I started easy; using in-game footage, cutting out bulky lines and excessive travelling & combat that work great for video games, but not so much for films. Clocking in at 10 hours, it was blocky due to bad compression to 480p and still with excessively boring segments to anyone watching (I'm looking at you, Tali and ten minute long pilgrimage talks).
So in 2009, with the Mass Effect 2 teaser trailer fresh in my mind, I deleted these videos and started again. This time I made use of bugs, glitches and console commands to detach the camera from Shepard's back and explore the world with my first experiences in gaming cinematography, allowing me to capture establishing shots and more interesting transitions to the next scenes. I introduced new music, culled even more conversations and learned first-hand what editing is all about in filmmaking. They were a little rough around the edges; shots didn't last long enough and music had a tendency to be jarring or too loud, but I was learning and with that ten hours shortened to five, I split them into seven 45 minute episodes, giving rise to the idea of a miniseries.
By the time I'd finished series one, Mass Effect 2 was on the cusp of release, and I was naturally keen to expand this idea into series two. I played about with customisation a bit more this time round while honing the lessons I'd learned from the first outing. With a totally refurbished engine, it took me a while to climatize to the new system, finding new methods to get the job done. Some of the glitches that I abused to make the first series had been fixed, meaning I wasn't able to utilise the flycam with shots of a moving Shepard, but I resigned to using flycam shots of squadmates or a gamecam shot of a Shepard in motion. With series 2, I made a point to make squadmates more vocal, diving into the game files to find extra dialogue. By some weird coincidence, the series length came to seven episodes to match the first.
Initially I was going to ignore the DLC for Mass Effect 2 as I did for the first game, but I'm glad I didn't, especially with how important Arrival is. The three story-driven DLCs made post-game 'specials' under the custom title Mass Effect Chronicles to further the plot. I went further than ever before in crafting my own scenes from an amalgamation of sources. Some of which were terrible if you check the deleted scenes. The aim with this was to develop Shepard's character a bit more; show spiralling under the weight of the galaxy and start to feel the pressure. Themes such as family, loss and trust crop up respectively. Even if you don't want to watch the entire series, I recommend checking out the new scenes.
Mass Effect 3 used the same engine as Mass Effect 2, which meant it was far easier to set up. And I basically kept going. I used some slight custom choices to emphasise the narrative such as Shepard getting 'sloppy' as Anderson points out by giving him an unshaven beard. I didn't need to add any extra scenes for Shepard's personal growth as I did with the ME2 DLC as it was already there in the game, I essentially just stuck to the formula. The ending did pose a significant hurdle for me though and I wasn't prepared to accept it as it was, artistic integrity be damned. So I changed it. And I think the last thirty minutes of the series took up the same amount of labour as the entire length of series 2. I wasn't prepared to leave it a,lone until I had something that looked like it came from the game itself. Exhausted as I was with the series, I couldn't leave it in that state. So if you watch anything, watch the last thirty minutes of the final episode of series three.
New episodes of Mass Effect Chronicles are in production and there's a few special features of series three to finish up on, but that's it for now. 2008-2013. I can almost retire my dying external hard drive.
Series 1 (Game 1)
E01 • Pilot
E02 • The Citadel
E03 • Ferocious
E04 • Pass/Port
E05 • Benezia Beloved
E06 • The Greater Good
E07 • Vanguard Of Our Destruction
Series 2 (Game 2)
E01 • From The Ashes
E02 • Our Immovable Center
E03 • Masts On The Skyline
E04 • Prayer For The Wicked
E05 • Fallen From Grace
E06 • Worlds Apart
E07 • Fight For The Lost
Special Features
E07 Trailer • How I Wonder What You Are
Series 2.5 (Game 2 DLC)
E01 • Overlord
E02 • Lair Of The Shadow Broker
E03 • Arrival
Special Features
Deleted Scenes
Series 3 (Game 3)
E01 • Exodus
E02 • Weeds Of The Galaxy
E03 • Acts Of Contrition
E04 • Desperate Measures
E05 • Flesh & Steel
E06 • Expendable
E07 • Hope
Special Features
E07 Trailer • Hope To Rise
Modifié par CShep25, 17 juin 2013 - 03:56 .
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