Advanced Machinima

Course Overview
Using Noesis Interactive’s ‘Advanced Machinima’ video courseware, students learn to create cinematic quality videos using the real-time Source® game engine. Unlike typical animation no rendering is required. Characters, environments and many effects are intricately choreographed much like those on a film set. Students direct the action and then watch from all angles prior to setting up their cameras and recording each take. Shots can then be adjusted or individual elements switched without detriment showcasing many machinima benefits. Students edit and finish projects using conventional non-linear editing applications.

Objective

Create a 3-5 minute short demonstrating an understanding of both technical machinima aspects (such as choreography and animation) as well as aesthetic considerations (such as cinematography, pacing and plot.)

Supplemental Materials

The recommended Noesis materials, class discussions and video courseware assignments can be augmented as necessary to integrate with existing course outlines. Likewise, additional professor selected readings or research assignments may benefit students during the practical lesson projects above.

Course Outline

Course begins with an explanation of class format and required materials. Lead a discussion of the machinima community and Noesis lesson curriculum. Outline final project and intermediary steps required for completion.

Week 2: Introduction & Tool Setup

Source Machinima Cinematography – Section 1 (Introduction)

Source Machinima Cinematography – Section 2 (Ideas)

Source Machinima Cinematography – Section 3 (Writing)

Lead discussion regarding conventional movie making practices and tools. Discuss both advantages and challenges to live action shooting as well as typical animation. Outline machinima production workflow and key advantages - such as real-time rendering, ability to swap assets at any time, capture scenes from any angle/speed.

[Students are introduced to the key tools and components utilized during Source machinima production and are urged to begin thinking about their proposed movie concept based on the assets provided]

Week 3: Audio Recording & Editing

Source Machinima Cinematography – Section 4 (Voice Recording)

Source Machinima Cinematography – Section 5 (Sound Editing)

Discuss importance of preproduction and well laid plans. When working with animation, voice recording can be an invaluable opportunity to measure performances against storyboards and make necessary alternations to either.

[Students learn the fundamental skills to record audio and direct voice actors. They also work with commercial and open source tools to edit and process their audio data]

Week 4: Choreography Tools Overview

Source Machinima Choreography – Section 1 (Introduction)

Source Machinima Choreography – Section 2 (Getting Started with Hammer)

Source Machinima Choreography – Section 3 (Getting Started with FacePoser)

Discuss mise-en-scène, virtual sets and their advantages. What is ‘blocking’ and how are traditional recorded scenes choreographed? When using virtual actors how should individual events be triggered and/or synchronized and how are scenes connected?

[Students explore the fundamentals of Hammer, the level editor used to generate their virtual sets as well as FacePoser the primary tool to choreography virtual actors and events]

Week 5: Character Movement

Source Machinima Choreography – Section 4 (Intermediate FacePoser)

Source Machinima Choreography – Section 5 (Character Motion)

Continue discussion of character movement and choreography. What is essential to show on scene? Why? What can be left off screen or cut out? Begin discussion of pacing through rhythm or tempo. As director how should pacing be controlled during recording? During editing?

[Students learn to animate actors, adjust event timing, create event targets and link multiple actions or scenes together]

Week 6: Lip Sync & Expressions

Source Machinima Choreography – Section 6 (Lip Sync & Head Movement)

How do a character’s movements, gestures, expressions and voice/tone effect a scene? How can emotion and meaning be conveyed without excessive exposition? When might more (or less) overt techniques be preferred?

[Students use FacePoser to lipsync their dialog and add expressions though subtle animation and head/body movements. Multiple actors in one scene are also covered]

Week 7: Attachments & Scene Analysis

Source Machinima Choreography – Section 7 (Attachments in Hammer)

Source Machinima Choreography – Section 8 (Advanced Scene Analysis)

Discussion about optimizing your sets to allow them to run as quickly as possible and be filmed as you’ve envisioned. Also a good time to discuss props and how they can be created and integrated into the Source engine.

[Students learn to use pre-created props by attaching them to actors or other scene assets. Default scene parameters are also set using scene based logic entities and multi-event sequences are reviewed]

Week 8: Cinematography Tools Overview

Source Machinima Cinematography – Section 6 (Camerawork)

Discuss framing, field of view, depth of field and camera angles. What impact do these factors have on the mood of your scene – especially when combined with pacing considerations? How and when should dramatic effects such as Dutch Angles, ‘fish-eye’ lenses, and dolly zooms be used? What are some advantages of motion control systems and how are these systems set up digitally?

[Students explore the Source demo (.DEM) format to save entire sequences as extremely small instructional files. Multiple cameras are then setup and scripted, including static, dolly and tracking shots. ‘View Controllers’ are also utilized to simulate first person perspectives]

Week 9: Video Recording & Effects

Source Machinima Cinematography – Section 7 (Video Recording)

Source Machinima Cinematography – Section 8 (Special Effects)

Discuss different options for recording your movie footage. How does recording frame rate effect your final output? What is a digital intermediate (DI)? Stress project organization and digital footage workflow.

[Multiple recording techniques are covered, including direct screen capture as well as variable frame rate, multi-resolution recording. “In camera” visual effects, such as motion blur, are also discussed]

Week 10: Editing & Finishing

Source Machinima Cinematography – Section 9 (Video Editing)

Source Machinima Cinematography – Section 10 (Conclusion)

Continue discussion of pacing through editing practices. Why is a rough cut integral to this process? What are some of the primary advantages to machinima during the editing process? (Continuity, reshoots, matchmoving, inserts, etc.)

[Basic editing tools and techniques are described in both Adobe Premiere and Windows Movie Maker. Various post production effects are discussed as are titling and standard transitions. Final output and potential file formats are also explored]

Week 11: Final Project

Lab Review / Working on Final

Week 12: Final Project

Lab Review / Working on Final

Week 13: Final Project

Lab Review / Working on Final

Week 14: Final Project

Lab Review / Working on Final

Week 15: Final Project

Lab Review / Working on Final

Assessments

Assessments

1) 10% - A draft script and accompanying storyboards for your 3-5 minute final project will be due in week five

2) 30% - A midterm assessment in the form of an online test will be given in week eight and will encompass both machinima concepts and core Hammer/FacePoser understanding (4-8 page research paper alternative)

3) 60% - A final project in the form of a complete 3-5 minute short movie is due by end of term

Evaluation Policy

This course emphasizes conceptual understanding, creativity and execution. The initial script and storyboards account for 10% of your total graded assessment. The open book midterm will account for 30% of your total grade, and the final project is worth 60%.