This thread is for people to post samples of cutscene work if they desire. Please post a brief description of the scene along with the link to your work. This is so people can see what can be done with the cutscene editor. I will attempt to get this thread stickied. I'll start with a few little vignettes I've done just for the fun of it.
How DA2 almost did not come into being:
The Nug bomb:
Can Hawke dance?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Ny-NJFqcw
Cutscene samples thread...
Débuté par
Beerfish
, sept. 11 2010 10:01
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#2
Posté 11 septembre 2010 - 10:46
AlanSJF
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Really nice work, but top marks and a shiny gold star for the Hawke dance! I dread to think how long it took to get the timing right ...
#3
Posté 11 septembre 2010 - 11:37
DahliaLynn
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Nice fx Beerfish! 
I haven't explored that part of the editor yet
Here are my completed scenes (so far)
This one is a Downloadable mod called "Alistair's First night"
The actual scene I produced starts at 1:02, and ends when they begin talking again.
I made it because I was unsatisfied with Alistairs love scene with the Warden, given the fact that he was a -Virgin-, yet depicted as just a nice night of sex in vanilla as opposed to a special first time experience :
The music was reedited, (longer) and the first half of the scene was
made by combining and transitioning around a dozen animations.
This was the vanilla scene I didn't really like
And this is the scene I produced
This second Mod is a kiss scene, that allows the player to view the actual kiss, as opposed to vanilla.(always hides it because of the fact that they dont actually kiss)
It involved a lot of key manipulation and using various in game mouth and head animations.
Human version
Elf Version
I haven't explored that part of the editor yet Here are my completed scenes (so far)
This one is a Downloadable mod called "Alistair's First night"
The actual scene I produced starts at 1:02, and ends when they begin talking again.
I made it because I was unsatisfied with Alistairs love scene with the Warden, given the fact that he was a -Virgin-, yet depicted as just a nice night of sex in vanilla as opposed to a special first time experience :
The music was reedited, (longer) and the first half of the scene was
made by combining and transitioning around a dozen animations.
This was the vanilla scene I didn't really like
And this is the scene I produced
This second Mod is a kiss scene, that allows the player to view the actual kiss, as opposed to vanilla.(always hides it because of the fact that they dont actually kiss)
It involved a lot of key manipulation and using various in game mouth and head animations.
Human version
Elf Version
Modifié par DahliaLynn, 12 septembre 2010 - 01:45 .
#4
Posté 11 septembre 2010 - 11:42
Beerfish
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AlanSJF wrote...
Really nice work, but top marks and a shiny gold star for the Hawke dance! I dread to think how long it took to get the timing right ...
That one was quite easy and done pretty quickly actually and pretty basic. Just a few animations strung together.
#5
Posté 11 septembre 2010 - 11:52
Beerfish
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DahliaLynn wrote...
Nice fx Beerfish!
Here are my completed scenes (so far)
This one is a Downloadable mod called "Alistair's First night"
The actual scene I produced starts at 1:02, and ends when they begin talking again.
I made it because I was unsatisfied with Alistairs love scene with the Warden, given the fact that he was a -Virgin-, yet depicted as just a nice night of sex in vanilla as opposed to a special first time experience :
The music was reedited, (longer) and the first half of the scene was
made by combining and transitioning around a dozen animations.
www.youtube.com/watch
This second Mod is a kiss scene, that allows the player to view the actual kiss, as opposed to vanilla.(always hides it because of the fact that they dont actually kiss)
It involved a lot of key manipulation and using various in game mouth and head animations.
Human version
Elf Version
Excellent work, positioning is key for something like those and you pulled it off perfectly.
#6
Posté 12 septembre 2010 - 12:01
DahliaLynn
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Beerfish wrote...
Excellent work, positioning is key for something like those and you pulled it off perfectly.
Thanks beerfish
-you are probably familiar at how much I *headdesked* doing that one...Another thing that one should never overlook is the importance of camera positioning,shot balance, flow, continuity, musical timing and lighting aspects of a scene. I believe it's about communicating; an emotion whatever it may be, a thought, a message, etc
It's truly amazing how the cutscene editor allows you this ability, the ability to envision something in your mind, then make it happen.
Modifié par DahliaLynn, 12 septembre 2010 - 12:15 .
#7
Posté 12 septembre 2010 - 12:10
AlanSJF
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DahliaLynn wrote...
Thanks beerfish
It's truly amazing how the cutscene editor allows you this ability, the ability to envision something in your mind, then make it happen.
Damn, I'm kinda nervous now - Youtube is processing my video as I type this ...
DahliaLynn: yup, all those elements you mention are important, and the trick is balancing everything so you don't notice the composite elements as such, but get drawn in by the overall effect.
#8
Posté 12 septembre 2010 - 12:21
AlanSJF
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Okay, here it is -
The Rescue:
www.youtube.com/watch
Bear in mind this is my first stab at this, so it's a long way from perfect (though there are a couple of errors I thought I'd fixed - apparently not) and there are 1001 things I could have done differently ...
The Rescue:
www.youtube.com/watch
Bear in mind this is my first stab at this, so it's a long way from perfect (though there are a couple of errors I thought I'd fixed - apparently not) and there are 1001 things I could have done differently ...
Modifié par AlanSJF, 12 septembre 2010 - 07:16 .
#9
Posté 12 septembre 2010 - 02:29
Beerfish
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Nice 1st stab AlanSJF, music fits the cutscene really well. Of what I can see you just need to smooth out a few of your animation changes. Nice use of the camera. (There was a nice twist near the end about who was being rescued.)
I just tried to take a scene and add music via moviemaker but it did not give me the same quality of video as if I just used the Fraps avi file I initially made.
I just tried to take a scene and add music via moviemaker but it did not give me the same quality of video as if I just used the Fraps avi file I initially made.
#10
Posté 12 septembre 2010 - 07:12
AlanSJF
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Thank you, Beerfish. No argument about those animation changes - even with transitions and start/finish offsets a lot of them proved tough to smooth out. I think some animations just wont gel no matter what, whereas with others it's a case of ultra-fine tuning and experimenting with layering more animations to get the effect (something I do plan on doing).
I didn't know another way to add the music, which is why I went with MovieMaker - and I agree the quality isn't what it could be.
I didn't know another way to add the music, which is why I went with MovieMaker - and I agree the quality isn't what it could be.
#11
Posté 12 septembre 2010 - 12:19
aidanodr
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Hi Guys,
My comments are related to the post production end. I notice some or all maybe using FRAPS to grab the video from in-game. I also notice most are using Windows Movie Maker to maybe "compose" the video.
Some of the videos are quiet DARK in You tube. Also some are slightly blurry which is a by product of Fraps I think.
Heres a suggestion - OK it means a small outlay cost wise - but is well worth it for the bang for your buck. Go buy::
www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudiohd
The cost of "Vegas Movie Studio HD" is only €35. own the left hand side of that link is a small menu with "Product Comparisons". Have a look at these.
The next jump in price is to €80 for "Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10". Extra effects and the like. The €110 version I have, this comes with the Audio Editor SOUNDFORGE.
All you need - on a budget - I reckon, is the €35 version PLUS the free Audacity App for audio editing.
Just to sort of illustrate the point here is a DIVX compressed cutscene test I did recently. I emphasize the word TEST, that is all I am doing at the moment, figuring out all the bits and using a scene like this to send it through the whole process from initial module/area/cutscene to ingame record with Fraps to final post with Vegas:. Their is no story, though I will comment about what was used in vegas:
www.tidalsound.com/machinima/
Just right click and save target as to download, probably need DIVx codec on your PC. Sive 2.9MB.
OK, I loaded the fraps recorded cutscene into Vegas. Pre this i had also recorded the Voice tracks, the armour / steps track out seperately using SOUNDFORGE. you can set soundforge record to REMOTE, this gives a small always on top box with the rec / play / stop buttons at your disposal while watching the cutscene or recording from inside the toolset.
So into Vegas, loaded the fraps captured video to the video track and added a few audio tracks with the various sound tracks from above. Once this was done I simply added some VIDEO TRACK EFFECTS to the overall video track. These effects are:
- Brightness & Contrast
- Sharpen
- Color Fixer MSP
the first two are obvious in what they do. The Color fixer is interesting, it can give you that Hollywood type "exaggerated colour" effect but also can spruce up the colours. Without this the above video would have been a bit grey looking.
Their are many more effects to doodle with, but be as discrete as possible in the end result. Dont go all powerpointy
This by no means is a perfect piece, far from it, even not as good as it could be with further tweaking of the above effects . As i said it is a test scene. I might try pop up a pre vegas, fraps direct version later so you can see the subtle difference.
Hope this info is of help
Aidan
My comments are related to the post production end. I notice some or all maybe using FRAPS to grab the video from in-game. I also notice most are using Windows Movie Maker to maybe "compose" the video.
Some of the videos are quiet DARK in You tube. Also some are slightly blurry which is a by product of Fraps I think.
Heres a suggestion - OK it means a small outlay cost wise - but is well worth it for the bang for your buck. Go buy::
www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudiohd
The cost of "Vegas Movie Studio HD" is only €35. own the left hand side of that link is a small menu with "Product Comparisons". Have a look at these.
The next jump in price is to €80 for "Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10". Extra effects and the like. The €110 version I have, this comes with the Audio Editor SOUNDFORGE.
All you need - on a budget - I reckon, is the €35 version PLUS the free Audacity App for audio editing.
Just to sort of illustrate the point here is a DIVX compressed cutscene test I did recently. I emphasize the word TEST, that is all I am doing at the moment, figuring out all the bits and using a scene like this to send it through the whole process from initial module/area/cutscene to ingame record with Fraps to final post with Vegas:. Their is no story, though I will comment about what was used in vegas:
www.tidalsound.com/machinima/
Just right click and save target as to download, probably need DIVx codec on your PC. Sive 2.9MB.
OK, I loaded the fraps recorded cutscene into Vegas. Pre this i had also recorded the Voice tracks, the armour / steps track out seperately using SOUNDFORGE. you can set soundforge record to REMOTE, this gives a small always on top box with the rec / play / stop buttons at your disposal while watching the cutscene or recording from inside the toolset.
So into Vegas, loaded the fraps captured video to the video track and added a few audio tracks with the various sound tracks from above. Once this was done I simply added some VIDEO TRACK EFFECTS to the overall video track. These effects are:
- Brightness & Contrast
- Sharpen
- Color Fixer MSP
the first two are obvious in what they do. The Color fixer is interesting, it can give you that Hollywood type "exaggerated colour" effect but also can spruce up the colours. Without this the above video would have been a bit grey looking.
Their are many more effects to doodle with, but be as discrete as possible in the end result. Dont go all powerpointy
This by no means is a perfect piece, far from it, even not as good as it could be with further tweaking of the above effects . As i said it is a test scene. I might try pop up a pre vegas, fraps direct version later so you can see the subtle difference.
Hope this info is of help
Aidan
Modifié par aidanodr, 12 septembre 2010 - 06:45 .
#12
Posté 12 septembre 2010 - 02:55
Beerfish
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AlanSJF wrote...
Thank you, Beerfish. No argument about those animation changes - even with transitions and start/finish offsets a lot of them proved tough to smooth out. I think some animations just wont gel no matter what, whereas with others it's a case of ultra-fine tuning and experimenting with layering more animations to get the effect (something I do plan on doing).
I didn't know another way to add the music, which is why I went with MovieMaker - and I agree the quality isn't what it could be.
I think using the 'curve editor' helps you smooth out animations even better. I simply can't remember how to make use of it for smoothing transitions though. A real need on the wiki or elsewhere is a short tutorial on how to use the curve editior.
Here is another clip from me.
A mage's different way of handling being outnumberd:
#13
Posté 12 septembre 2010 - 03:44
DahliaLynn
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Certain applications of the the curve editor can be similar to transitions. When used as a "fade out fade in" overlap style, where your curve weight would go down at end of animation just as when your new animation begins the curve weight would go up. I cannot live without the curve editor but couldn't even begin to try to explain its variety of uses clearly.
Edit: I might try and make a wiki if I get the chance
Nice work on the moving weapons Beerfish! *wonders how you actually did that* You might want to speed up your shot cuts to create the feeling of intensity between the fighting members.
Edit: I might try and make a wiki if I get the chance
Nice work on the moving weapons Beerfish! *wonders how you actually did that* You might want to speed up your shot cuts to create the feeling of intensity between the fighting members.
Modifié par DahliaLynn, 12 septembre 2010 - 04:01 .
#14
Posté 12 septembre 2010 - 04:41
AlanSJF
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I don't think I've even looked at the curve editor properly, let alone tried to use it, which is something I must remedy. Same goes for the conversation tools, VO and FaceFX, all of which I'll need to get to grips with for a much more substantial project I have in mind (code named Stupidly Ambitious, because, well, it is).
But to stay on topic, a curve editor tutorial would be great.
But to stay on topic, a curve editor tutorial would be great.
#15
Posté 12 septembre 2010 - 05:13
DahliaLynn
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To try and summarize the curve editor, it basically provides you with a map of your desired actions from key to key with regards to positioning/axis, (cameras placement of creatures and objects) and secondly weight or intensity (animations, FX or lights), or anything in the editor which has an editable setting in the object inspector. (i.e. cam effects, or anything you might come across in the inspector.
It gives you the ability to control almost everything at any given point in time.
The curve changes you make affect to your intensity of animation through time, (should the arm move in its fully original animation?(100) or do you want it to move, but not as low and high as at full strength?(50?) from point A to point B in your timeline.
It also affects the position of your objects, cameras or creatures, (Where do you want it at what point in time?) and affects how they act in the scene from key to key.
How strong and what color would you like your light to be as it moves from point to point? where do you want it? How fast would you like the change to be? Radius change? intensity change?
The curve editor allows your desired actions to become more organic in nature, and manipulating its many benefits are essential for creating your desired effect.
One way to explain this would be to imagine a soundtrack where you want the ambient music to be louder when there is action, and softer/more subtle when there is dialogue.
In order to achieve this you would need to Automate your volume controller.
so -here during the fight- I want it at full volume, (100 in this case) but at 35 seconds into the scene there is dialogue, so I want it to be at 70 volume, so I would create a key there to lower the volume of music at that point. But I don't want it to all of a sudden cut off, (step for example) so I gradually draw the line to make it slowly fade to 70. This way the volume gradually lowers to 70 as I want to hear it. (Bezier transition simulates this more rounded fade meaning a slower and smoother transition rate) The curve you draw equals your rate of change.
I really hope I communicated this well...:S
Edit: I decided to post an answer to a request for *how* to use the curve editor with regards to transitioning animations.
You can find the mini tutorial here
It gives you the ability to control almost everything at any given point in time.
The curve changes you make affect to your intensity of animation through time, (should the arm move in its fully original animation?(100) or do you want it to move, but not as low and high as at full strength?(50?) from point A to point B in your timeline.
It also affects the position of your objects, cameras or creatures, (Where do you want it at what point in time?) and affects how they act in the scene from key to key.
How strong and what color would you like your light to be as it moves from point to point? where do you want it? How fast would you like the change to be? Radius change? intensity change?
The curve editor allows your desired actions to become more organic in nature, and manipulating its many benefits are essential for creating your desired effect.
One way to explain this would be to imagine a soundtrack where you want the ambient music to be louder when there is action, and softer/more subtle when there is dialogue.
In order to achieve this you would need to Automate your volume controller.
so -here during the fight- I want it at full volume, (100 in this case) but at 35 seconds into the scene there is dialogue, so I want it to be at 70 volume, so I would create a key there to lower the volume of music at that point. But I don't want it to all of a sudden cut off, (step for example) so I gradually draw the line to make it slowly fade to 70. This way the volume gradually lowers to 70 as I want to hear it. (Bezier transition simulates this more rounded fade meaning a slower and smoother transition rate) The curve you draw equals your rate of change.
I really hope I communicated this well...:S
Edit: I decided to post an answer to a request for *how* to use the curve editor with regards to transitioning animations.
You can find the mini tutorial here
Modifié par DahliaLynn, 14 septembre 2010 - 12:20 .
#16
Posté 12 septembre 2010 - 06:25
aidanodr
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Hi guys,
as I said earlier for comparison sake, my test scene before use of Vegas and after ( read my description and thoughts a few messages above ):
www.tidalsound.com/machinima/
Two files ( 3mb each approx ):
- testscene1prevegas.avi - the untouched FRAPS recorded cut scene ( no sound )
- testscene1.avi - the scene put through Vegas with effects described above.
I used DIVx codec ( free ) - www.divx.com/en/software/divx-plus
Cheers
Aidan
as I said earlier for comparison sake, my test scene before use of Vegas and after ( read my description and thoughts a few messages above ):
www.tidalsound.com/machinima/
Two files ( 3mb each approx ):
- testscene1prevegas.avi - the untouched FRAPS recorded cut scene ( no sound )
- testscene1.avi - the scene put through Vegas with effects described above.
I used DIVx codec ( free ) - www.divx.com/en/software/divx-plus
Cheers
Aidan
#17
Posté 12 septembre 2010 - 06:27
aidanodr
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And with respect to Camera movement on the timeline leys, sometimes setting them to Bezier as opposed to Linear gives a more natural transition from key to key ...
Aidan
Aidan
Modifié par aidanodr, 12 septembre 2010 - 06:27 .
#18
Posté 12 septembre 2010 - 06:38
DahliaLynn
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True, but one should take into account that a bezier transition means it also affects the camera *after* the key as well when used in between keys.
#20
Posté 17 septembre 2010 - 09:41
Lord Methrid
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Yeah I just saw it after subscribing! Very original! Good job Beerfish
#21
Posté 17 septembre 2010 - 06:28
AlanSJF
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Beerfish wrote...
Ship Battle:
Good job indeed. I'd suggest slowing down the right-to-left ship's turn after it attacks, and if possible you could blend the colour of the sea where the other ship sinks. But it works. Is this just testing stuff out, or is the scene part of a larger project?
#22
Posté 17 septembre 2010 - 07:47
Beerfish
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AlanSJF wrote...
Beerfish wrote...
Ship Battle:
Good job indeed. I'd suggest slowing down the right-to-left ship's turn after it attacks, and if possible you could blend the colour of the sea where the other ship sinks. But it works. Is this just testing stuff out, or is the scene part of a larger project?
It was just a quick test, I just added the 2nd ship and its movements late last night so I didn't bother with refining it to any extent. I had a larger scene with people on the ships and a conversation but I decided just to stick this one up there as a short demo. I also had to record this via the cutscene editor as I found it impossible to get decent lighting in the area. (I used the Lake Calenhad area for this and the area is quite dark and I found it impossible to light it up via the cutscene editor. I didn't want to go messing with the area lighting itslef.)
#23
Posté 17 septembre 2010 - 11:28
AlanSJF
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I haven't really looked into using areas from the game as such, but oddly enough the lighting in the short machinima I'm working on right now uses Lake C's night lighing levels as a guide. Haven't tested anything in game yet though ...
#24
Posté 18 septembre 2010 - 12:07
Beerfish
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AlanSJF wrote...
I haven't really looked into using areas from the game as such, but oddly enough the lighting in the short machinima I'm working on right now uses Lake C's night lighing levels as a guide. Haven't tested anything in game yet though ...
More close up scenes on land may not bad too bad but on the water there is very little light and especially from a distance.
#25
Posté 18 septembre 2010 - 03:46
BloodsongVengeance
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heyas;
beerfish, i noticed your 'how da2 was almost never made' video was very dark indeed. did you use any cutscene lighting in it?
wmm is a dog, but for the price, it has some spiffy features. i really dont know what make movie options to use to get it to output a full-sized un-compressed video. what settings do you guys use?
the only other editor i heard about was adobe premiere for a hundred bucks (or a few hundred, i forget -- too much anyway!). thanks for the vegas tip; i'll have to try the free demo....
quick and dirty short squiggle editor blend method:==================================
1: add the 2 animations to 2 different tracks, and overlap the end and beginning.
2a: select both animations and hit X (x is for blend... or perhaps x-fade would be easier to remember.) preview. well, ONE time, this worked perfectly with no tweaking whatsoever.
-OR-
2b: put the scrubber at the start of the second animation. select the FIRST animation, open the squiggle editor and hit K to key it at 100%. move the scrubber to the end of the first animation, hit K again to key it, and move that circle in the squiggle editor to zero.
close that and work on the second animation, setting a key at the endpoint of the FIRST animation to leave at 100, and another key at the start of the SECOND animation to move to zero.
(ie: the first animation goes from 100 at the start of the second anim to zero at its end. the second animation goes from 0 at its start to 100 at the first's end. it takes a lot less time to do than to explain.)
test and refine.
note: you dont need to use the x-fade on the two animations to use the squiggle editor with them.
beerfish, i noticed your 'how da2 was almost never made' video was very dark indeed. did you use any cutscene lighting in it?
wmm is a dog, but for the price, it has some spiffy features. i really dont know what make movie options to use to get it to output a full-sized un-compressed video. what settings do you guys use?
the only other editor i heard about was adobe premiere for a hundred bucks (or a few hundred, i forget -- too much anyway!). thanks for the vegas tip; i'll have to try the free demo....
quick and dirty short squiggle editor blend method:==================================
1: add the 2 animations to 2 different tracks, and overlap the end and beginning.
2a: select both animations and hit X (x is for blend... or perhaps x-fade would be easier to remember.) preview. well, ONE time, this worked perfectly with no tweaking whatsoever.
-OR-
2b: put the scrubber at the start of the second animation. select the FIRST animation, open the squiggle editor and hit K to key it at 100%. move the scrubber to the end of the first animation, hit K again to key it, and move that circle in the squiggle editor to zero.
close that and work on the second animation, setting a key at the endpoint of the FIRST animation to leave at 100, and another key at the start of the SECOND animation to move to zero.
(ie: the first animation goes from 100 at the start of the second anim to zero at its end. the second animation goes from 0 at its start to 100 at the first's end. it takes a lot less time to do than to explain.)
test and refine.
note: you dont need to use the x-fade on the two animations to use the squiggle editor with them.
