I've been able to help much, but those are a few things I consider important which you haven't already mentioned. Best of luck with this machinima, are you intending to release any details about it?
All good points, especially the camera shake one I should probably mention what this is for, wasn't going to but I've mentioned it enough elsewhere. The project is a metamachinima, that is, a machinima that comments on machinima itself. It's a satire really, but not blatant parody as it isn't slapstick humor thrown in for cheap laughs. For example, the "camera" is a character itself (represented by a monitor at points). The characters in the story can actually see the camera if they look directly at it (assuming the characters were real people) and as "cuts" are used to get from one shot to the next, I've made it so that the camera is literally teleporting from one location to the next when it "cuts". Also, when they acknowledge the camera is there, it duplicates itself. So, "The thing is looking at us, right there" ::cut to their point of view, you see a monitor:: So the camera is the monitor there, and the monitor near their point of view looking at the original camera. It sounds really complicated explaining it out like this, but the script makes the execution really simple to understand.
Well spartans/elites don't show a lot of emotion, so you'll have to emphasize that with voice acting or movement (somehow). Use after effects to create weather, like snow or rain or fog, etc. I don't know if you have this already, but noise, like when two characters are having a conversation in an elevator, you would hear a slight 'whir' or when they're in a park you would hear birds chirping or dogs barking.
Damn, I had thought of the emotionless bit for a different project, but that fits perfectly here, thanks. And yeah, I plan to have effects thrown in for cheapness.
Sounds like a cool idea, definitely original. I'm pretty sure I understand where you're coming from regarding the camera. Best of luck with the machinima, I'm really looking forward to seeing how it's executed! I'll drop by if I can think of any other "advice"
I already know you're the same, but Headbobbing is a no, and as everyone has said before, Story is more important than everything.
headbobbing will be addressed, in a hilarious way, Black can attest to that lol. Story will be addressed obliquely.
With the weapon raised/lowered setting I don't know if you know (I assume you do but I'll tell you anyway) is that make sure all your characters have no grenades unless they need them. This is due to the fact that if you press the grenade fire button with no grenades it raises the weapon into a fire position without the need to actually fire/do a beat down action. Maintaining the same walk speed is something you should try and grasp. Its not hard to do so but if you're filming it can slip the mind and it makes a piece somewhat odder when the character keeps changing how fast he's walking. So it helps to practice tilting the stick to maintain the same speed if you haven't got it already. Unless you have a reason. or the gravity is high, don't jump. Obviously it depends on the actual setting and backstory but if the characters are meant to be fairly human then there's nothing as offputting as one of the characters leaping a few feet into the air from a stationary position in my opinion. Personally it comes down to maintaining the air of 'realism' that is often tried to be cultivated in a machinima. Again it depends on what yours is about really. Its often good to have a couple of accounts that have a selection of armour perms. It might sounds silly but it is all about the details in my opinion and having to use the smae account to get your armour perms is annoying. In a Halo machinima armour colours and armour perms are the two best ways to easily show the different characters. Of course voices come into it but armour perms/colour help the audience know which character is which at a glance, especially is there are several main/recurrent characters. You're not going to be doing this judging by your response but I have to say it. For the love of any diety you believe in do not do the voices over Xbox Live. Skype and Firefox voice recorder add on is your friend for that. Most of what I would normally say has already been said, my points are more particulars that I think make up the details of a Machinima and make an average one in a good one.
camera placement This isn't specific to machinima, general cinematopgraphy applies. One would try as a DP to make a viewer feel as if he was a character, was observing and actually there, or try to evoke some emotion. headbobbing Unless you're really good at it, it isn't necessary, or advised. narration (also voice actors) Put a sock over your mike, never fake yell or talk quiter or different. It's best to have the mike there, but the actor converse with someone else, or focus on a listening person to make it feel/come out more natural. soundtrack (thanks to DrawingMan) Make it not suck subtitles Depending on where you're releasing it, I'd avoid this if possible, they're just annoying if you understand the spoken language. explosions Use in-halo explosions. If you edit in stock footage (I tried with AE2) it won't work, the contrast of real and halo is noticeable. genre With halo, and most video games you've got two options: Action Comedy raised/lowered weapons If one character is facing another, have the gun lowered. If he/she is conversing over radio, or aiming and multitask talking then it doesn't have to,or if you purposely need it raised, but lowered is always preferred.
You guys are missing the point. The machinima is a COMMENT on machinima. I'm a film fan and major, I know HOW to make a film, what I'm asking for is the specific stuff that would slip past one's mind in an analysis of machinima (unless it were really bad). I'll use headbobbing as an example. Headbobbing, is a technique specific to the machinima medium (or at least that of Halo). They use it to show the audience who is speaking (especially when multiple characters are in frame). It isn't a realistic (or really practical technique) so in the machinima, I make a comment ON headbobbing, not necessarily using it to make the machinima itself. It'd be like making a horror parody and having the killer be one of the friends you know from the beginning of the film, they say "well that was unexpected wasn't it" Frequent explosions, I've seen that in machinima too. People will throw them in for effect as opposed to necessary involvement. Having too many explosions simply desensitizes the audience to the notion of the explosion itself. EDIT for clarification: I know how to make a machinima, I don't need advice on technique...I just need help figuring out what to comment on. I do appreciate the effort though, lol.
'The Bump' might be something you could comment on. Walk past an object and you'll see what I mean. RT talk about it here - Red vs. Blue · BTS: What Is The Bump? Personally I like the idea of taking the piss out of the fail attempts to use Xbox Live mics to do the voices.
In that case Sarge, comment on the following: - Cliched soldiers (possibly with memory loss) with hilariously bad one liners - Aliens - Use Microsoft Sam as a voice for someone - Include really drawn out pans of nothing in particular (say a wall or something) - Camera shaking as I've mentionned - Villains are typically given the EOD helmet (probably due to the Darth Vader ressemblance) - Action sequences in Forge where you can see the "teardrops" for each object always ruin a machinima for me, especially when loads of fusion coils randomly blow up - The Halo 3 Soundtrack is about as over-used in machinimas as "Blow Me Away" in montages - Car chases which never seem to go anywhere on the map are always amusing - If someone gets sniped in the head, be sure to replay it from at least 3 different angles and have at least 1 in slo-mo - Modify a characters voice in a voice editing programme (ie Audacity) to sound ridiculously low and unbelievable - Get some wooden voice acting in there completely void of emotion in a stressful/emotional situation - Whispered yelling/swearing when done by kids is always hilarious
The Caboose. Caboose is a ghost in halo machinima, he's in every one, maybe spread out across time or a few different characters, but he's there.
Master Chief. He appears in almost all cheesy action machinimas. If you want more stuff to bag, watch the Arby 'n' the Chief movie. Skip to chief's first machinima and watch. It'll give you ideas. Also watch the forgotten Spartans. Clichéd, cheesy, etc. EDIT: YouTube- Unsc Mysteries trailer (halo 3 machinima) Singularly the worst machinima trailer I've ever seen. The people who made it were obviously new to machinima. I forgot, make all the characters really MANLY. You know, tough, battle scarred, not afraid of death, really deep voices, etc.
Critiquing it, right? Critiquing machinima is just like critiquing a movie, all the elements to a good movie must be present, the same way all of the elements to a machinima must be present. Rather than write up a long dragged up post, I'll just post 2 machinima pieces I think are amazing and provides elements that should be in a machinima: YouTube - Fantasy Halo Part 1 You can just tell the amount of effort and work put into it. It's incredible! If you're an avid Final Fantasy fan and a Halo fan, you'd flip out because of the execution this guy has done to his film. It's one to marvel at, really. Here's another good example of a machinima my friend Genetic Spartan made (Not his best, but a VERY good HMV): YouTube - Viva La Vida Halo Music Video AMAZING! The camera angles, the head bobbing, and of course the video editing is epic. What scores points with most people that critique machinima is if you stray from using typical fonts (such as the halo font) for titles in your movies, making excellent titles using After Effects, etc. etc. If you need any other help with machinima, you should check out my site (it's in the sig)! We're pretty much devoted to making machinimers. ;D Bonus, if you have 30 mins to spare, I highly recommend watching CROSSFIRE's Jonathan Quail. **** is amazing and it'll make you cream yer pants. YouTube - Jonathan Quail[Halo 3]
Don't use Plasma Pistols. It makes the bottom hand looked ****ed up. And to MrCasperTom: The "Filming" Game varient makes it where the full tilt makes the player walk, not run.