Hey guys,
I think it's wonderful that this is getting so much attention! I really hope that we're going to see some "next-gen" warcraft 3 cines coming up. I'm very interested in seeing what you all can come up with.
I'd like to give some general tips on the cinematic making. First of all, there's the technical side of things. At
wc3c I long ago posted a general tips thread. This thread might be slightly outdated, but I would like to point out the technical tricks that are available. They are mostly based on you, the maker, controlling every single aspect of the cine (e.g., you should not let warcraft 3 decide which stand animation your character is going to perform). Besides the tips in this thread I would strongly urge you to use either Anitarf's cinematic system (link in first post), or at least to avoid waits, as he pointed out.
A few more tips:
- camera angles are generally at eye level, as Ani also pointed out. Every other camera angle should serve a specific purpose. For example, to demonstrate the height of a certain cliff, or to demonstrate the huge number of soldiers in an army. In addition, one should avoid abrupt changes in camera movement, with the exception of an instant camera change. The cinema workshop by Anitarf provides a camera movement system which is very powerful. For those working without the cinema workshop, I would advice to avoid panning a camera without instantly changing it beforehand, so as to avoid abrupt changes.
- more on cameras: choose your angles wisely. A camera angle should not surprise the viewer, but should follow up logically on the last one. Once the viewer is unsure what he is looking at, he will spend his focus on deciphering the scene, instead of enjoying the film.
- characters should behave as if they are actually alive. What I mean is, they will react to events in a way that makes sense. This can occur in several situations. For instance, when two characters have a conversation, don't just let the models stand there and play their stand animation while you play a sound of them "talking". The characters can look to different places, maybe walk around a bit. If you require custom animations (which is likely in this case), then make them. Another example is in a 1v1 fight scene. In a 1v1 fight scene, both characters are trying to kill/hurt the other. They are going to do this at the same time. I cannot stress enough that at any point during the entire 5 minutes of the cinematic, the characters on screen should currently be performing an action scripted by you.
- terrain and ambience have a huge impact on the overall feeling of the scene, but only the combination thereof with appropriate music can "tie the room together". Think about the feeling you want to convey and choose terrain/sounds based on that. Try to avoid lengthy terrain show-off sections, we're not remaking planet earth in 5 minutes
. Low-poly models at the front of the scene do kinda bring down the overall feel, so I would advice against using those in front.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Keep in mind these are just tips. Of course great cines can be made which break my "rules", so if you disagree with something, please prove me wrong!
