SethiXzonJoin Date: 2008-08-21
Post Count: 13779 |
--Disclaimer--
I am not saying that this will make you the most popular YouTube user of all time, nor am I promising that you will make a great movie, but I do promise this can help you!
Chapter 1: --Introduction--
Lately, making ROBLOX movies has become rather popular, and you probably have been inspired to make your own. Perhaps it was one of the ever-so-popular and cliché ROBLOX bloopers? Another source of inspiration could be from some more advanced editors that added in special effects. Or maybe it was just one of Telamon's videos for promoting ROBLOX? Regardless of what put this idea seed into your mind, you really do want to make this movie. To make a proper movie, the process is not as simple as finding friends, recording and then uploading your footage to a sharing site; no. But with this guide's help, you'll be on your way to making a great movie that will entertain and capture the jealousy and envy of your aspiring fans!
Chapter 2: --Taking your first steps--
The first step to making a video is planning it. To start, you need to create a good idea. Some you may consider are, adventure movies, action movies, sci-fi battles and even recreations of other movies! However, PLEASE DO NOT make bloopers. They are overused, cliché and really tend to not be funny at all. If you have to, though, please refrain from cramming in too many overused memes.
I'll warn you, though; even if you have the greatest idea ever, don't get too confident. It's very easy to dream up a huge thirty minute thriller, but very challenging to create even five minutes of it. Try not to do this; instead, start with short, tiny films or tests, and as you get better, make longer ones.
If you get a good idea, make sure you remember it! Write it down if you don't think you'll remember it. Then, type up a summary of it in Microsoft Word/Notepad (or equivalent program depending on your operating system). Review it and make corrections. If you're running an operating system with support for a little notepad widget, feel free to type out little notes onto it and review later.
Chapter 3: --PREPARING THE KRA-MOVIE!--
For your movie to succeed in unruly theater that is the internet, you need to have a good plot and story. Everything needs to make sense. Many movies fail because of the story being inconsistent, with a character dying and then instantly popping back later, etc, so make sure your movie doesn't end up a jumbled mess of instability! Once you finally have your story worked out, it's time to type your script.
No, we're not to the 'programming' aspect of movie making just yet. I mean an actual script with sentences and dialog. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Before we make the script, we might need a cast.
[GIGANTIC WARNING: Hundreds of movies are never made on ROBLOX because of a bad, hastily picked cast! If you're going to have a movie with other players as actors, have auditions. It is crucial that you have actors that will actually act! Try to pick your friends instead of complete strangers, as you know them better. Attempt to get actual background information on strangers, especially those that claim to be 'pro aktors' and 'troo movie staers i werked with are92'. Also, try to include serious players, instead of players that try to be 'funny'. These 'comedians' will ruin your movie!]
Now you've got your cast ready! Let's type up that script! When creating diologue and the script itself, make sure you glance at the story to make sure it's canon (stays relevant, or makes sense with) with your original ideas. This is an excellent chance to correct mistakes or holes in the plot of your story, however, if you do spot any unwanted marks.
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Chapter 4 --Practice Makes Perfect--
Congratulations if you've gotten this far. Luckly, you've passed the most simple and boring steps. Now we're onto the good stuff you've been waiting for; acting, recording and editing, so the next step to making your masterpiece is practicing. You need to make sure your actors know what they're doing, because if they forget their lines, the scene will have to be reshot.
Talking isn't everything; they also need to know where to move and when to die (if needed). I recommend you schedule a large, friends only practice session for about an hour just to make sure you all know what to do, and then frequently 'drill' them at least once a day or two.
[TIP!: For the script itself, you can simply get everyone to copy and paste it into some kind of text editor, then print it out. Then, they'll be able to easily read it while you record, which means less practicing!]
Chapter 5 --What button do I press to record, again...?--
So, let's see; You've imagined your story. You've created your script. You've even rehearsed with your whole cast! What next? Check over all your work, because it's time to film it.
If you want to record your movie, you have many options. Read the chart below to compare them all:
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---------------------------------Free Catagory-----------------------------------------
Recording the screen: You're kidding me. Please never do this. You can't add effects, you have drethel quality even with a $300 camcorder, it has a bad refresh rate and to top it off, it looks VERY unprofessional.
Using WeGame: This once-famous little program used to offer amazing quality HD video with a very small file size. However, it now forces you to pay monthly for this; instead being forced to use a very slow and low quality mode. However, you do not lose much FPS.
Using Camstudio: CamStudio is famous for being an open-source, free alternative to other recorders. On the other side, though, it's still not the best for recording games. If possible, leave this recorder for desktop recording.
Using HyperCam 2: Recently, HyperCam 2 has become free. Does this mean it's any better? NO. It just means it gets rid of the little watermark box. Not good at compression either if you want full quality; 10 seconds on my desktop equalled 700 MB. Compressing it drops the color to 8-bit color (256 colors), so I really can't recommend this.
Winners: Camstudio, WeGame, HyperCam 2 (though it's the worst of the three) -- Big Loser: Recording Screen
--------------------------Commercial/Demo Catagory--------------------------------
Using FRAPS: A great piece of software that can definitally record your games in very high quality, but leaves a huge file behind and can drop your FPS quite a bit, even after messing with the settings.
Using Camtasia: Honestly, I've never used this, but it does output some decent quality video and features a built in editor. However, this is really only good for desktop recording.
Using Hypercam 3: THIS is HyperCam 2's sucessor? For shame, Hyperonics. While it is touted as 'HD', it's really playing on the biggest lie in the camera, camcorder and desktop recording market. When you think of HD, you think of high quality, but really, most of these things (including HyCam 3) just stretch out the pixels to make it higher resolution. How disappointing.
Winner: FRAPS -- Big Loser: HyperCam 3
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So there you have it, either use FRAPS, WeGame, the ROBLOX recorder or CamStudio or Hypercam 2 or 3, but NEVER RECORD YOUR SCREEN. This is not to say there aren't more recorders out there; these are simply the ones I have tested. If you want even better Camstudio quality, download the lossless codec from their website.
So now that you have your 'camcorder', go ahead and record all your scenes! It's fine if you mess up; go ahead and re-record that part. You can even re-record a small scene and just edit out the mistake, then mash them both together.
Chapter 6 --What do I use, Daddy?--
[Warning: This is a somewhat useless chapter unless you want effects. You can just skip it if you want no effects/titles whatsoever.]
You've finished recording your masterpiece, but now you need to edit it. Here is another chart comparing popular editing software:
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Windows Movie Maker (XP): I'm sorry, but isn't it time we grow up from a ten year old operating system? This is Vista's version but slower and has less features.
Windows Movie Maker (Vista): Basic Effects and Titles, can be slow or crash, supports HD video importing and exporting, fine for beginners.
Windows Live Movie Maker: Basic Effects and Titles, AutoMovie feature, supports HD video importing and exporting, NO TIMELINE, horrible for ROBLOX movies.
Windows DVD Maker: Not a video editor, but has some great premade DVD menus for your DVD's. Not present on all computers, however.
Sony Vegas Platinum 10: Basically a limited Vegas which you can see below.
Sony Vegas: A good editor for music videos, which I will discuss in my next guide for editing, not so much for actual effects, however. It manages, but it's child's play in comparison to...
Adobe After Effects CS3/CS4: About as expensive as Vegas, it's the ultimate visual effects package. There are thousands of tutorials online, and has dozens of built-in effects such as Advanced Lightning, CC Particle World, and CC Vector Blur. These are discussed in my editing guide.
Adobe After Effects CS5: More expensive than AE CS3 or CS4, it's 64-bit exclusive and lacks many plugins that are very useful, though many are coming out as time goes by.
Premiere/Premiere Elements: Overall great products. Elements is a bit slow but has a great user-friendly interface. Both are also great for sound editing to a point.
Compositing: If you want the best video you can make, you're going to need to learn to model and animate in 3D, and then composite this into your footage. I recommend learning Blender, 3DS Max, Lightwave or Maya. Make sure you avoid Blender knock-offs, though, as Blender is free and always will be.
[TIP: ALWAYS add a flashy or interesting intro. It captures the audience's attention and makes your movie look more professional.]
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You've finished your movie, so now it's time to export it. You can export it in any format and resolution you want; it doesn't matter. Just make sure that it's not too big or uploading it to a website like YouTube could take 12+ hours!
Chapter 7 --YouTube and other sharing sites--
Your film is done; now it's time to upload. First, you should get an account on a video sharing site. Recommended sites include YouTube and Google Video.
Try to advertise your film in the ROBLOXiwood section with a good title and description. Try to get a good reputation, and avoid needless spam by posting links to your videos everywhere.
Finally, do NOT be overconfident about the quality of your videos, or you will be shot down by others better than you. It is better to be humble, but at the same time, have fun rubbing your good movie into other's faces if they have terrible ones; preferrably ones who recorded their screens with a camera!
Good luck and have fun filming! Also, if you could add my guide into your description and or credits of your movie, I would appreciate it! --SethiXzon |