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    • Valkyrie321's Awesome Guide to making Oblivion Movies

    Software

    Let's start with software. One of the most important steps to creating a good movie. The software you use can drastically alter the style, originality, look and feel of the movie in question. I will provide links to trial versions of the software, and give a quick run down of what I PERSONALLY use, as well as links to other programs. Feel free to add to this list by posting a remark.

    Video Capturing Software

    This is the bread of the filming process. With the filming software, you will be able to capture what is happening. These programs act as your "camera" and allow you to film, cut and refilm in real time while attempting your actions.

    GameCam - http://www.planetgamecam.com/
    While I am not completely familiar with GameCam, I know that there is a software trial at the above site. I wish I could provide more information, but I have never used this software myself. I know that the unregistered version will not record sound.

    FRAPS - http://www.fraps.com
    FRAPS is the program I personally use. If you are unwilling to spend the money to purchase the registered version, you will be limited to 30 second clips that have "fraps.com" overlay on the top. To get good framerates while keeping the file sizes relatively small I recommend the following:

    - Film in "Half-Size" which is an option under the Movies tab.
    - Set your FPS to no higher than 50 if you can avoid it. The more frames per a second it films, the larger the file and the higher your system resources must be. If you are getting 30FPS while filming, why film at 50?
    - If you disable "Record Sound" during moments you don't need sound, you can save file size and resources.

    Here are some other good tips:

    - Set your hotkey to F8, as the default key will load a saved game.
    - While filming, use the FPS hotkey to bring up the FPS counter. This will NOT be filmed, so don't worry. This is a useful tool for determining when you are filming, and what kind of framerates you are getting.

    Other Useful Programs
    Taksi - http://taksi.sourceforge.net/
    Camstasia - http://www.techsmith.com/

    Editing Software

    If the video capturing software is the bread, the editing software is the butter. You want to select an editing tool that not only matches your particular skill, but matches your style. Good editing could make or break your video.

    Windows Movie Maker - Comes standard with Windows XP
    WMM is a great program for entry level video makers, or those who do not with to needlessly complicate their lives with complex video editing software. You can edit, clip, resize, adjust the speed, add music, add effects and do a plethora of other things to the video you have captured.

    Advantages:
    - Comes free with XP
    - VERY easy to use with written guides build in
    - Simple and easy effects such as fades, inversions, and other tools that are as simple to use as "clicking and dragging."
    - Great conversion tool for adjusting the size of your movies when doing a final render

    Disadvantages:
    - Limited in scope
    - Can't alter the effects
    - Can't alter the fades and transitions
    - Has some CTD (crash to desktop) issues. While you should save religiously while editing, this is rather annoying. The built in "Crash backup" feature is useful, but I wouldn't rely on it.

    As you can see, WMM is a mixed bag when it comes to editing. I HIGHLY recommend WMM for people who are fairly new to editing, as it is a platform program to get into more advanced software. With it being free, nobody can beat that price!

    One last time to reiterate what I said... I HIGHLY RECOMMEND WMM FOR NOVICE VIDEO MAKERS.

    Sony Vegas - http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/products/vegasfamily.asp
    Sony Vegas is the program I currently use. I currently run version 4.0, which was at the time produced by Sonic Foundry. Some of my information may be slightly out of date. You can get trial versions of the software above.

    Advantages:
    - Simple to use and intuitive
    - Extremely powerful
    - Great guides online for using it
    - Professional look
    - Great effects that are simple to manipulate and adjust
    - Ability to compile your video into MANY formats, including high definition and widescreen versions.
    - Arrange the software windows to your liking
    - Can use 3rd party tools to edit audio

    Disadvantages:
    - Some features are limiting
    - You may require "plug ins" for certain effects. This costs money
    - Fairly steep price. The Movie Studio + DVD version alone costs $89 U.S., while the full version of Vegas 6.0 costs over $449 U.S.
    - There are no video compression tools, so you are forced to use another program such as WMM to make the file size smaller

    Vegas is the program I prefer. It accepts most media formats (.jpg, .bmp, .avi, .mpg, .wmv and more) while making all the tools fairly straightforward and simple to use. It doesn't have the ease of use as WMM, but after a while of tinkering with the effects and other features of Vegas, you will get a strong understanding of how the program works.

    I particularly enjoy the drag and drop features of the effects and transitions, with the ability to fine tune the timing and properties associated with each of them. You can find a few plug ins on the internet that you can install giving you more effects and tools.

    One nice feature is the ability to work with audio. If you already have an audio editing program, you can alter the sounds recorded, then easily implement them all from Vegas. Although I am not familiar with newer versions of Vegas, my old 4.0 version came with a few audio editing tools built into it.

    Adobe Premiere - http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/
    This is the program I have the least experience with, but I can give some information taken from their webpage and the experience of those I know who have worked with it.

    Advantages:
    - HIGHLY adaptable and customizable
    - Studio professional quality formats and plug ins
    - http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/overview2.html (this is a list of features. Sorry folks. Don't know a lot.)

    Disadvantages:
    - Requires significant know how and reading
    - Steep price of up to $849 U.S.

    From what I have gathered of Premiere, the program is EXTREMELY useful for the very small details of film editing while providing powerful tools to assist you in nearly any and every feature possible that you could think of. This comes at the expense of being a fairly confusing editing program for those who are not ready for that "step up."

    I only recommend Adobe Premiere for those who have significant experience in video editing, and chances are if you use Adobe Premiere considerably, you won't be reading this guide. wink.gif

    Video Capturing Card
    A video capturing card allows you to film media from a TV or other device through an installed card in your computer. This is useful if you have the X-Box version of Oblivion.

    Advantages
    - Allows X-Box players to create quality films and have access to professional editing software
    - Can be used to record other formats of media besides video games

    Disadvantages
    - Requires installation into your computer
    - Chords and other media devices must be used
    - May require additional software
    - Comes with a price


    Vision/Story

    This is probably one of the most overlooked concepts of making a good film. Often times people get all the software and equipment together and start filming without a specific cause or reason. You as a director need to have a clear vision of what it is you want to accomplish with your film, and what you expect to portray. If you are doing a story, then you need to make that story clear and concise.

    Brainstorm
    First thing you want to do is think about what it is you want to do with your movie. Here are some questions you should be asking yourself:

    - Is my character interesting?
    - Am I telling a story, or am I profiling a character?
    - What kind of music would fit my story/characters?
    - How long should my movie be?
    - Does it have a particular style?
    - Do you have a general idea of how you want the movie to turn out?

    This is the initial concept and helps gather what you want to accomplish, and how you want to show it off. This phase is critical because it will become the backbone for your creation. During this phase you should be getting an idea of how you want to stylistically make your film. The best examples I can give of style, and how this phase is important in the process is the stark contrast from "Paladin's Tale" and "Vampire's Feast." Those two movies were made nearly back to back, however they are completely different in content and presentation. Early on in the brainstorming phase the style and presentation was made.

    During brainstorming, you should be considering some major events for your movie. Your vision of the final project will help determine its success and how easy it is to make. I often spend a lot of time listening to music and gathering ideas from the music during this phase. Often, the music picked helps determine the style of the film itself.

    Create a storyboard
    You don't have to necessarily create a physical storyboard, but you should have an understanding of how the events in your movie are going to be played out. Here are some important things to consider when making a storyboard or crafting your movie:

    - Does the story flow?
    - Does it make sense?
    - What and where are your major events placed?
    - How will the film start?
    - How will the film end?
    - How will other characters be presented?
    - Will I have to use the construction set to get the scenes I want?

    I review films for people all the time, and one of the most uninteresting things I see all the time is a character running around killing stuff with nothing linking any of the scenes together... then in the middle of the film they pan around the character a few seconds, take off running and kill more stuff.

    While making a storyboard you want to consider how action is portrayed. I often watch movies where the first minute is great action with an interesting story and or video editing, however the rest of the film doesn't deliver. I have also watched films where nothing interesting happens until the final minute. If this is your intent for storytelling purposes, great, however you must accept that some people will be extremely turned off by this.

    Piece together how the movie will progress, from the beginning to the end. If you are making a character profile film, make your character do interesting things and go to interesting places. If you are telling a story, spend a lot of time thinking whether or not how you present the story makes sense and will be understood by the audience. You may need a few people to review your movie biggrin.gif

    You should keep flexible with your storyboard. If something happens while filming that you didn't expect but works well with your movie, implement it and don't look back!

    Lights, Camera, ACTION!

    Alright, you got your crap together. You are ready to start filming and gathering footage of your story/character. This section covers tips and ideas you need to be familiar with while directing your movie. During this stage, you will BE the director. Your ability to be a good director and go that extra step will make or break your film.

    Oblivion Commands - MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
    The commands listed below are console commands that are helpful when filming.

    Savegame (name of save) - THIS IS IMPORTANT. This command will make a savegame of your naming. I suggest doing this before ANY filming, as you will eventually want to go back to where you left off.

    TFC - Removes you from the PC, and if you hit R allows you to see them. A free camera mode.

    TGM - God mode. It allows you to film battle scenes without dying. Very helpful.

    TCL - Toggle clipping mode. Allows you to get into positions not normally or easily gotten to.

    TM - Removes the HUD

    Player.playgroup forward, 1 - Makes the PC walk, however it cannot be stopped. Save before you use this command.

    PSB - Gives you all spells. This is helpful when I want to create a character that uses certain spells.

    MODPCS (skillname) (amount) - This modifies a certain skill. For example, "modpcs stealth 80". This will raise my stealth number by 80 points.

    MODPCA (attribute) (amount) - Works like modpcs except with attributes. This is helpful when creating a new character for a film.

    Showracemenu - Allows you to change your characters appearance, stats, sex, and a number of other things. This will generally reset your skills.

    TAI - This is useful for getting in game NPCs to stop. This will toggle their AI off, thus "freezing" them in place.

    How Much Should I Film?
    One of the reasons I gave a few tips for FRAPS on how to reduce file size is because you want to film a LOT. The more the better. You want to catch those things you didn't at first expect. Take a few seconds to start recording before any given action, and stop a few seconds afterwards. You also want to record a particular scene more than once to get that "perfect" look. I often take many takes of a particular scene and easily 90% of the footage I create never makes it into a film. You want to get the cream of the crop here, and unless you have a ton of footage to pick from, you won't have that critical option.

    Camera Angles
    When filming you want to have camera angles are are interesting and help portray your movie. You want to consider what is in the background like you are firing a gun. While you may be focusing on the action in that particular scene, others may notice something in the background you didn't. I will use myself as an example here... In "The Sentence" during the battle scene, you can sometimes catch a few instances where characters are just standing around during the large battle. I NEVER noticed it until the movie was done.

    The console command TFC is a pretty important command here as you can film your character fighting from a different perspective than the 3rd person view. This also helps when getting close up shots or accomplishing other fine details.

    The key here is to have fun with it, play around, experiment and keep chugging along.

    Post Production

    This is it! You got the filmed everything, you edited the film, you are ready to release it! Wait a minute though, not so fast. There is some work that must be done to ensure you successfully get your film out there!

    QUALITY ASSURANCE!
    Test test and TEST your film when you are done! Is all the spelling in the credits correct? Did the music track accidently slide off? Did somehow a file go missing while compressing? Did the quality turn out not quite so good? Did the message you wanted to portray come across?

    I recommend doing quality assurance before you even start your first compilation. Chances are, even after compiling the film a few times, you may not get what you want... This is a long process at times, while others it is relatively easy. As an example of this, "Stamitos" was made in under a day, tested for a few hours, then quickly released. One of the easiest films I have ever done. This is in stark contrast to the weeks I spent on "Paladin's Quest," which had its own set of unique problems and even went through a vigorous testing process.

    CHECK, DOUBLE CHECK, check again before you upload, then check again by downloading your project and watching the downloaded/streamed version!

    Where do I put this file?
    Getting your film out there is important, and I recommend at least two things... Make sure people have access to a download and streamable version of your film. Here are some sites I recommend:

    http://www.savefile.com <--- Free website for which people can download your work. 60MB file restriction per file. Service can be unreliable at time.

    http://www.youtube.com <--- Free stream website with a large community. I could write a whole guide just about YouTube. 100mb file restriction per file.

    http://www.putfile.com <--- Free stream website. I don't use this so I can't provide many details.

    http://video.google.com <--- Free stream website. Lengthy process to upload a film, and can take a few days for the film to be accepted. Slightly higher quality than PutFile and YouTube.

    http://www.fileplanet.com <--- High quality download site. Requires registration and sometimes membership. May cause issues for people who wish to download your video and has many ads.

    http://www.rapidshare.de <--- Free download site, membership and fee required for higher download rates and file access. Not a bad website, and although I don't use it currently, I have used it in the past.

    There are just a few websites, I am sure there are others. Feel free to leave comments about other sites.

    Make a post! Communicate!
    Alright, you are at the final step, but an important one nonetheless. When you make your post, make sure it is clear, has a good topic heading, and leaves nothing to be guessed. Sometimes the topic name alone can ruin how effective a film is. Make sure to include "video" or "movie" in your heading, as it will help differentiate it from other posts.

    Make sure after you have posted your movie to communicate with those watching the movie. After a few responses, respond to people who have watched it. This will put your post back on the top of the list while maintaining a good reputation of communication with those who watch your movie. If someone bothers to post that they liked it, then they should be thanked. Only a small percentage of people who watch your film will respond.. remember that.

    Stress and Criticism
    This is often not talked about, but I feel it is important to discuss. One thing that most people don't realize is that when they create a movie, they open themselves up for scrutiny from many sources... even if some of those sources are not welcome. I get hate PMs and e-mails daily for my movies, as well as people who rate my films incredibly low. When I initially released "Vampire's Feast" I had a single user create over 6 accounts and rate my film as 1 out of 5 stars on YouTube. It was frustrating, but there is nearly nothing you can do about it.

    Take what everyone tells you with a grain of salt, accept constructive criticism, and blow off all the crap that really doesn't matter. People WILL try to grief you, and they are not worth your time usually. This can be quite stressful, especially if you worked hard on a film. Lets face it, we are all human. If someone makes a post saying "YOUR MOVIE SUX!" after you spent a week making it, it will make you upset. Learn to let that stuff pass. Perhaps you can contact an admin for inappropriate comments... if not, just leave it be.

    Conclusion

    I hope you found this guide helpful in an attempt to help you get started or craft better films. After my 10th film, I decided I should give a bit back to the community. Everyone has the capacity to make great films, however, like anything else, how much talent, effort, ideas you put into something will determine its outcome.

    Sub rosa!

    -Valkyrie

    Movies related to Dark Journeys: An Oblivion Mod

    The Sentence

    Turin's Awakening <--- SPOILER: Contains Dark Brotherhood introduction dialogue

    Oblivion Movies

    The Letter Home <--- New Video!

    Tribulation <--- SPOILER: Features Dark Brotherhood Quest "Purification"

    Paladin's Quest

    Stamitos the Assassin

    The Ultimate Heist <--- MAJOR SPOILER: Thieves Guild Final Quest Featured

    Cara Ehve: A Fan Profile Film

    Vampire's Feast <--- SPOILER: Vicente Valtieri of DB intro/background dialogue

    A Paladin's Tale

    Khajiit Overlord Rainer: A Fan Profile Film

    Live Another Life 2

    Live Another Life

    Thank you for looking at my movies. If you are interested in Dark Journeys: An Oblivion Mod or The Rangers Guild, please feel free to stop by http://www.rangersguild.com.

    Sub rosa,
    -Valkyrie