SITIPS.TXT
Stunt Island: Movie Making Tips
The purpose of this file is to offer the first time Stunt Island
film maker a few tips on making their first film. It assumes you have
tried the tutorial in chapter 9 of the instruction book and/or know
something about things like "establishing shots". I got a lot of this
type of information from the companion book : Stunt Island: The
official Strategy Guide. The tips in this file were found by me while
making my first film: Toxo-Zombies (Toxo.zip) and by downloading other
peoples work.
1) Use Story Boards: Before you even hit the set editor, you should
have a very clear view of what you are doing. A few minute short or a
16 min. Plus film can benefit from a story board. A story board can be
detailed or very rough. In any event, it is a series of pictures that
illustrates your intended film. I use stick figures and rough shapes;
others may use more detailed pictures complete with props and liner
notes about music and camera/prop movement. Use this as an instruction
manual for your film. You can lay out rough camera angles and save
time by moving "scenes" around on paper rather than on the editor.
2) Try to use sound, as much as, possible: Sound and music will add
depth and set the tone of your film. If you have a truck going down
the street, why not give it some sound. In the same case, the music
you play in the background will be clues to whether your film is
funny, dramatic, etc. One thing you have to be careful with is what I
call "sound bleed". I encountered this while putting two sounds
together for one scene and they bled into the next scene. If this
happens to you, just mark both scenes in the editor and choose silence
from the sound effects list.
If you find the music a bit short for your scene, consider
repeating it or combining it with another piece to round it out.
If opting for the repeat trick, listen to it in the repeat mode before
adding it to your film: some sounds and music don't sound well
repeated. You may want to record your own sound effects and use those.
3) subtitling VS Dubbing: Some films have character interaction and
thus dialogue. There are two ways to make people "talk" in stunt
island. The first is subtitles which are created using the credits
option. If these are used, give the reader at least 3 sec. Per screen
of dialog. Sometimes, 4 sec. is better for longer lines. In Toxo, I
used 3 sec per screen and later found it too fast for some viewers.
Try not to have any real action going on at this time, the viewer will
be more involved with the subbing.
Dubbing is using a voice as a sound effect. This is OK if the
voice is recorded well. The problem is when you want to give someone a
copy of the .flm file. Since they don't have a copy of this sound
effect, they will either get nothing or the film will use the sound
effect(s) from their usersnd files. I have one film I downloaded that
plays an air raid siren during a speech, because that is the sound I
have in my usersnd file. My suggestion is that you keep a copy of the
original .voc file and give that with the film. Just tell the person
what to call it when they convert it in SI.
4) Shoot several scenes at once: I find this a real time saver when
filming relatively static scenes. Once you have your story board, go
through and find the static scenes like people talking or an
establishing shot of a city. These are the minor scenes that need one
camera or two at the most. You can then set these up and film them all
at once. In TOXO, I filmed the chief of police, the end scene, the
public address system, the soldiers talking, the Pentagon, and the
zombie-in-the-window scene all at the same time. Each mini-scene was
created and camera movement determined before shooting. Most of the
shooting was around town with the Pentagon in the middle of the city.
When doing this, always set the camera to invisible just to be sure it
won't be filmed by another camera.
5) Continuity: This is where things match up from scene to scene.
Here are some of the things you can do to make things match up:
A) If you are using a custom built set, save it for future use, like
reshooting a scene.
B) Keep a list of your characters. I've seen films where characters
change clothes from scene to scene. One exception to this is when the
character ejects and turns into the parachutist....this can't be
helped.
C) Watch what you film. If you are filming in NY, angle your shots to
avoid the Golden Gate bridge.
6) Use props for visual richness: Add little things to give an
otherwise generic set some life. In TOXO, I added the highway 101 sign
to break up the monotony of the scene. I also stuck in a neon hotel
sign for color. These are very minor props and given very little
screen time but they do add life to a scene.
7) Misc. Tips:
A) The ruins props can be used to simulate interiors. One cool use is
to increase the altitude and place it in the city to create a high rise
office.
B) Find new uses for props. I used the Satellite and telephone pole
to simulate a public address system.
C) Buildings make great generic backgrounds for static characters.
For example, I placed the police chief in an alley and used a tight
shot to get the background of that scene. The boombox was shot against
the side of the ruin.
D) Use the Adjust Spotter view (F6) to get limited moving shots.
This is good when you want to film around something while it's moving.
E) Use the speed adjust option on the destination deck for cool
effects. One use is to fly slowly (or within your ability) and then
speed the film up so it looks like you were flying Mach speed. It can
also be used in editing to speed up slow moving shots.
F) One of the best ways to get big explosions is to explode collision
spheres. If you are not the best shot in the world or you have many
spheres you could time the spheres to go off by themselves. I did this
in the bombing run in TOXO (I never fired a shot or dropped a bomb).
These are many of the things I learned from making my first film,
I hope they are of use to you.
David K. Plesic
(70471,1610)