9/13 update: "Save Paragon" video in the works <Draft #2>

[TimtheEnchanter]

9/13 Update: Alright folks, here's the second draft, which includes everything that was missing prior to the rally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cae81F4qTuE

Some clips are just sketched at the moment, waiting to be replaced with in-game footage. You'll have to excuse the quality of the sketches, as I'm the WORST storyboard artist ever. But it's enough to imagine what the game clips will look like.

The only portion missing from the video is the very end, for which I'm envisioning a wide shot of Leandro's demo file, with the "We are heroes, this is what we do" chant. But I might need help on it because the only demo editor I found that had a working download link... isn't cooperating.



9/10 original post:

Hello all. This may seem to be quite an unusual first post here, for someone who has never been particularly vocal on any of the forums in the past 8 years, but here goes...

I've been putting together a video since the rally. Something that encompasses all of the events since the shutdown announcement. The idea is to make it informative about the IRL story, while setting it against the backdrop of of Paragon city. In this sense, IG and OOG parallel one another.

More than Machinima, it is a multimedia project that will include audio bytes from The Cape, and screencaps from various news articles.

The story begins with PS's announcement of the shutdown, and the despair as it hits Paragon's heroes. Various articles superimpose on screen. And then the "heart of the hero" starts to kick into gear. The mood of the music changes. Heroes "rise" (literally in-game), as plans to save the city start being drawn. The story builds towards the Save Paragon campaign, the petition, and its coverage in the news. All of this builds up to a climax at the Unity Rally, which I've provided a rough copy of here. As you can see I don't have quite as many good demos of the AP instances as I would prefer, so if anyone has any to share of AP's 25-32, please let me know (yes, I've spoken to Leandro who made the merged "cast of thousands" video, but many of the individual instance recordings had already been deleted by then). I can make due with the screencaptures I found on the forum, but I'd prefer not to if at all possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12H1ZEzNobg

I have posted this here so I can collaborate with all here who wish to help make this as good as it can be. I wish for this to not merely be an entertainment piece, but also educational, and a promotional ad for the campaign; drawing the public's attention as well as motivating the community. Because of this, I want to be sure that I include every important bit of info. And if you're wondering, the music is paid for and legally licensed, so we don't have to worry about the "copyright inquisition" descending upon it like angry harpies.

I'll post a longer version of the video hopefully tonight, with storyboard clips for everything leading up to the rally, and possibly some more IG footage (my SG usually convenes on Monday night).

Cheers!

[The-Hunter-JLJ]

Holy smokes, TimtheEnchanter. That "rough clip" is very good. Had you thought of running through the 33 instances and then using Leandro's composite as the "closer" scene? That could make a really powerful impact, too. I am going to be eagerly watching to see your longer version. The "storyboard" description you give here and this work print you've shown us are impressive.

[Soundtrack]

Bravo! Very well done...the dramatic music - such a great touch!

[TimtheEnchanter]

Holy smokes, TimtheEnchanter. That "rough clip" is very good. Had you thought of running through the 33 instances and then using Leandro's composite as the "closer" scene? That could make a really powerful impact, too. I am going to be eagerly watching to see your longer version. The "storyboard" description you give here and this work print you've shown us are impressive.

Yeah, I did, and I've got a copy of that demo. Leandro said not to use the same shot though and I haven't been able to get the demo editor to work... at least not the one I found. All other links to editors seem to be broken except for this one, which I think last got updated with issue 9, which is probably why it keeps giving me errors when I try to write new camera positions with it.

I definitely want to use shots from that though, and I was thinking of doing it from a "news copter" perspective, WITH rotor sounds, and a quick VO from a lady reporter saying something to the effect of, "The heroes aren't going to take this sitting down."

[Intone]

You have an awesome project, here.  Love your direction, and believe the music adds the right heroic tone.

 I know you're adding story elements, but thought I'd throw in the idea of superimposing at the beginning of the unity rally shots: "And so they began to gather." And then as you add shots of the instances, later add:  "And Paragon City's heroes continued to gather."  Anyway something like that.  Wonderful creativity!

Intone

[Mister Bison]

You have an awesome project, here.  Love your direction, and believe the music adds the right heroic tone.

 I know you're adding story elements, but thought I'd throw in the idea of superimposing at the beginning of the unity rally shots: "And so they began to gather." And then as you add shots of the instances, later add:  "And Paragon City's heroes continued to gather."  Anyway something like that.  Wonderful creativity!

Intone

Yeah, try making pauses and comments after the first Atlas Park (don't number it first ), the fourth (4 on the screen), 9 (9 on the screen), 16, 25 etc... makes a feel of picking up a strong pace.

[TimtheEnchanter]

So are you thinking they shouldn't be numbered at all, leaving room for other commentary?

I can still have text fly at the bottom of the screen indicating the rapid rising of the population.

My only concern is the average viewer, who isn't "in the know" might not realize that these are all different instances unless some indication is given.

I've also been considering changing up the "server overload" screen capture with something more relevant, like the Kotaku/Massively articles about the protest. That there was a server crash is cool, but isn't really necessary to convey the strength in numbers.

[Intone]

TimtheEnchanter:

Yes, you're right about the average viewer not understanding server instances.  You'll need to set it up by saying something like, "So many heroes began assembling, that our city had to start creating more versions of itself to allow the gathering to grow.  In fact, it did this 32 times -- and still they came!  Heroes wishing to enter Paragon City and Atlas Park ended up waiting in line by the hundreds, to enter."

Kinda long, but that's the idea.  Good luck!

Tom

[Burnt Toast]

Great start Can't wait to see the finished product!

[Mister Bison]

I didn't say you shouldn't number them, I just said don't give away the fact that there were so many players that the server had to instanciate the zone

Like a story:
At first, 75 players gathered in front of the hall, but soon no more fitted
Other instances had to be created, first on, two... soon 4, soon ten !
Then nothing was able to stop it, ... (let some time to show the new instances) we were at 25 one hour before the start of the event !
And where did it stopped ? 29, 30... 33 !

An then resume whatever you were doing.

[Ampithere]

To the OP:

Not really helpful or on topic, but you have a great name 

[Victoria Victrix]

Goddammit you made me cry again.

[TimtheEnchanter]

To the OP:

Not really helpful or on topic, but you have a great name 

Heheh, thanks.  He's the first character that I rolled when I first started playing CoH, mainly just to get a feel for the game. Fire Blaster of course. He ended up being wildly popular, always being asked to join RP teams for the comedic aspect, so I never deleted him.

Goddammit you made me cry again.

You may not want to watch the first half of the video when it's up...

[TimtheEnchanter]

9/13 Update: Alright folks, here's the second draft, which includes everything that was missing prior to the rally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cae81F4qTuE

Some clips are just sketched at the moment, waiting to be replaced with in-game footage. You'll have to excuse the quality of the sketches, as I'm the WORST storyboard artist ever. But it's enough to imagine what the game clips will look like.

The only portion missing from the video is the very end, for which I'm envisioning a wide shot of Leandro's demo file, with the "We are heroes, this is what we do" chant. But I might need help on it because the only demo editor I found that had a working download link... isn't cooperating.

@Mr. Bison/Intone, I was thinking more about the idea of adding more text to the rally shots. Curious to hear what you think of using the radio clips for it instead. I think it conveys the message without needing to clutter up the screen more.

[Aggelakis]

The music overtop of the commentary in the last... third or so (after "it's kind of packed" by the Massively girl) is way too loud. I can't hear half of what they're saying. :/

Other than that, it's pretty awesome.

[TimtheEnchanter]

Yeah, I'm aware of it. The audio levels in a lot of places is in need of tweaking. For a couple of the oversampled clips though, there's not much I can do to fix it because that's how the source audio was.

[ducklorange]

That was, frankly, very moving.  I'm sitting at work right now, trying really hard not to tear up in front of 14 other programmers... and it's a tough battle.  I'm looking forward to the finished product.

I'd recommend maybe holding the last frame, fading out to black, and ending with some text - linking to these boards, and mentioning the #SaveCOH hashtag.

[eabrace]

I like it.  Really looking forward to the final cut. 

[The-Hunter-JLJ]

TimtheEnchanter - this storyboarded rough cut is gorgeous. Can't wait to see the final. I have only one question.

What can we do to help you?

I don't think you're going to have any problems recruiting people to bring those scenes you sketched out to virtual life. Just say the word. Here's my CIT page - consider all my heroes at your disposal.

http://cit.cohtitan.com/profile/3066

[Mister Bison]

Great Video ! The voiceovers are a flabbergastingly great addition to the video !

Warning: there are glitches on the lowest eighth of the video at the beginning when showcasing the news reports.

Can I just have a shed of spotlight for my own nerd video ? Everything you need is here (you should make the left part of it pass like the forum posts)