Hey there guys, I work with a site (www.heavyeggs.com) and our team is really interested in making a machinima, we have:
a story, a script for the pilot episode, a capture card (black magic intensity shuttle) a microphone (Blue Yeti) paper and pens for storyboarding multiple voice actors (our friends who have cool voices :P) Project Management software (for organising our peeps) further funding if it's needed.
We're planning on using the Halo Reach engine because the forge and theatre feature provides ease of use. Our problem at the moment is finding people to work with us since we've never really ventured into filming techniques. Is there a resource that teaches you about camera angles for Machinima and filming techniques specifically for Halo Machinima?
If anyone can help, that would be great, I'm available on Skype to chat as well if you're up for a serious discussion.
One more thing: we're documenting our entire process via video blog, so that machinima makers in the future have a somewhat decent guide to making a machinima on the Reach engine from concept all the way to publishing and marketing the video.
The camera techniques and angles that are used when filming live action can also be used when filming for Halo machinima. Use a range of different shots like pan, close-up, long shot and others to make it more interesting to watch! :)
Lol, I figured as much but can't really get any resources on those other than going to film school :( anywhere I can go to learn about different shots in filming?
Try looking up the book Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know (what i read) or something simliar as a reference for film language.
Check out the book called Master Shots. There are two of them. You can pick them up on Amazon for around $10. They have the bare minimum you need to know about adding value to your production.
Try looking up the book Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know (what i read) or something simliar as a reference for film language.
Check out the book called Master Shots. There are two of them. You can pick them up on Amazon for around $10. They have the bare minimum you need to know about adding value to your production.
I'll definitely check all 3 of those out, is there anything missing from our kit? We'll be releasing our first "blog" video this week too hopefully.
I like that a lot. I really like the way Peter Jackson has been doing the blog videos for the Hobbit production. They are educational, well organized, and most importantly excite you for the film. I would love to do videos like that on future productions. The next film we do we are going to enlist a few people to be there shooting while we do stuff. I really like the behind the scenes because people can see how you work, but I think the better thing is you get to see how you work. I think it would be a great tool for documenting your workflows and thoughts for use later either in production or in reflectance of yourself to become better.
I'm glad you've chosen to do this. Keep making more!
I'll be looking out for the next one. I have a few things that could make this a little better...
You are focusing on the content which is awesome, now make it a bit more interesting to watch. I myself liked it for the information, but I wasn't really watching. I was only listening to what you guys were saying. If this is what you would like to keep it as, maybe change over to a audio podcast format. If not, do a little bit more with the visuals. (I understand it's a first episode/pilot and you still are figuring things out.)
Simply changing up shots if you can will help out a lot. The two shot is good maybe have a medium with one of you placed on one of the outside thirds. This will open up room for you to superimpose information on screen; visuals that might help you audience understand a concept. Would also be cool to see a little bit of what you are talking about on screen. If you use a white board to visualize your story show it (of course you can blur it out, or stand far enough away from it so it can't be read if you are worried about spoilers).
I think with a little bit of tweaking you could have two shows coming out of your machinima production. These series could be helpful for those who watch it, but it could also be helpful for you. The show will allow you to think about your production processes and help you develop your skills in editing and shooting for an educational web show.
I got this, and it's pretty fucking amazing for learning camera techniques and tricks, as well as blocking and staging. A lot of the techniques are easier to do in machinima than in live action simply because you have far more freedom of movement with the camera systems in Halo Reach than you do on set.
