Video making tutorial?

[JG1_Vonrd]

I tried several searches but didn't come up with much... maybe the wrong keyword phrasing?

 

Anyway... can someone point to a tutorial on how to maneuver the cameras in the recorded tracks (I'm hoping to get smooth panning / tracking around an aircraft to show it's skin off) and how to convert it into Youtube friendly video. I have FRAPS as well as Shadowplay. 

 

Any recommendations on editing software? I don't want to spend much until I see if I want to pursue video making.

 

Thanks

[JimTM]

There's an amazing free application called Blender that includes a good video editor. There are some very good editing tutorials here.

 

Sorry, I don't have any suggestions for camera tutorials.

[JG13_opcode]

18 hours ago, II./JG1_Vonrd said:

I tried several searches but didn't come up with much... maybe the wrong keyword phrasing?

 

Anyway... can someone point to a tutorial on how to maneuver the cameras in the recorded tracks (I'm hoping to get smooth panning / tracking around an aircraft to show it's skin off) and how to convert it into Youtube friendly video. I have FRAPS as well as Shadowplay. 

 

Any recommendations on editing software? I don't want to spend much until I see if I want to pursue video making.

 

Thanks

 

I record my replays with OBStudio and edit the videos with Resolve.  Mostly I make dogfight tutorial videos for novices so I typically am just doing text overlays with arrows and stuff that I cook up in Photoshop.

 

Resolve has pretty awesome capabilities for a free program, though. It has a YouTube preset for rendering, too.

 

As far as smooth panning I can't help you there.  All the videos I make are from the pilot perspective.

Edited May 6, 2018 by JG13_opcode

[Raptorattacker]

If you want a 'free camera' pan around the plane whilst it's in flight then try using a board or similar for your mouse (so you've got a pretty much 360 degree capability of movement without having to lift the mouse up) and slow down the replay to half speed as you're capturing it and then keep 'taking' until you're happy. The art of making videos is indeed a dark art and unfortunately not overly laden with 'quick fixes'! I hope this helps to some degree?...

[JG13_opcode]

Couldn't you also use the mouse to get the angle you like, and then set a key to pan the camera, which would give you a constant pan rate so it would be smooth?

 

Maybe pan more than is necessary (more than 360 degrees) in case there is acceleration, and then cut those frames out when you go to render.

 

[JG1_Vonrd]

Thanks for the reply's. I guess I'll have to experiment a bit. What I'm hoping to do is create a mission and individually load all of our squad skins that I've created and do a "Superman" fly-around view of the formation to showcase the individual skins. I could, of course just Shift F2 around each plane but was hoping to get a full overview of the formation (if I can actually get the AI to keep a reasonably tight formation... might be unlikely ).

 

I'll also check out the editing softwares mentioned.

 

Thanks again! 

[Sambot88]

OBS Studio is a good one, that is also what I use. Nvidia also has built-in stuff that I've seen people use. For editing the videos I use Shotcut. You can download it for free and there's some good free tutorials on YouTube for how to use it. It requires virtually no knowledge of video editing to start using it.

 

Some minor tips from me would be:

 

1.) Set your mouse sensitivity high so that you can use your mouse to manually pan around without having to lift it up.

2.) There are keys for viewing the action from the perspective of nearby allies and enemies on the ground and air, or for padlocking the view to certain allies and enemies whether the camera is on you, an ally/enemy, or just "free."

3.) You can use F11 to "free" the camera and set up a spot on your own to watch the action from. You can then use keys like F8 and RShft + F8 to keep the view focused on the unit you want.

 

There's a ton of hotkeys in the key bindings menu that you can experiment with and there's some pretty good tutorials hidden around the forums too. I'm still figuring out some of the finer points, but you can see what some of the really good editors are able to do with the recordings over in the videos section. It is a very cool and powerful feature.

[Raptorattacker]

See? Yet another fine example of 'ask and ye shall get' from this brilliant community!!

[[DBS]airdoc]

On 5/6/2018 at 2:31 AM, II./JG1_Vonrd said:

12 hours ago, II./JG1_Vonrd said:

What I'm hoping to do is create a mission and individually load all of our squad skins that I've created and do a "Superman" fly-around view of the formation to showcase the individual skins. I could, of course just Shift F2 around each plane but was hoping to get a full overview of the formation (if I can actually get the AI to keep a reasonably tight formation... might be unlikely ).

 

 

 

This is not easy to do. The best way to get a decent scene like that is to use a player flown plane as a camera that closes in the formation and flies between them. The camera plane should have modified Alt+F2 views that are located at a distance from it, so that it is not visible in the scene. If you don't know how to change the Alt+F2 views, check this thread:

 

 

You can also try the same thing with the F2 view, but the F2 camera remains horizontal when your plane rolls.

 

I would recommend that you try many different passes, so that you get good angles. If you are going to record online, set the server setting to allow external views - easier to get a grasp of what you are recording.

 

cheers

 

EDIT: you can also try to use padlock on an aircraft of the formation from the camera plane, but, you may face two issues:

1. external padlock zoom does not take you very close

2. your own aircraft may be visible at certain angles

 

you can give it a shot though

Edited May 7, 2018 by [DBS]airdoc

[Tuesday]

I would recommend against setting your mouse sensitivity up high if your goal is smoother movement.

 

Setting it low will allow for much smoother and precise camera movement when controlling it with the mouse. 

 

Like the real-world; it usually requires multiple takes and patience!

[Sambot88]

43 minutes ago, 19//Tuesday said:

I would recommend against setting your mouse sensitivity up high if your goal is smoother movement.

 

Setting it low will allow for much smoother and precise camera movement when controlling it with the mouse. 

 

Like the real-world; it usually requires multiple takes and patience!

 

It depends on what kind of shot you're going for. If you have it in F2 mode and you're trying to keep a certain part of the action in view without using padlocks then I find the best way to do that is to have high sensitivity and very careful/slow movements with your actual hand. It does take practice and editing for best results but if your sensitivity is too low then you have to lift the mouse up more often than you'd like in order to keep the desired part of the action in view.

Edited May 7, 2018 by Sambot88
Ew, grammar

[JG1_Vonrd]

Thanks for the suggestions and [DBS]airdoc for the link. I will give all a try but I'm doing major overtime this week so it will have to wait.