Advice For First Projects

There are some fabulous ideas rolling around on this site, moviestorm has such incredible potential it's giving many creators new ideas and ambitions to create amazing work.

Even the most talented moviemaker is not going to be able to make a blockbuster for their first movie, and I would hate for people to be put off by starting with something too complicated.

So I wonder if the team and some of the active beta testers could give advice and ideas for 'starter projects'.

Knowing what you know now..where would you start? What skills are vital to learn ...what can you leave until later?

What would you avoid in a first project?

Well, here's how I would start. This may not work for you - it depends what kind of films you're trying to make, and how you work. I like to make drama, so my main concern is to get characters talking, and filming them in such a way that the viewer doesn't get bored. I'm also creating pretty much everything within Moviestorm, and not relying on post-production to assemble the final film.

My very first project would be a really simple piece, about 45 seconds or less, with just one character talking straight to camera. I'd focus on using gestures and making that speech look interesting to watch. I'd use a speech from a play or a movie so I wouldn't be worrying about the actual script. I'd record the dialogue myself, though, just to get used to the dialogue recorder. Keep the camera very simple: just one camera, medium shot, and don't move it. It's important to get the camera in at this stage, though, so you get used to the idea that everything looks different through the camera to what you're seeing in the Director's view.

Then I'd do a two-person dialogue, slightly longer this time. Again, focus initially on the gestures, but this time use multiple cameras, cutting between close-ups and two-shots. Three cameras is plenty, five is getting serious. As before, I'd remake a scene from something else, so I'm still not thinking about writing the script, just about how it's done in Moviestorm.

Once I was happy with that, I'd redo the exact same scene, but this time introducing some character movement, say, one character walking onto set, and perhaps some character interaction, even as simple as shaking hands. Then I'd have to add in some simple camera movement to cover the walks. I'd also start to throw in some other camera moves, such as one camera slowly pushing in on a character as he speaks, moving from a medium shot to a close-up.

I've now got a basic conversation piece, with actors who can act, and multiple moving cameras. From there I can easily branch out to thinking about using props like chairs, doors, or guns, customising the walks, adding in ambient sound, building sets, and generally making increasingly elaborate scenes.

I agree Matt that everyone has their own way of working, and there is no right way of learning a program.
Your step by step method sounds very workable to me.

Would anyone do this differently? The more choices people have the more likely they are to find a method which works for them.

For my very first machinima (non Moviestorm), I replicated a well known music video, it was something fun to do, which helped. I learnt more making my first "proper" movie with Moviestorm than the previous test clips, that works well for me - it means working through a series of obstacles, which may not suit everyone.

I'm not sure there's anything I'd recommend to avoid, other than perhaps attempting fancy camera work - but there again if you don't try it and start avoiding things, how are you going to learn?

I've put an example of a "very first movie" up on http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/MSDB/MovieFilesPageServlet?id=18&playId=34 It's a character doing an excerpt from Winston Churchill's famous "fight them on the beaches" speech.

The only "difficult" bit was putting in the backdrop and titles, which were made in Photoshop and put onto "simple prop backdrop" props. Apart from that, all I did was to make the character "say" the speech, add in a few hand and head gestures, and then put in a single camera on the character, then rendered it. It's 100% Moviestorm, no post-production.

(Actually, there is one slight cheat in there. In the first take, the character was swaying from side to side too much, so I made him sit down on a chair so he'd stay still. The dev team have now addressed this issue, and you will shortly be able to make characters stand still, and you won't need to do this cheat.)

I totally agree with everyone. What I believe is important is to start off small and not overwhelm yourself. Tear a thing into small pieces and it is surprising how much easier it is to accomplish a project.

At this time with Moviestorm I like to test small concepts and see what happens. Years ago during the Hollywood studio system, they use to test the heck out of anything. If Kodak has a new film stock, the Camera Department would test the new stock in thousands of lab and practical conditions. Nothing fancy, but then they knew what was possible. With Moviestorm I think the tool is far more sophisticated and far reaching than it appears at first. My tinkering has been to find out what I can do with the tool without having to be a computer wizard.

So at an idea of something you want to try in Moviestorm. Matt has shown the progression very well. I like to also find a sequence in a movie I like and then I try to do my own version of it. In time you become more comfortable with the tool and you discover what it does best for you. And don?t forget to look at the work of others. They are also discovering new uses of Moviestorm.

In the end by working on small ideas you may very well find a larger project or idea forming. Sometimes you need to be distracted from your bigger desire in order for it to be able to creep in the back door of your mind. And Voila! ? a new masterpiece comes alive.

Sometimes you need to be distracted from your bigger desire in order for it to be able to creep in the back door of your mind.

Strange to read, this is very much how my mind works MrJoyce.

I think that currently I'm assembling a palette of possibilities and sometimes the best things are found by accident.

Each of my mini movies has been inspired by a question..the last one was
'will the puppets walk in circles'?

I would advise anyone starting to use this program to try one thing at a time...walking, talking, does these separately first, try gestures without speech, and speech without gestures..then try them together.
Have only one character in your first movie, what can you do with one character and one prop?

Keep it simple and build up over time.

Also as a side benefit, the staff at Moviestorm are watching these tests and small films. Through our work they are coming up with other fixes and add-ons to help us in our projects. Unlike many other Software companies, Moviestorm is a partner in our dreams, not just a Corporate profit center.

Following on from my previous post, here's a second version of the exact same film. http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/MSDB/MovieFilesPageServlet?id=18&playId=35

The one and only difference between this and the previous one is that I added in a second camera keyframe towards the end, creating a long, slow camera move. I framed it at the point where he has his fingers in the iconic V sign, so that I could be sure that would be a good shot.

By building on these simple building blocks, you can gradually build up your basic techniques.

I find strong points in all of these comments.

I tend to make a 'proof of concept' test to see how a camera move will work out, or how the lighting looks, or to see if the background is cluttered or, or, or....

By not regarding these tests as anything more than tests, I always feel as if I'm making progress. If the test doesn't go well, I don't have to worry about a large project failing as well. It was only a little test!

Given all that, if the director has no fear, leap out into the darkness!

revdoug I love your tests. Remember Thomas Edison made thousands of tests which successfully proved what didn't work, until he found a filament and method that became the light bulb.

Well I kind of ignored some of the advice; what I'm working on is not a small project, but what I have done is broken it down into smaller bits and learned a lot as I've moved along. What is fascinating is I'm constantly finding out new things and applying them. Fortunately, with the way this site is set up, if you find a better way to do something, you can redo it, delete the old, and upload the new.

Wonderful.

What a neat thread. When I was working with MS (I've decide to just wait for a Mac port) i found myself jumping around too much and trying to do too much. Honestly, I think I was so excited about the possibilities that i was probably biting more off than i should have right off the top, especially since this is my first real experience in this realm. I think I will be following Matt's concept in the future.

What a neat thread. When I was working with MS (I've decided to just wait for a Mac port) I found myself jumping around and trying to do too much. Honestly, I think I was so excited about the possibilities that i was probably biting more off than i should have right off the top, especially since this is my first real experience in this realm. I think I will be following Matt's concept in the future.

mrjoyce wrote:

Remember Thomas Edison made thousands of tests which successfully proved what didn't work, until he found a filament and method that became the light bulb.

"I have not failed. I have merely discovered ten thousand ways that do not work." So Edison apparently said. What a great philosophy of life for an inventor!