Author Topic: Could Ya Help Me?  (Read 387 times)

Offline XtrmeJ

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« on: July 11, 2003, 05:24:15 AM »
While seeing that almost everyone ignores the film viewer forum i thought id post here since there is quite a draft of ppl in this forum. Im trying to make a movie of flights our squad has had. Ive got just about all the film i need from Aces High but have no idea how to put clips together and edit the darn thing. Also need help with putting music to it. Forgive me for posting in this forum but no one ever goes into Film Viewer any more :( Info would be much appreciated, need all I can get !

Offline AKWeav

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« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2003, 08:03:17 AM »
Don't know what you have in the way of supporting software, but this is what I do:

1. Use the film viewer to convert the selected clips to avi format (uncompressed).

2. Import those avis to a editing software (I use Adobe Acrobat) for editing, scequencing, and special effects (fade outs, ins). This will also give you a timeline for to build your sound track.

3. To edit/build the soundtrack, I use a program called Gold Wave. You can copy your AH sound files , and music mp3s to this and modify them to fit the appropiate duration and/or effect you need for your film.

4. Import your sound files to Adobe and place them in in your movie project.

Since the film viewer will not convert the sounds into a avi format, this is a very labor intensive way to make movies.

If your video card has a tv out, hook it up to a digital camcorder, and record the action live. Also have your AH film camera running (for the outside the plane shots). Capture these recording back into the pc as avis (with sound).

For your outside the plane shots, use the old AH film viewer (look for this on the clipboard when you open the AH game). This will give you full screen which is not available through the new viewer. Record the selected action on to the camcorder, and convert these back to the pc as avis.

Now follow steps 1 - 4 above to build your movie. I know this is a very high level look at the process, but it's a starting place for a very complicated process. If you have any specific questions, I'll try to answer them for you.

Offline straffo

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« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2003, 08:16:14 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by AKWeav
2. Import those avis to a editing software (I use Adobe Acrobat) for editing, scequencing, and special effects (fade outs, ins). This will also give you a timeline for to build your sound track.


it's a typo I think , you mean Première ?

Offline AKWeav

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« Reply #3 on: July 11, 2003, 03:48:00 PM »
Oops:eek: not a typo, a brain fart :o Thank for pointing that out for me straffo. It is in fact Premier! ;)

Offline XtrmeJ

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« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2003, 04:50:27 PM »
Thnx! Is there any other way to make this without using a cam corder? Also I looked up those progs and will use them unless you know of any others? I will probably have alot more questions the more in depth i get into making it so I'm going to try and keep this post active. Thanks again!

Offline hazed-

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« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2003, 05:45:55 PM »
XJ get these programmes:

RADtools (otherwise known as BINK and SMACKER, exellent compression software thats free and is excellent, Better compressor than DivX I found) Its used by the makers of WW2online for their films.Very clear and crisp displays even when you compress over and over, you can compress an AVI then run it through again until you find size/quality suits you.Also BINK is FAR easier to pick up and learn than divX. Also once the film is finnished as a .bik File it will be smaller than a normal AVI file but  its a simple matter to make it a playable AVI file for all if you prefer-simple click of a button in BINK menu)

find it here:http://www.radgametools.com/default.htm

AVIedit (for editing avi's and free for trial period 30 days or something. I recommend you edit your AVI's uncompressed before you compress for the finished film.This does however use up huge amounts of hard drive space but it keeps quality better i found.Once you have your finished film you delete all the uncompressed stuff)

do a google search for it

Goldwave (for editing mp3's and wav files and again a 30 day  trial or free I think, long time ago i used it)

let me see your finnished film too :)

oh heres mine: really compressed them right down from some 1.2GB to 9 MB lol! :
http://combatarena.users.btopenworld.com/Films.html

Offline hazed-

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« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2003, 05:49:41 PM »
Oh btw the really great thing about BINK is:

 you can preview the compressed avi to see if you like what you see....(Divx didnt let me do this , i had to do the whole thing then if it was no good i had to redo it all again....real pain)  oh and you can choose filters and things like convert to greyscale with simple clicks. Also when you compress you choose how much with a percentage scale, just type in 50% and it tries to halve the size of the file...its a doddle to learn ;)

you can mix in music etc at the same time by just picking your avi and your mp3 or .wav file(SAVES AN ENORMOUS amount of effort)

Did i say it is FREE to use? :D hehe
« Last Edit: July 11, 2003, 05:53:58 PM by hazed- »

Offline hazed-

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« Reply #7 on: July 11, 2003, 05:59:26 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by XtrmeJ
Thnx! Is there any other way to make this without using a cam corder? Also I looked up those progs and will use them unless you know of any others? I will probably have alot more questions the more in depth i get into making it so I'm going to try and keep this post active. Thanks again!


XJ you can buy very cheap digital cameras nowdays that often record short AVI with sounds. I have a cheap ($45) camera that records something like 100 photos or 3 or 4 mins of AVI film(more with sim cards). Its a cool gadget and perfect for what AKweav suggests.

Offline XtrmeJ

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« Reply #8 on: July 11, 2003, 06:34:15 PM »
thnx. I will check out all these progs and try to figure them out. Also.. where are these camera i might find? But is there still another way to do this without little cam corders?

Offline AKWeav

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« Reply #9 on: July 11, 2003, 11:55:22 PM »
Quote
Thnx! Is there any other way to make this without using a cam corder?


Well you can use a regular VCR but you will lose a whole bunch of resolution. The AH film viewer will retain resolution, but your film will be slightly jerky, and no control surface movement will be visable except for flap deployment.

Hazed, thanks for the link for the freeware. I'll check them out.

Offline GScholz

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« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2003, 01:25:57 AM »
You don't need the camcorder/vcr to record the sound. Just open the sound recording options in windows and select "what you hear", then use "sound recorder" or some other sound software to record the sound in the background while you play the film in the clipboard filmviewer. Beware that the engine sound of your plane will be very low, and the sound may not be entirely in sync with the movie. You may need to stretch/shrink the sound timeline in Premiere by altering the speed of the soundfile to match the movie.

Hope it helps.
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."

Offline XtrmeJ

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« Reply #11 on: July 12, 2003, 05:50:51 AM »
Thanks again, had now idea id be using VCR or cam corder hehe.Thanks for info will prob need more !