Prelude

[Guest]

If you'd like any help with Editing, I gave Final Cut 2, and Adobe After Effects, both current. I am a professional editor, having worked on numerous projects at film school and I just finished editing a commercial for Jagermeister. I work fast and have learned how to produce quality. A lot of my work is on myspace if you would like to check it out, you can see some of my early work.

WWW.Myspace.com/Metiphis

[Guest]

I really enjoy this series, and have waited for a next episode for a long time.

I agree with Anonymous, that there is nothing wrong with the technique, but rather the amount of stuff that has to be done.What is done by a group of people is much harder to do alone.

I tried working with Source engine after seeing the movies and it is very hard. And I am partially familiar with other 3D software.

One software that I would recommend is program called Poser (7 is the newest) . It is made for sketch artists and simple animation, but I have seen some interesting short films done with it.

Poser has advantage of key frames and some additional poses that program can automatically switch.
It is pretty much a rug-doll program, but with ability to fill n missing frames, and it also has nice lighting and other controls.

I think you could export Souse characters to poser, and use it instead.

I am not advertising anything, and just want to see the series to leave on.

[Guest]

Unfortunately, I have no relevant skills to offer you. So, all I've got is support. So here it is:
These videos are great. I always knew that Half-Life 2 had lots of potential for something like this and you're doing great. So keep it up. Just don't feel pressured to crank things out. Just keep it coming as you feel comfortable. Also, (you've probably already done this) but for custom items and maps, the garry's mod site is pretty helpful.

[Guest]

Stormtrooper: Thanks, that could be useful for me in the future, you're the first person to offer that. Right now I don't need too much in the way of aftereffects since I'm going more for a cinematic approach rather than something like a music video, but I definitely have an episode idea where I would need AfterEffects knowledge (probably #6).

Anonymous dude: Yeah, Poser is one option I plan to look at after I'm done with 4.

Seizuretastic: Your name is cool.


Oh and for everybody reading this, Episode 4 is now completely filmed and all the video cuts/edits are done. What's left now is lighting and color tweaking, adding in sound effects (I have a LOT I need to do for this one, normally I try to do that in-game, but this is a special case) and adding in music from my composer when he ever gets done with it. I still have one song I took from another game soundtrack, but the rest will be original stuff by my music dude. You can see his site here:

http://www.8digitalmusic.com/

[Guest]

You are chopping through a forest with a hatchet because unlike most other machinimas you actually have have a forest. I guarantee 99% of all other machinimas don't built there own maps at all let alone build it for a month. What you need is an army of minions to do your bidding.

Have you approached any of the Main HL2 machinima sites for help? http://www.phwonline.com/ has a bunch of people with talent that could help you out with some time savers I am sure. If your desparate you could also try here http://festival.machinima.org/2006/index.html But you will have to search for any real talent.

Just remember that you and other machinima makers both make swords. You are the one month, one sword Hattori Hanzo and they are a giant metal stamping company and make 30,000 swords in a month. The difference is your sword, is a Hanzo. And thats the word.

[Guest]

Hi! I wish you the best and much success in finding a more productive way for producing your clips! I hope you find something better so that you can have more fun with it!!!

[Guest]

Hi there. Think it will show me with my google account but I'm not sure I got the password right.

Anyways, Nice job on everything, loved it sens I saw the 1st episode.

I dont know anything about face poser but I'm a good mapper, and unlike a lot of mappers I meet I can stick to it and do a good job.

If you need any other maps made you can send me an Eamil, ([email protected])
And I'll help you out with whatever mapping I can.
If you got Google talk, Yahoo, Msn, or steam chatt then that would be even better because we could get chatting on how to build the map. If infact there was a map to build.

Keep up the good work. Sorry I could not have offerd my help before you spent a month makeing a map.

[Guest]

f12bwth: Ha ha, I like your counter analogy. I remember them making a big deal out of that in Kill Bill. With the mapping thing, believe me, I'm more than happy to use somebody else's map, including Valve's. The problem with this episode as you'll see is that I didn't know of any maps that fit the criteria I needed so there ended up being way more custom work than I hoped for. Believe me, I am NOT going to invest this much time in maps for future episodes. There are a ton of mappers better and faster than I am already and I'm hoping to get more help in the future with that.

Anyway, I've found it's a real dice toss with getting help, I'll see. The mappers you'll see in the credits definitely helped me, but time was such a commodity, that I had to keep blazing ahead without them a lot of the time because if I waited until they weren't busy this thing would never get done. Anyway, this next episode really will have some teeth to it. I think it holds it's own, as a machinima or otherwise.

GlatzoPatzo: Thanks, I have some ideas actually, I just don't want to announce them yet so I don't get people's hopes up if things don't work out how I'm hoping.

Nicadeamas: Sounds good man, I'll let you once I'm ready to tackle things again for the next episode. I've found that I'm going to need multiple mappers just so one person can help if another one is too busy. The next episode I have in mind probably won't require a mapper, but episodes down the line would definitely need custom work.

* * * * *
To everybody: I am DONE with the episode except for some of the background music of which I'm still waiting on my composer. I warned him well ahead of time this could be a time crunch and offered to keep extending the deadline provided he could get me some daily samples. I've been letting him know my status each day this week, yet it's been a couple days since I heard from him. For want of closure, I emailed him telling him he has 12 hours to RESPOND, otherwise I'm just going to grab soundtrack music like I did with the others. In which case, the episode will be up here in under 24 hours. I really hate dropping people like this because of time pressure, but this is exactly the sort of thing that stalled this episode in the first place.

[Guest]

I don't blame you at all, Ross. Machinima is a tough competition when it comes to production. Especially when you are working with the Source engine and Faceposer. However, This is the exact thing that I don't like about machinima. The producers ultimately get impatient and decide to look into getting other ways to make the machinima. Still, I hope you guys don't end up postponing the series forever like the FCT team did.
~Spartan117

[Guest]

anonymous dude: Oh I have an idea that has some real potential for revitalizing my efforts, but I want to wait until I can reseach and experiment some more before I announce it. Call it a "secret weapon" if you want, though I don't yet know if it will work.


Everybody: My composer HAS contacted me, looks like there was a gap in communication. I'm going to be using some more soundtrack music it looks like, it's still up in the air if I'll have time for him to score parts of this episode. Please let me know what you guys would prefer:

A. Delay the episode a couple more days to get it scored.

B. Get it out ASAP using other soundtrack material like I did with 2 and 3

[Guest]

I really don't care how long I have to wait as long as you post it some time, so I vote A.

[Guest]

I'm for A.
I think it's worth the time to take the time to do a good job with the time needed. Hehe.

Under a week would be awsum though.

[Guest]

Alright, well for clarity, this is only the music we're talking about; even then, it's the ambient stuff for when they'll be talking. By ASAP I don't mean "half-assed", I'll still make sure the music fits well with the material.

[Guest]

I vote B. I like the Fallout music from the other episodes

[Guest]

B! i want to see the episode!!!

[Guest]

I vote A. What's a few more days gonna kill us? besides, it's better to get it right then finish it too quickly.

[Guest]

Well, despite the popular vote, I'm going to forgo the composed music and go with soundtracks. I'm just getting too impatient to keep putting this off, plus I'm such a soundtrack fiend, it doesn't take me long to find music that fits what I'm looking for. I'll put Episode 4 up here sometime today.

[Guest]

Ross, you're such an awesome guy. I am so excited, I can't wait. Best of luck to you.

[Guest]

.
ooo, refreshing every 5 minutes.
Hey what Time zone are you in?

[Guest]

Hey ross will there be episode 5? cause than H-L 2 Ep 2 came out there could some new ideas