Author Topic: New Film Viewer/Recorder?  (Read 794 times)

Offline kculon

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New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« on: August 28, 2009, 12:55:44 PM »
Anyone have any info/news about this? I would like to make another film with the new terrain!
"More fun with KC II"
Some of my suggestions I submitted were...
Slider controls for the camera positions with limited distances,(who needs to set up a camera 1/2 mile from the plane?)
Three camera positions instead of two per shot setup.(maybe unlimited keyframes?)
Realtime previews or wireframe icon of cameras position.
Film viewer made more stable & easier to use.
Camera positions working on all three axis, xyz.
Keyframeable camera parameters throughout shot(zoom, focus, DOF, etc.).
Ability to turn off any object in a scene.(like other planes, ground, sky, etc.(rgb+a)
Output 3D scene to Photoshop CS4 :-)
Ok, so I'm dreaming here but still, how cool would our video's look with these features!
<S> ~kc

Offline mike254

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Re: New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« Reply #1 on: August 28, 2009, 01:56:31 PM »
And an "End Time", not just Duration!!

+ Infinity
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Offline Fulmar

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Re: New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« Reply #2 on: August 28, 2009, 06:30:36 PM »
The Film Viewer for a new comer is quite the undertaking (thus why I made a tutorial video).  Its not the most user friendly, but I'm not sure what kind of code they are working with.

I'd love to be able to change the environment settings in the film, or at least keep the ones from when it was recorded (not everything stays the same, i.e. sky color if its customized).  A few more camera operates.  But most importantly I'd love for the film viewer not to reload sources when you click View Shot (i.e. it loads textures again).  And for it to properly capture sounds from what they sound like in the arenas.  Proper volumes, dopler effect, and the presence of 'recording' planes engine during camera shots.
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Offline kculon

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Re: New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« Reply #3 on: August 28, 2009, 08:01:59 PM »
The Film Viewer for a new comer is quite the undertaking (thus why I made a tutorial video).  Its not the most user friendly, but I'm not sure what kind of code they are working with.

You are being kind here. I watched your tut but I'm not kidding, the process and all the bugs made me cry while trying to make my last film.  :cry
I am understanding tho, HT is selling a ww2 flight sim, and a darn good one at that!
<S> ~kc

Offline Wraith_TMS

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Re: New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« Reply #4 on: August 28, 2009, 08:34:39 PM »
Anyone have any info/news about this? I would like to make another film with the new terrain!
"More fun with KC II"
Some of my suggestions I submitted were...
Slider controls for the camera positions with limited distances,(who needs to set up a camera 1/2 mile from the plane?)
Three camera positions instead of two per shot setup.(maybe unlimited keyframes?)
Realtime previews or wireframe icon of cameras position.
Film viewer made more stable & easier to use.
Camera positions working on all three axis, xyz.
Keyframeable camera parameters throughout shot(zoom, focus, DOF, etc.).
Ability to turn off any object in a scene.(like other planes, ground, sky, etc.(rgb+a)
Output 3D scene to Photoshop CS4 :-)
Ok, so I'm dreaming here but still, how cool would our video's look with these features!
<S> ~kc

Yeah, the film viewer could be improved.  My view is that, given how social media sites like Youtube, Vimeo and other, and game videios and machinima have taken root on the web, higher quality player-made films and machinima would help promote the game (semi-free marketing, essentially) and spark interest that might translate into new players.  New players, noob jokes aside, are the life blood of the company.  HTC has to prioritize such things, of course, but maybe a case to justify the resource investment in the viewer can be made when you consider this angle.

I especially agree with the three position camera shots suggestion.  It's something I've put in a film viewer wish list I've been compiling too.  Right now, a shot is set up by fixing a start point and an end point.  I too think there should be a middle point that can be set.   It would add exponentially more capacity/variety for interesting camera shots, because you could establish true "curves" for the shot's "dolly" to follow.  You'd get a lot more finesse in the shots.  You might even make the addition of the third point as an option, so that one isn't obligated to set one up for a given shot.

I would keep the capacity for longer shots however.  In my last video, I set up a long-range shot that tracked backward using FOV settings.  It was important to the story, and I wouldn't have had that capability without a long range set up.   Using long range with FOV tricks can give you some interesting shots.  Also, you sometimes want to capture a world relative/pointing shot looking at other objects like target ships or airfields.

 :aok
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Offline kculon

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Re: New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« Reply #5 on: August 28, 2009, 09:14:52 PM »
I still think some kind of slider instead of all those numbers would be better. I can understand wanting distance but setting the camera position, without a reference point is mind numbing and difficult. I have spent many hours in After Effects and some 3D programs, all have a way to "see" where the camera is, guessing doesn't work. I know this isn't easy to develop, you should see the workarounds in after effects to control the camera better! Also I found that all 3 axises didn't work. Just frustrating more than anything else....
Bottom line for me is, please fix the software, please, please.
~kc

Offline Wraith_TMS

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Re: New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« Reply #6 on: August 29, 2009, 01:11:23 AM »
I still think some kind of slider instead of all those numbers would be better. I can understand wanting distance but setting the camera position, without a reference point is mind numbing and difficult. I have spent many hours in After Effects and some 3D programs, all have a way to "see" where the camera is, guessing doesn't work. I know this isn't easy to develop, you should see the workarounds in after effects to control the camera better! Also I found that all 3 axises didn't work. Just frustrating more than anything else....
Bottom line for me is, please fix the software, please, please.
~kc

Sure, not disagreeing with you there, KCulon.   The viewer IS powerful.  I think most would agree with that; like you, I think it could just be made more user friendly, and even more robust with a few key enhancements.  I'm all for improving the interface to make it easier to achieve good movie results.  The current UI for the camera shots is perplexing to new users, and time consuming even for those of us who have figured some of it out.  I've had to do a lot of stuff in Adobe CS also, as well as Guncam, etc to get some shots to work out.  Takes forever to do sometimes, especially setting up the camera with the arrow keys and window scrollers in the viewer, which often aren't responsive and slow to set up at best.  I'd love to see more graphical representations for settings parameters: sliders, a graphical representation of the camera with yaw/pitch/roll handles that could be activated right in the window, or a context menu that would handle those elements and would work within the viewing window.  It would also be great to be able to set a stationary camera viewpoint on a non-player moving object, like the deck of a moving ship or CV, for instance.

My only point above was that they should not take away the existing range setting capabilities, but rather to make it easier to establish those settings; a slider or drop down might be a great addition for setting that.  I'm with you on making it easier to use the viewer for making movies.
o--[--Wraith----   
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"Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig." -- R. A. Heinlein

Offline kculon

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Re: New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« Reply #7 on: October 17, 2009, 12:18:58 PM »
Here is a link to my first film
http://www.fotgfilms.com/newProjectPages/kc.html
And a link to download a high res version
http://www.fotgfilms.com/video/AhFilm/Kc_Ah_Film.zip

<S>~kc

Offline kculon

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Re: New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« Reply #8 on: October 22, 2009, 01:45:38 PM »
Any news on an updated player/film viewer? Anyone? <tap <tap> is this thing on?

Offline boomerlu

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Re: New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« Reply #9 on: October 22, 2009, 04:07:31 PM »
Nope, the film viewer is still the same old thing, just debugged for crashing after one of the updates.
boomerlu
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Offline Fulmar

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Re: New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« Reply #10 on: October 22, 2009, 04:25:34 PM »
I don't think there are any current plans to update the film viewer. 
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Offline Kazaa

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Re: New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« Reply #11 on: October 23, 2009, 06:46:59 PM »
+1 for any improvments to the film viewer, I spend more time on the film viewer then I do in game.



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Offline kculon

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Re: New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« Reply #12 on: October 24, 2009, 11:09:20 AM »
I would make a lot more AH promo films if they would fix that damn thing... Oh well, I guess I'll just fly the MA and HO every con I see in protest :-)
~kc

Offline boomerlu

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Re: New Film Viewer/Recorder?
« Reply #13 on: October 24, 2009, 06:14:40 PM »
I donno, maybe contact HTC directly. I'm sure they wouldn't be opposed to better promos. Better to tell them than us... :angel:
boomerlu
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Air Power rests at the apex of the first triad of victory, for it combines mobility, flexibility, and initiative.