I think that this would be the appropriate place to post this. If not, then mods please place this in the correct section.

Hello fellow sackfolk!
This pertains to LBP2 only.

One of the most intriguing aspects of LBP to me is film making. I would like to start making films myself. I have messed around with the cameras and sequencers and such, and have learned a few useful tips.

So I made this thread, in the hopes of getting any and all tips and tricks from the community! This most definitely includes sackbot acting in films. I also will probably be posting some specific questions of my own in this thread to get answers from the knowledgeable sackpeople.

Danke in advance!

First of all: You will need a scenario. A good one.
Second of all: Camera blending/transition (while in sequencer: place one camera at the last "part" of the previous camera)
You'll also need some good, themed music, great scene design (DO NOT make scene big, unless your creative skills are very high. Smaller scene - smaller area to decorate.)
At the end of your movie place game ender (something like that) to make the movie look more professional. Also, you can do the credits stuff for a better impression.
Well, that's it from me! Hope I helped you!
SonOfSparda

Hi TheSangheiliGeek,

movie making in LBP2 and LBP3 isn't fundamentally different, though in LBP3 you have so much more possibilities to animate your sackboy! If you wanna make movies, good planning is rather helpful! You should write a script and maybe draw some sketches of the scenes. The rest is painstakingly recording scene by scene!

Many greetings, Jürgen^^

These are some pretty good tips!

About camera blending though....
Do you place the camera at the very end of the previous one? Otherwise, it won't work? Because I've admittedly been having trouble with this.....

Many thanks.

You overlap them and then tweak the second one's transition effect. If you have multiple overlapping, tweak all but the first one. Soft Cut is a personal favorite one of mine because it causes the camera to blend smoothly for as long as they overlap. Placing the camera at the very end of the previous one causes a hard pan and a strange flash.

And if your animation has dialogue, you can place the magic mouth on the sequencer, tweak the Actor Name, and make the Sackbot talking to have the same Actor Name as the magic mouth associated with it! I am a late learner on this... but it helps your sets to be nice and clean!

Ooooohhh. You have to tweak the transition time........

And I never thought of that magic mouth tip. Danke!

Well, I'm stumped on movie ideas......

I think that I could make something simple with the knowledge I have, but I don't know what to make! I'm not even sure what genre I want it in........

So, suggestions? What genre do you think would be easier than others to work with? Story ideas? What would you people like to see? What did you folks start with?

My likings are usually Comedy Adventures, so are all my ideas. Sometimes just Adventure or Comedy, or an Adventure Romance.

I tend to stay away from anything scary, such as Horror, but many do enjoy them. I don't.

Sometimes the best way to start is with Random Costumes. Keep placing random costumes on the character until you have something that sparks inspiration, and edit it how you like.

Now you have characters. Then, think what words suit the characters and make a title. At least for me, now the mind should be filling with possible ideas!

I hope this helps!

The adventure genre is a good one. I too, have never really cared for horror.

But anyway, thanks for the idea. I'll definitely try that!

Well, I tried your idea Diamond, and after messing around I made a chinese chef. I really had no inspiration from anything that I made. I'm not discrediting your idea, but I guess it just has less of an impact on me.
I'll mess around with it some more though........

Anyone else?

Hahaha, TSG, what about a Chinese cook, preparing a meal like "Peking dog" (to use a popular stereotype! ) and the dog preferring to stay alive and to flee from the plate!
For such an idea I had some inspiration out of the Disney movie "Arielle" (maybe you remember the French cook hunting for the crab) and there has been a fantastic LBP movie by Samurai-09 called "The wedding cake"!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7WABf8QmUY

Neat!

I'll take your advice! The silhouette idea is something that I might want to look into.....

I still haven't started yet, due to no ideas. They will probably come flooding to me sooner or later though. My question now, is a technical one.

Can you link sequencers together? Here's an example:
Lets say you do ONE scene on a sequencer. And then another scene on a different sequencer somewhere else. Can you link these together to create a series of scenes?

Yes, you can! What you need is a Battery at the end of a Sequencer to connect to the next one to Start Playing, (not reset!) and when one sequencer ends, the battery will activate the next one!

Now maybe I'm just being daft, but I'm unsure if you mean to connect the battery at the end of a sequencer to a battery at the beginning of another sequencer, or if I'm supposed to connect the battery directly to the sequencer itself.......

You place the battery at the end of the first Sequencer's Circuit Board, which is where you put the Cameras and such. Then you connect the Output of the battery to 'Start Playing!' of your next sequencer. Then the sequencers will have a playlist of them.

Ah, okay. I think that I got it now......

On another note, I have no experience on changing lighting and such in scenes. Is it difficult? Is there a specific tool that I can use for this?

Hi TSG,

you can place the battery at the end of the first sequencer and connect the exit of the battery with the "start playing"-input of the second sequencer (not with the "reset"-input of the second sequencer!) (as DiamondDiancie has already described above! )

Many greetings, Jürgen^^

EDIT: Hahaha, while I've written my answer your conversations has been going on! So my answer is redundant already again! I think I should write a little faster!

Ok, second trial!

its super simple to change the global lights, you only have to put a global light tweaker with the changed values on a sequencer! Super simple!

Many greetings, Jürgen^^

Okay, now THATS some good news. I like simple tools.......

Well, I have the game in front of me, and -thankfully- a slight idea. I randomly thought of doing a medieval arena type film. Thats all that I have though.

But, recently these past months, I've entertained the thought of writing. Now granted, I have next to no experience on the subject. But what better time to start composing an epic, than now? I think that maybe I'll try my hand at writing a mini story. About the medieval arena of course. And then I'll make a LBP film from that. I think that thats not a bad idea. What do you think?

In the meanwhile, I'll just continue doing my 100% run on the campaign and playing Killzone.

And a Chinese Chef jousting on a Pecking Dog... sounds wonderful! I would so watch that!

I'll put a chinese chef in it somewhere, just for you.

Don't know if it helps but there was this guy who recommended a youtube channel for indie movie makers. It's in my bookmarks somewhere... here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jis97Eup9_E

I might look into that. Danke!

Well, after writing the beginning of a little story, I decided to scrap it. It wasn't very interesting. I'm still trying to think of something. Nothing thus far has motivated me. I guess that I'll just keep thinking.........

I'm open to more of your lovely suggestions!

I have a small update for you.

Are any of you familiar with Hishe? They do -usually- hilarious videos off of movies, in a series called "how it should have ended."

Now, I think that it isn't a bad idea to do the same type of deal in LBP form. It would provide me with a setting to work with, and some good practice. Not to mention that I actually have some motivation to do this!

So sackfolk, what do you think?

I don't know Hishe, but the theme "how it should have ended" has some potential! I like your idea! So have fun with your first steps into movie making!

Many greetings, Jürgen^^

Here is an update for you.

I FINALLY felt motivated enough to get off my lazy bum, and make the main part of the set for my little intro movie. If you have watched Hishe, you would recognize this as Superhero Cafe, which is a recurring theme in their videos.

I'll get started on the script soon!

Also, how would one go about hiring voice actors?

Best way to find voice actors is doing a request in the forums! I remember that there has been a voice actor group in any of the forums, but I don't remember where I have seen this! Good luck with your project and if I find the voice actors group, I will inform you!

Many greetings, Jürgen^^

I've worked on the set a little since the last update. But I have a question:

What would be the best way to go about making an intro/credits? I'm not sure if I should make anything too fancy on my first go, though. Should I just make the letters out of whatever materials and stick them onto a backdrop? Or is there a nicer way to go about this?

Though, if I COULD get some advice on making a fancier intro/credits (appearing letters, moving upwards, etc. etc.), that would be great!

The New Note Tool is amazing for credits! Have you checked it out?

And to have appearing letters, you can do Sticker Panel with a Dimmer Setting and 0 Opacity when off, and have a timer connect to it! (Tweaked Forwards and Backwards)

You can also have a Note and it turns opens and closes according to when to appear, or you could have a Note or Sticker Panel Text Frame and have the Camera have a fade transition, assuming they are in different places.

To have scrolling text, Note or Sticker Panel, either connected to an Invisible Sticker Panel and have a Mover tweaked to move up, or two cameras overlapping by only one segment apart, so they are practically lined up, just by a slight difference. Have the second tweaked to Soft Pan, have the first one at the top of the credits, and the second on the end. The longer the cameras, the slower the scrolling.


I hope this helps!


P.S. I can voice act soon, I have had some dental work in May and I am working on my speech again! And I am also voice acting Hamster_fluff's Missing Shoelace right now, so I will be bouncing around, not to mention my other projects! So it is a good thing I am on Summer Break! I can play Monday-Thursday, some exceptions may occur.

I have not messed around with this 'note tool.' I haven't even seen it! I'll check that out!

And I would be thrilled to have you voice act for me, Diamond!

Update: Its going well.

Here is another question: How would you make music play only in a part of your movie? As in, how would I put music in my intro only?

You mean music stopping? Just insert muted song from tools bag and bam!

I'm not sure that I understand. What is this muted song? Is it a tool? What section is it in?

Also, how would you START music on your sequencer?

Sorry if these questions sound silly, but I'm rather new at this.

You just need to put the music on the sequencer. When the "sequence line" will toutch it, it will play.
Muted music is just tweaked song with 0% volume.

We're here to help soo... yeah.

But how do I transition from the playing music, to the muted one?

I've been messing around with this, and am still confused.......
EDIT: I figured it out. So simple! My intro part is now officially done! Woo!

Anyway, how do you actually make your movie start playing when you enter the level?

Before testing or publishing your movie, press square at the beginning of the sequencer with your Popit Cursor, and press Save, because if you press square at the beginning of the sequencer and press "Change to Play Mode", it will not ask you if you want to save changes. It does not consider you did anything unless you press save.

I just tried that. It works flawlessly. Danke!

Well, now that I have an intro, I need voice actors before I can continue. I can't make the credits yet, because I have no idea who (if anyone) is going to donate their voices.......

Well, I am going too!

Here's how I make movies:
1. Set level to cinematic (obviously).
2. Pause the level and connect a toggle switch to a timer set to 0.1 secs.
3. Toggle the switch to the off position.
4. You can now unpause.
5. Connect timer to a sequencer.
6. On the sequencer, put things like sound objects, etc.
7. If you put cameras directly on the sequencers, you only have the transition choices of pan and cut, but if you place toggle switches (batteries work too, I think) on the sequencer and connect them to cameras that are on a different object, you can choose different effects (always set the camera hold time to infinity).
8. Put a level ender on the sequencer where you want to end the movie.
Here's a tip: sequencers have a length limit, so when you reach the limit, place a toggle switch on it which triggers another sequencer.
Sequencers are really easy to test with!
To start your movie in darkness, set your darkness to 100% and have a lighting editor on the sequencer change it to day.
For a cool fade effect at the start of the movie, have the level completely dark, place a toggle switch and camera with a fade effect, and place the lighting editor in a place where it will trigger in the middle of the transition (the fade effect fades out then in). The lighting editor should be set to change it to the desired lighting immediately.
THE LEVEL NEEDS TO BE PAUSED AND THE TOGGLE SWITCH SET TO ON BEFORE PLAYING THE LEVEL. The point of this bizarre config is to allow you to play the level in create mode and test it.

Thanks for the tips, Fox.

And you shall definitely be in my movies Diamond! But this little intro movie is made up of Superman and Batman.

Do you do Batman?

Well, I could help! I don't know if I'd do a good Superman though. Batman... Well, maybe. But, unfortunately it would probably be a little embarrassing for me... BUT, are you in need for a Robin voice actor?

I'm desperate for anyone! Watch a Hishe: Superhero Cafè video, and report back to me wether or not you would want to give voices similar to that, a try!

My dialogue may be cheesy too, so we can both be embarrassed.

I'll keep you in mind if I ever need a Robin!

Well... I just watched 3 episodes of Hishe: Superhero Cafè, and I'm thinking, perhaps I could do batman. There's just one problem. I don't think I can do the rumbling in his voice .

Well, we can always try! What time zone are you in?

Well, I don't know if this will help, but when I play with Pan_Ziemniak at 2 pm for me, its 11 pm for him. (He's in Poland btw... Maybe you knew that...) And then its 7 pm for me, I can say "I played with Pan a few hours ago." And he can say " I played with Fluffy yesterday" Heheheh Yeah. Well... I think its funny.

Well, what time is it currently where you live?

1:42 am. O.o

Mine too! We live in the exact same time zone.

WOAH!!!! So, your up late, too... ._.

COOL!

Well, I'll hit you up in the early afternoon.

Okay! Goodnight!

I know you'll do great, Fluffy!

Thanks!

Dont wait for 3 years just like me. Do it as soon as possible

film making is in fact very simple, you just need be familiar with the fundamentals, and you'll shine within a short while.

Basically, you need to do some groundwork on your project before you bring your wildest ideas to life. To expand on this, writting the script and conceptualizing the plot beforehand would be of great help, you also need to develop your characters too. You might want to design the sets too and use whichever genre is to your taste.

So then, this is where the groundwork comes in really handy, and is a premise for your other work. As for the logic behind the film making, you need to know the following..

Sequencers are the heart of your masterpieces in filming, let me put this simply, either overlap or put movie cameras with or right next to one another, whether you're trying to slap transitions together or just making direct cuts. To expand on this, when making amazing transitions, you need to set it to either 'Soft pan' or 'Hard pan'. When you're trying to make a long, smooth transition, overlap it with another camera for as long as you want the transition to be.

I should separate it to different sequencers by individual scenes along with notes, just in case if you get confused as to which scene to adjust once you develop your project. Once a sequencer reaches the end in a particular scene, simply connect the output of the movie camera to start the other sequencers, and so on.

And if you're trying to make fancy effects, batteries are exactly what you're looking for. Not only are sequencers the heart in LBP film making, but batteries too are important elements. That's it! It's all one would need to get in Spielberg's league or whatever. Hope to have been of help in your doing so

If you're looking for more details, a friend of mine happens to be a whiz at logic, including film making. In actual fact, he has also put a very detailed tutorial together as to film making too! just queue it and you'll be a master very shortly!

PSN : LogicalTutorials

Thanks for the tips! I'll check out the tutorial!

And here is a little update. Fluffy, sadly, didn't have an adequate enough voice to play Batman/Superman.

So, I'm still on the lookout for voice actors!

Well, due to the lack of voice actors, I think that I'll use speech bubbles as a place-holder. Only temporary, mind you. So that way I can set up and finish the film, sans voice acting.

I'm intently looking for voice actors.......

Did you know that there is Superman and Batman gibberish voices? That may help!

I should love to serve a purpose in the project, but if there's a way to prevent my PS eye from recording the sound effects, from a scientific point of view or whatever, I'll be more likely to participate

But at the moment, am I considered for the job?

I'll be sure to use those voices, Diamond!

And as for you, ???, what would you want to help with?

I finished it! Woo!