“Mise-en-Scène” Effect Guide Intro: This may not be a youtube video, but reading is good every once in awhile… and considering this is a screenshot guide I believe using photos to explain is more than appropriate Ive been silent about this effect for long enough, so I thought I would release a guide for Bungie Day inorder to see what other people can create with it. The effect is so simple that anyone who racked their brain trying to figure it out will feel like jumping off a bridge, lol It’s what I started calling the “Mise-en-Scène” effect as a joke, but some people like to call it the “Apollo Effect” , and ive also heard it be called a name which gives away the secret- which would be the “Light and Water effect” Yup, it as simple as the name implies. Just a couple of filters, 1 or 2 lights, and going underwater. The difficult thing is getting a good screenshot out of it though, if you don’t use it right then its about as useless as an original xbox without Halo- so lets get to the guide! ATTENTION!- If you are reading this you are one of the few who know of it. I wanted to and promised I would release a guide, but since the community wasn’t in complete agreement about openly marketing the guide I came to a compromise and (in a way) hid it online from anyone who isn’t trying to find it, doesn’t know where to look, or doesn’t even know such a thing exists. I have only linked it in a group filled with seasoned photographers and those striving to be, meaning it’s in capable hands, along with responding to PM’s of people inquiring on how it is done. Since this effect is simple there is always the fear that people will overuse and misuse it, causing it to become cliché and boring (think of how the blue flames are in reach now.) Take this notion into consideration. Every person reading this guide can decide to keep it a secret for themselves (so that their photos will stand out because of uncommonness), tell only their closest friends, or reveal it to the masses by spamming the heck out of it. Do as you please, the decision is up to everyone reading this-(note: if you tell people please provide them a link to here- no its not because I want publicity but rather because I tried to make this guide as idiot proof as I could… some, actually most, of the other photos floating around which make use of this effect are simply… well… horrendous. I don’t want to see even more of these on the FileSearch, I only want people to take good photos with it as they should be capable to do so with such an effect) Base Effect Guide: There are many possible variations with this effect so im just going to detail a main version and the location where I took the majority of my screenshots, including my best photo “Innovated” [Shameless Plug: If you like this guide or like my photo please LIKE the screenshot on Bnet to help me get to 1K, it takes only a second and I would be most appreciative if you did – thanks!] Start off by placing a GRID at the coordinates provided below, putting the two filters on the map, then placing either one or two lights underneath the water. (*the GRID is invisible when viewed from above the water!) (*note: many different filter combinations can be used, but this one provides the most clarity and contrast as seen in Innovated. White Lights also help with the clarity in the photos, so keep that in mind) Make sure that while in game you are looking away from the lights, so that they are always behind you, unless you want to show the back of the Spartan. When you go into the theater mode the colors will be seen in the area between where the lights are positioned and where your point of reference is, so the light has to be behind the subject at all times. When you go into the film to finally snap some screenshots you will want to fly very low to the water and zoom in. You will be taking the photos at an angle (see crude illustration below, lol) Sometimes it will appear as a smooth color scheme [see lurker, Guardian, Escape, and Gastly] but other times there will be “lines of light” which appear from seemingly nowhere if you move to the left and right while barely hovering above the water [see Wander and Prevail below]. Whether you are close to the lights or not will play a major role in this aspect; the effect will generally appear smooth when closer and the lines appear farther away. -Smooth- lurker Guardian Escape Gastly -LINES- Wander Prevail *The way the effect turns out depends entirely on the shape of the water waves, so there are numerous possibilities as to how they can appear- switching locations to use different waves is a great way to change up the effect. -Certain objects and weapons wont be visible because of the water properties, and although not seeing the GRID works as a huge advantage the down side is that the energy sword and other objects become invisible too. Luckily the needles on the needle rifle and needler still show up, and they look pretty amazing! [see Shimmer] Shimmer -Using different filters will change the color scheme, in these photos the GREEN filter was present: Deceptive SR10 -The effect even works in only black and white: Excruciation -The lights can be separated apart inorder to achieve a a split color scheme [see dichotomizing] or mixed and matched to create a blend of colors [see Developed & Hue] dichotomizing Developed Hue -Extra lighting source: "Powerups" A very simple and effective way to get more colors in the photo is to make use of the powerups (camo, overshield, and custom). To do this place them above the water where you plan on snapping a photo, then in theater you can approach the edges of the powerups and the colors will blend together with the lights in the water. Its probably the best coloring technique while using this effect, so make sure to experiment with it. [see Hue (above), Penumbra, & Beta (below)] Penumbra Well that’s the basic (actually now "advanced") idea behind this effect, it seems pretty simple but you’ll soon realize it is actually quite difficult to capture something good in the theater mode- make sure to read my capturing tips below so you don’t repeat the same mistakes that I did, and so you can be able to utilize this effect with the same skill as a master photographer! _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ BEGINNERS- Read First: - A PRETTY COLORED EFFECT DOESN'T MAKE IT A GOOD PHOTO!! i dont think i can stress this enough... throwing yourself in with this effect and snapping a photo wont make it good at all, it will just be plain and boring. I realized this shortly after discovering the effect, so i started to focus on poses and used the effect to augment them- these ones received the largest positive reception to say the least. Look at Innovated & Escape (above) and Beta & Reverie (below) for example, and how the effect adds a sort of motion and enhances the photo to a great extent. Beta Reverie Try to use this same principle if you are going to be following my style, that is to say just using yourself in the photo with nothing else going on. My hope, however, is to see people using this effect in different and unique ways other than my own, something as simple as having 2 spartans rather than 1 or using different background textures for example, but considering the nature of this effect it might be difficult to accomplish- no pun intended _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Basic Effect Capturing Tips: -The Rule of Thirds Guide-this basic principle will help you take better photos (if you are unaware) -Watch out for the wave height to make sure part of the subject is not above the water, the colored wave wont appear at that spot- creating a black area, so it won't look good and chances are it will be highly noticeable (although sometimes they are small and difficult to spot like in Guardian below) -Watch out for splashes above water while moving, these white dots will stand out and hurt the photo so try to crop them out when framing the screenshot. (see example below) (*Also keep in mind that some tv's dont display the exact video dimensions as the game's display -it could be smaller- so you might take a photo and later see that the screenshot is slightly larger than you saw in game, and those pesky white dots which you barely cropped out are now showing. I usually frame it right below the dots, so they cant be seen, then crop out a little extra to compensate for this issue.) Important Effect Capturing Tips: -There are 4 main elements you will need to be conscious of inorder to successfully utilize this effect, keep them in mind while in the theater mode since these are the signals for when you can take a screenshot: 1) The subject must be between the light and place you will snap a photo from 2) Be aware of when the subject is completely submerged under the water (it will be only for a second) 3) The subject is in the desired pose 4) The colored water wave is visible (it acts like a sine/cosine wave, where the colors usually oscillate between being invisible and visible due to the motion of the water wave) -Take your time! Slight changes in camera positioning, both vertical and horizontal, cause drastic fluctuations while using this effect; also the window of opportunity for a truly commendable photo will only be a fraction of a second long, so going frame by frame at certain times is the best approach. If you dont have patience with it then you won’t have much success using it... take my word on it (*Note: Keep in mind that once you find a “perfect” shot where all the elements work it will be EXTREMELY difficult to go back and find that precise moment and angle to acquire the same wave as before. Take duplicate shots with minor framing differences for best results- better safe than sorry, right?) -As i just said slight changes in positioning have a drastic affect on the capture; the "shapes" of the wave will change but more importantly the exposure (the amount of light in the photo) will be affected as well. Capturing a screenshot with too much or not enough light will play a big role in photo's composition. [see Nebula & Interstellar] Nebula Interstellar I recommend taking 2 or 3 shots with slightly different exposures to start off (usually you just move forward/backward to adjust this), then afterward you can choose your favorite from the batch rather than being disappointed with the photo after getting everything else in it perfect. (See example below) Exempt (darkest) Parish (middle) Peculiar (lightest) If you take both the slight framing changes and exposure differences into consideration while shooting you will certainly be taking a large number of photos of the same scene, always be aware of that as it could cause issues down the road. Note: Be careful since only about 15 screenshots will be uploaded to your "Recent Screenshots" on Bnet, so if you use that to view photos keep it in mind. You can have more than 1,000 saved photos, but you only can view 1,000 of them at a time in the local files- and they are randomly* selected- so avoid hitting that number! Also most computers have brighter screens than tv's, so it will certainly look different when looking at them on Bnet vs. in game. If you're concerned about that alot then you can change your brightness settings in game, from normal to higher, inorder to 'preview' how the photo might look on the computer. -The way the actual screenshot looks is unaffected by this though. _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Final Remarks: To be honest this became a pretty in depth and (somewhat) well written of an effect guide- much more than it was intended to be. I started off by being lazy about it, but i wound up having fun making this guide so i kept going... lol. I think i have included the most vital tips from my experiences, but if something is unclear or if you have any unanswered questions regarding this effect feel free to PM me on Bnet (probably the fastest and most convenient way for most) or here on ForgeHub and I will answer them promptly and as best I can. Also if you are looking for helpful advice or some feedback about how your screenshots turn out I recommend joining the Mythic Photographers Group on Bnet, its filled with screenshot enthusiasts (like myself) who provide useful knowledge to help you improve your photos… in fact, a majority of the most talented screenshot takers out there are active members! I would like to say that this guide most likely marks the end of my screenshot making days using this effect, and possibly my screenshot making days altogether- but things are always subject to change so stay tuned... lmao, well here is what may be my last screenshot using this effect- which i made to mark the release of this guide: I started making screenshots only because i happened to discover this eye-capturing effect by accident and I have enjoyed making many amazing screenshots as a result, so i certainly hope everyone else has as much fun with it as i have. To this day im still awe-struck every time i look at Innovated... I guess I'll end with that note. Thanks to any fans of my screenshots out there, I appreciate all of the feedback and support which everyone has provided me with! Hope you enjoyed this guide and Happy Bungie day on the 7th!! (** ForgeHub users: please refrain from commenting on this post, i think this guide is more presentable as a stand alone entry so i would prefer it to remain that way- thank you **) :lock: