Wanna flick? As in, MAKE a video?

I really like when someone brings me ideas for a new post, because the blog can always use a fresh approach, feedback, and of course because I am a lazy fuck and this saves me some time to try and come up with something myself. Ok maybe I should have left that last bit out. Too bad my backspace key does not work.

I featured yesterday a couple of bits from Travis' very professional looking videos, and today I have more from him. Continuing the tradition of the blog ( Eva's posts from last year come to mind), we are always happy to offer suggestions and tips from experience of our group members, and he came up to me with this valuable selection. Take it from here, Travis!

"Thanks Kat, especially for this bogus intro that was not in the notecard I sent you but you add between quotation marks anyway."
- Ok, ok, I have split personality issues. Now enjoy what he really wrote. :p Going with the text, some more screenshots from his work, continuously in progress, that you can watch beginning from his Vimeo profile.

"I see that Serenity has already created an introduction to Machinima, but I thought a few additional tips and tricks might be handy."

" I use the paid version of Fraps, which can be downloaded here. www.fraps.com I find it useful because it overlays your current FPS on the screen ( not recorded though ). The ideal is to get as close to 30 FPS as possible at all times for the smoothest playback, and this will show you whether or not you need to scale down your graphics settings at all.

Under General, make sure Fraps window always on top is checked, and Run Fraps when windows starts is unchecked. Then in the Movies tab, pick 30FPS from the VIdeo Capture Settings, then make sure Record Windows Sound and Record external input are both unchecked. Make sure Hide mouse cursor in video is checked as well."

"The average screen size is 1920 x 1080, which is total overkill and will result in either a huge filesize or it will get scaled down when you export from your video editing program. It will also be an unnecessary strain on your FPS. So in Firestorm, hit Ctrl + D to open the Advanced Menu, then pick Set Window Size. The dropdown shows you several common screen dimensions, and what their common format name is. I typically use 1280 x 720. Reducing this size before you record will drastically improve your framerate and reduce the size of the files you record."

"To get the best graphics quality with the minimum impact on your framerate, I set the graphics slider to Medium or High, then go to World > Photo and Video > Phototools > Light and check the box that says Enable Advanced Lighting Model. Then under Shadow Types, set it to Sun/Moon and Projectors."

 "To maximize this effect, i then go to the WL tab, (windlight) Pick the WL Sky setting I like, and then play with the time of day slider until i find an angle of light and shadow that looks the best. Alt + Shift + H hides your HUD attachments, then Ctrl + F1 hides your interface. F9 starts Fraps recording and you're on your way!"

And so, thank you Travis for providing more tips to all you guys out there who want to try your craft at shooting a video! It can be very simple, something new to check out especially if your hardware is not rubbish. Your favourite song, a cool dance, place, piece of furniture that makes you go "That'd be nice to film!". Who knows. This community is all about sharing and involving one another, after all.

Speaking of which, once more I tell you: if you want to contribute your own way to the blog, hit me up with even as little as a suggestion. It can work wonders, and I am very grateful to those of you who have done it in the past! Have a great day.