I made this movie to help new pilots learn how to improve their shooting.

It is also an experiment to see how you all take to animated characters in an IL2 movie. The characters are made with Moviestorm which does not yet have accurate WW2 figures, so please allow for the approximations. If this is well received then I and others may have a go at modding to get it right.

Please let me know what you think and if this technique could be used for more serious stories!

BLIP.TV High quality streaming version.

YOUTUBE (click "watch in high quality") Not so high quality streaming version.

MISSION4TODAY.COM or FILEFRONT.COM Download the WMV version.

FILEFRONT XVID Version The highest quality version is which requires the XVID or DIVX codec and may cause flickering in WMP, in which case use the free VLC player.

EDIT:

For those who want more time to study the slides, download Bag The Hun or the German equivalent Horrido Des Jaegers Schiessfibel

Here are three of the exercises for quick study, with the three answers pages at the bottom:

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Joe-90,

Wow very impressive, the classroom and people looked extremely good. Only thing I would recommend would be some old film touch ups to the projected footage, with the projector reel sound effect you used I think it would be spot on. Mind if I ask what mods you were using? I'm most interested in the map used at 5:41, it looks just like SoW footage. I have not actually flown for quite a while so I'm a bit behind with the later mods.

Excelenet Clip Joe.

+100 points for chosing Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe. Hell I may even use some of the songs of the legend.

Hi Joe

I battle to download from filefront, actually gave up on it. I don't know if it is the lines to S Africa but can you please upload on you-tube? I know res takes a knock but at least will get an idea of your new venture...thanks

Thanks all, I'll add more replies later, but for now, biltongbru, I have added a higher quality blip.tv version in the original post.

You can also download the xvid version from Moviestorm:
http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/MSDB/MoviePageServlet?id=1058

I did upload to youtube as well, but it was immediately banned when the youtube servers recognised the Jimi Hendrix song. I'll change the music for a youtube version.

Great stuff Joe!

Joe; this is great; exploring new venues, good combo of the 2 programs. I think it worked out well.

Can you do some rank and insignia to the animated figures? That would add some nice touch!

Again the quality in all respects of the aerial shots is great as usual

Nice work

Thanks all and please keep the comments coming about the Moviestorm characters. Yes, they are a bit jerky and I will have to learn how to get the best from the program, but will they work in a serious story or will you be distracted? There are already many excellent Moviestorm machinima movies that work, but none in the flight sim community.

I also appreciate that the slides could have been up for longer, but I tried to make this entertaining as well as educational so the slide time was better kept to a minimum and music was added to give it more emotion. I hoped that anyone wanting to learn more would pause the video or download the book.

I have edited my first post to provide links and also a few of the exercise pages from the book for practice.

Natedawg, you really will be amazed at the mods available now, some which I am sure you will use. The map I used was canonuk's English Channel map. Other mods included the soundmod, planeshine, RAF sight ring, fluffy clouds, smoke, Spitfire cockpit, maybe some more but these were the major ones for effects.

Biltongbru, if this seems like a way to go, I would request a modder's licence to add rank, insignia, etc but that will be a whole lot more to learn.

Blackace, can you add more about modding, as you already have the licence?

What a unique movie, the whole "Story" of a gunnery training session. Very creative!!

Obviously you are breaking new ground in IL2 movie-making with your incorporation of humans( albeit Moviestorm 'humans'). Gee, this short movie might win a "Machinima" award someday as a result. Those machinima movie-festival judges LOVE their not-quite-real-looking 'humans' ohh so very much.

Seriously, great job with the Moviestorm dudes. I think it would be well worth the effort (of somebody) to create WWII uniforms in MovieStorm.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Movie, from start to finish. Well Done,Joe!

One suggestion...I think the film clips on screen in the movie might have added realism if they had been done in the Black&White style of WWII footage...although not excessively degraded as such films would have been freshly produced/processed. That would provide a contrast between the full color 'realism' of the briefing room and characters and the Flight line activity before and after the training session.

Great movie, AND it was a good primer on shooting, too! I was in the room with the pilots getting a lesson that I will use next time I "fly".

Wiley, I doubt it will win any prizes, but ta.

The impression I am getting is that nobody is really put off by these characters. Sure, they are a bit jerky and awkward but that could be worked at with practice.

I've changed my mind over the years to realise the quality of the animation does not have to be perfect, it just has to be not distracting.

It's the story that counts, the idea, or the message. If that is good AND the graphics and cinematography are used in a way that does not distract, then you are on to a winner.

The prrof is going to be trying to tell a proper story with MS, and getting the characters into the game engine.

quote:

Originally posted by Joe-90:
...I've changed my mind over the years to realise the quality of the animation does not have to be perfect, it just has to be not distracting...

Yes...I agree that with the current state of animation (Moviestorm included)one needs only to ensure that the 'characters' do not Distract.

I think that, as with the 'humans' in IL2, one should avoid as much as possible close-ups, especially extreme close-ups. In "Bag the Hun", I think the following segment examples demonstrate my point:
1:31-1:41 Realistic, mid distant...
2:00-2:06 Realistic, mid distant...
6:30-6:34 Distracting, unreal looking faces, immersion-killer
7:03-7:20 Especially realistic, increasingly distant, yet adding relatively smooth and natural looking movement/life to the movie (albeit in slow motion in this segment)

Wiley.

Give the man a break, this is the first time he has used Moviestorm. Do you remember the first films made with IL2 ?

Joe, this is excellent work. I am sure you can take this much much further and I thank you, I have been trying to convince Matt for ages to do a WWII pack, you have done it with one film.

My hat off to you sir.

How do you get the figures walking upon the il2 airfield?
I didn't notice any sets which were 'invisible'....(just downloaded MS)

Thanks BA. We'll keep working on Matt over at the MS forums!

Please point out anything that needs improving. I value Wiley's comments and everyone elses. Monty and GL2 will be watching soon and I really want frank critiques from them (as usual) and anybody else, especially in this forum.

This was primarily an experiment to see if our viewers will accept animated characters before I put the effort in to learning more.

The consensus in the various forums seems to be a big yes, with some reservations about the smoothness of the animations, and Wiley's valid point about the extreme close up. I used that close up with the precise intention of seeing if this accepted camera position for humans can also be accepted for animations. I did make a mistake mind you in using a normal focal length, I should have experimented more with long focal lengths for these extreme close ups.

The jerky animations do bother me, and hope I will be able to improve these as I learn more about MS. The other option is to look at Antics3d, with the latest version 5 having some very good looking animtions. And there's iclone as well. The only difficulty there for me is I can't afford them!

I also wondered about using B&W for some screen clips, and decided to stick with colour for clarity as a training tool.

However, I had to do another render for youtube with different music (they banned the Jimi Hendrix version automatically). I've done this now (link added above) and also used the B&W in a few clips. It looks pretty good, though perhaps not as clear.

Please all, keep the critiques coming. Is this a way we can really tell some good WW2 stories? Is anybody else interested in trying it out? Is it worth the effort of me, BA, or any others to learn how to mod the outfits?

fabian fred, paint the ground green, add backdrops and paint them green, then chroma key them out in Sony Vegas.

The Moviestorm forum is great for support, there are lots of new users, and this is a new product, so the support from the makers is very good. This thread springs to mind:

http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/forum/posts/list/3093.page

S! Joe90

As you know I have limited Internet connection right now.
I watched it on "you tube" and I must say...very impressive job sir!

I'm downloading the high res version so I can study it a little bit closer.

As always your work is top notch!

Best Regards

I like the new Youtube version with the B&W projected training films followed by the later smooth transition to Color for a "real life' flying experience beginning at 4:48.

Joe: Please note that my earlier comments on the use of Moviestorm animated characters was meant to be a constructive exchange of ideas, not an attack upon you or your movie.

quote:

Originally posted by Doolittle81:
Joe: Please note that my earlier comments on the use of Moviestorm animated characters was meant to be a constructive exchange of ideas, not an attack upon you or your movie.

Taken as such, no worries.