Trying something new

[Splash]

Just for sh*ts and giggles, I thought I'd try something new. Go easy on me; I'm kind of new at this, and the video apps that come with Windows aren't very sophisticated. 🙃

 

 

[SippyCup]

It didn't break down once... not very realistic.

[Ssnake]

5 hours ago, Splash said:

Just for sh*ts and giggles, I thought I'd try something new.

I didn't shit, but I giggled.

But we really need to get that video out about the Camera Animation Editor (there's a section in the Mission Editor chapter of the User's Manual to get you started, though)

[Koen]

Fun ! 😊
 

(where can I buy one ?)

[Splash]

9 hours ago, Ssnake said:

But we really need to get that video out about the Camera Animation Editor (there's a section in the Mission Editor chapter of the User's Manual to get you started, though)

 

Looking forward to this. It seems a bit complicated, though I haven't experimented with it yet. I'd kind of like to get into making SB cinematics when I get the time.

 

I only recently discovered the existing "Detail Cam" in the System drop-down menu with its half-dozen pre-set camera pans. I used that feature alone to create that short vid and was thinking about making short YouTube clips like that as sort of a "walk-around" to link with my skin downloads ... in addition to or in lieu of screenshots.

 

1 hour ago, Koen said:

(where can I buy one ?)

 

That's the sweet part: Now available for no money down and no monthly payments!

 

 

[Ssnake]

1 hour ago, Splash said:

It seems a bit complicated, though I haven't experimented with it yet.

I think you'll find it easy enough to explore on your own.

Start a scenario in the editor's Test mode, select a free-floating 3D view (not bound to a vehicle), pause the mission while in 3D view, then hit Alt+Space

 

If you understand the concept of key frames (where you define camera position, zoom, angle), then it's pretty simple. The camera will interpolate between key frames, which are set apart by time. If there's but two key frames, the movement will be linear. Three or more key frames, and the editor will switch to spline interpolation for smoother movement.

Aside from that, you can switch between coordinate systems. Default is "world" coordinates, but you can tether the view to the vehicle's hull, turret, or gun.

 

When done, hit Alt+Space again and unpause, and watch (/record) the result.

Alt+H will remove all HUD elements for maximized cinematic effect.

[Splash]

 

Next I need a real video editor.

[Ssnake]

I made all my 4.1 ad clips with Corel (formerly known as ULead) VideoStudio Pro (19, 21). 70 bucks, and a decent package. Adobe Premiere would be overkill IMO, especially since learning it will consume a considerable amount of time.

[TSe419E]

DaVinci Resolve has a free version.  It's used by some movie studios.

[Splash]

I see VideoStudio Pro is on sale. I toyed with Resolve a few years ago and took an online introductory course in Premier. I remember them being very similar in layout/function but really overkill for what I wanted to do.

[Ssnake]

IMO, you want to have a tool for blending one scene into another. VideoStudio Pro goes totally overboard with a gazillion blending effects, but it has the three to five that you really need and you can, once in a while, pick another.

 

The "big irons" offer handling multiple video tracks that you can blend into another. The number of occasions where you really NEED this, for hobby productions, is close to zero. So that's the main difference in cost between <100 and >300...700...5,000 ... needless to say, the time to render such a video with multiple blended video tracks increases exponentially with the number of track blends (possibly divided by the number of CPU cores that a video editor supports).

 

So, among the hobby products line, the question primarily is, which of the products will crash the least while you're working on a new project because that's going to be the most annoying issue. Forget about long feature lists; just check which product has the reputation of being most reliable.

There's going to be a small fraction of haters for every product, either because they happen to have one of the few hardware/driver combinations that simply produce errors, or because, what nobody will admit in a review, their PCs are badly maintained abominations with outdated drivers and possibly some virus infections.

That's not to say that VideoStudio Pro will never crash. Occiasionally it does. The question is more, which of the lot will be the least unstable for you, relatively speaking. At the end it's always going to be a leap of faith.