It’s about time we tidied up the stickies and created an FAQ sticky. ms-kleaneasy has agreed to this and all we have to do is create the FAQ and she will sticky it.

So, lets hear all your ideas of questions that are asked again and again and could be answered only once.

Once I get all your ideas, I’ll create the FAQ. Please do provide your answers too, if you know them. I’ll take everyone’s ideas and try to create the definitive answers where possible. I know a lot of questions do not have definitive answers, but as far as the newcomer is concerned we can give them a good starting point.

I would want to see the FAQ as a locked thread to keep it tidy.

Some starters then, and some ideas that GL2 had already passed on.

How do you make a movie? (lol, that’ll be hard to get a short answer! Maybe better to break that up into smaller questions)

What software do I need? (Again, maybe break up into questions about pre, post, NLE and sound)

How do I add camera shake?

Is it OK to use commercial music? (If we answer this question, we can dispose of the current copyright sticky)

Where can I host my movies?

What codec should I use?

Where can I get a basic tutorial? (i.e. Dart's - though this is getting dated now)

Where can I find some more advanced tips?

These are just a starter. All ideas accepted. You don’t need to know the answer if you have a good question. We’ll figure it out.

We could also do with getting the tools sticky and the links sticky tidied up. Any thoughts?

Hi Joe
a Good idea you have, you have first hand experience how I battled with small insignificant aspects when I started and the simplest thing can prevent a newbie from continuing with a movie!

Terminology in this field is sometimes a prob for newcomers and it maybe a good idea to include a glossary of terms;

So what I was thinking is a break down of all the aspects of IL film making and then gather the info under these headings. It will be more organized and easier for a newcomer to find his feet. But to properly complete such a manual will be a continental task but at least the framework will be set and members can contribute with time under these headings?

This is an idea for an IL2 movie information framework:

1) Intro, basic process explained
2) Glossary of terms
3) Planning your movie (story, visual, sound, scene breakdowns)
4) Il2 game settings
5) Mission building and game play for movie recording
6) Frapping, (settings, tips)
7) Virtualdubb clip preparation, settings and methods
8) Introduction to Movie studios
9) Movie studio settings
10) Video Fx; filters commonly used
11) Sound management
12) Sound effects
13) Sound Editing
14) Sound Fx
15) Putting it all together
16) Compression options, video and sound (codec’s, settings, virtual dub, divx, etc)
17) Movie viewers, codec’s
18) Movie storage on the net
19) Where and how to present your movie
20) File management on you pc
21) Advanced moviemaking topics (Cinematography, angles, realism, zoom, continuity, mood, color, etc.)

Hi Joe,

My input at this stage is to simply agree. I have been making movies for over 4 years now and must have seen the same questions a million times in this forum.

So let the sticky FAQ begin, but who is going to take this monster job on?

Cheers
Monty-Dan

I'll collate it - if you all chip in.

Hello Joe-90


How do you make a movie?

biltongbru has some great points. Agree Dart's tutorials is dated but is still a good entry level guide.

What software do I need?

No budget:

XP's Movie maker II

virtualdub: http://virtualdub.sourceforge.net/

Filters for virtualdub: http://neuron2.net/

Audacity sound editor: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Free Fraps: http://www.fraps.com/download.php

Growler Guncam: http://growlersoftware.com/helpv2/

Mouse Emulator: http://www.geocities.com/pronto4u/mouseemulator.html


Has some money to spend:

Sony's Vegas Pro: http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/product.asp?pid=457

Adobe Premiere ProCS3: http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/

Adobe After EffectsCS3 Pro: http://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects/?ogn=EN_US-g...d_after_effects_home

Adobe PhotoshopCS3: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/family/

Sony's Sound Forge 9: http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/product.asp?pid=431

Adobe SoundboothCS3: http://www.adobe.com/products/soundbooth/

Fraps 2.9.4: http://www.fraps.com/download.php


How do I add camera shake?

Andrew Kramer-Video Co-Pilot

Motion Sketching from BPond

Well these are some....it's a start.


Best Regards

There's little I can offer wth one small exception which will be brought up in the fullness of time.

The only thing I didn't notice on the list is Aspect Ratio.

There's a nice guide here: http://www.doom9.org/aspectratios.htm

hi bbloke,

good you mentioned 'doom9', which is, imo, one of the best sources related to everything about video-formats and -codecs!

although i think, the 'aspect-ratio' guide doesn't occur too much to the purpose of making movies of screen-captures (since it is a capture of square-pixels, and the cropping will be to everyone's own), it is for sure a well-worth read. especially for theoretic background!
the more, as it seems, that there is some confusion, when chosing one of the presets in common software. which quite often relates to tv-standards, and which are probably best to be avoided.
also the link you gave explains quite well, what the differences between 'letterbox' and 'anamorphic' are. even if there is no need here to stay in the limits of standards, and therefor no need to use 720x480/576-standards, it is worth to know about consequences of using black bars (letterboxing) when compressing video!

so, the link is a great read, and perhaps more for those, who want to have their movies mad for dvd-video to publish.
i might add, that exploring 'doom9' (and the forum, which is even frequented by 'divx' and 'microsoft') will show huge ressources about compressing and replaying digital video and offers many links to free tools, including the guides to work with them.