Video Taping Event for the CEO-Rockstar-Editor-Challenge

What i made "en rouge" above is what i want to write some words about. The year comes to the end and that might be a good point for this. As A Grandpa. Haha.

First of all: i would like to go on with these events for video-production. I liked it a lot, but it is a bunch of work. And i really like to make crew videos in general, its funny. In future times - i dont know when - i want to make videos with as many participants a lobby can hold. As a crew we will not be able to provide so many people for 2 to X saturday evenings for 4 hours. So i founded a new crew (HDV8) to bring people from several crews together for bigger projects. Imagine a real one hour movie, all recorded in realtime and made without mods, recorded in video events over a time of maybe half a year. The GTV8 Crew is a Racing Crew and not a crew for mammouth Grandpa Ideas. I have to make this on my own, i am sure you understand this, you can join later with the first project, if you want. So far only Laurent and Alva were invited, also Dr. and Naud, Lob also because i wanted him to know the crew. But i guess Alva and Laurent could be interested in this most.

For us here - and for my own crew - i want to use this post here for a while to write down how to make a big video event. I could make this in a word document, but maybe some of you read it when it is ready and give me further advices. I will send a link in the Forum-Feed.


For people who want to produce a video in a video-event:
RULES AND ADVICES

When you want to make a Big Video with real actors, go through the PDCA-process: Plan, Do, Check, Act

I. Make a Plan

1. Build a story in your mind and write it down in some sentences only (main storyline).
2. Start a thread in the pilot section and talk to your crewmembers how it could be done. They will give you ideas for your story and it's realization. This can make your mainstory better and will give your imagination a boost.
3. Write down the story in a narrative way (story) and imagine the whole story in pictures and scenes which will tell the story. (storyboard)
4. Write the scenes down and give every scene a number (script).
5. Share your script in the crew forum and take advices for the realization and for script alternatives form your crew members. They can imagine to act in your video recording event now. Ask them how detailed a further description should be. If necessary make a concrete "Acting Instruction" for the main actors (you can also talk to them in voice-chat of course) and publish it in the forum or work on your story to make it more detailed for the actors.
   
   
   
   1. 
      

II. Do it with a Pilot Crew and Check it!

1. Ask for some experienced people to try every scene out, make a date for that, if necessary several dates. If you already found your main actors ask them to join your Pilot-Crew.
2. Try every scene with the pilot-crew (voicechat recommended).Record a snapshot or a video of difficile scenes with the pilot crew and make an appointment to upload your snapshots or videos to the forum to prepare the actors (only if necessary for a single scene of course, if they read the script thoroughly and have it on a paper in front of their keyboard a verbal instruction in the event will be enough. The more experienced members can tell you which scene should be  shown in some snapshots or in a video before the event to make sure it will work with the first try.)
3. Watch the time while you try the scenes with the pilot crew and write down the time the wanted scene will take from the beginning to the end. Calculate
   5-10 min. for the arrival of the actors at the plot + the time you will need to explain and show some actors how they shall behave. That can take several minutes for every scene and depends on your experience and the difficulty of the scene for the actors. Let's say 15 (!) Minutes. So: for a 30 Sekond Scene with 30 people think about 30 minutes if you want no stress, it depends on the amount of action the actors will have to coordinate and on your own communication talent in word and script. Some scenes are made in 10 minutes with the first try, some need longer. The more experience you gain the better you will be able to calculate the time, so ask your Pilot Crew about their thoughts and share your detailed time plan for your crew event(s) on the forum.
4. Take advices from your crew again to get ready.
5. Another advice on this whole project: don't plan yourself to be an actor. Your character should be seen as the main-camera and you will have to coordinate a bunch of people. Make sure to have the very special scenes on your own camera. With you pilot-crew you can discuss where to place other recording persons to share this point of view (this action) with you via google drive. If you want to have a view on the plot from a far distance you simply place a recording person at the right place. If you want a helicopter fly-over of the camera somebody has to film and share it. Think about all of that with the pilot crew. This was hard work until here, but you are working on making your creative dreams come true. Congrats!
   

III. ACT !


1. Settings in HDV8 Events

The idea of HDV8 is to develop a perfect setting for you as the creative artist of your project. We will try to give you the best opportunity to develop your ideas. Of course a meta-idea is that you stay in our crew and help other people to make their videodream come true too.

During your event another member of the crew should be the owner of your closed lobby. You yourself should concentrate on the process of producing videomaterial during your events. We will invite only people who did really read your scripts and took their instructions in the forum. We will ask them if they printed the script out and if they have their personal instructions for the scenes we want to take. No unplanned and uninformed person at a HDV8 Set!

In your event your Pilot Crew will take the main part of the whole work. If your main actors were members of the pilot crew they already practised the scenes with you. That would be very helpful. Other members of your Pilot Crew can overtake special tasks like preparing the set, watching the time, guiding groups of actors over the set to place them where they should be.

2. Start a Thread

Please coordinate your event-dates with Grandpa4711. Start a Crew Event Thread for your project after your plan is ready and fully shared with your pilot crew.
Share the very last versions of your main storyline and the script in the thread. Advice: publish every scene in a single post and add snapshots and little pilot-videos to foreshadow difficult scenes for the actors.
Realize the amount of people who are interested in acting and helping and which role they want to play. If necessary adjust your plans. With the knowledge about the real number of actors you can also imagine the process you will lead the crew through more clearly. Adjust your instructions for the actors if necessary.

The Event-Evenings

General Rules/Advices

• The most important people (you, your pilot crew, main actors, stuff) will meet 30 min. before the event starts. Share some social time in the voice chat, calm down and solve last questions.
• Make pauses regularly after a scene was taken.
• Use the voice-command "F1, 2, 1, GO". Every recording person should start the camera some seconds before the action starts to avoid lagging in your pictures. So "F1" is the beginng. The actors start at "GO".
• Every recording person checks the material after a scene was taken.
• Make as many tryouts of a scene as wanted. When everybody feels ready record your scene.
  
  
• After every event the recording people shall watch through the material and upload the clips with the following name: [normal rockstar name]+ [Scene X Clip Y], e.g. Scene 2 Clip 5.
• Make an evaluation of the evening in the forum together please.
  

General advices for actors

- while standing or walking in 2nd person view place your own camera behind the back of your character. Do not hold it above him/her like you do while normal gameplay. Your character will look down to the floor when you hold the camera above the character. If you place it in the height of his/her stomack the character will view horizontally. It will look up to the sky when you hold your mouse in the height of his/her feet. Practise moving your head a lot, while standing, walking and running.

- while driving or flying a vehicle your character will normally look horizontally or it will execute little animations. So you can use your camera like you want when you steer a vehicle.

- Some players jump while running to be quicker in the online-modus. Please do not jump while running if you are not asked to.

- When you enter a vehicle, sit down onto a chair or when you activate any other animation like drinking, using the telescope, open the treasury: You all know the small area to activate the animation with your character. Please practise to activate these animations. Also practise to sit down and to enter a car. You will find one spot for your character to stand to activate the animation smoothly. This way your character will not have to make any further steps to the left or to the right to let the animation start.

- Hold the environment intact. Do not destroy any objects around the set. Hold your vehicles free from scratches if wanted. Watch out for their windows to be intact if this is wanted.


to be continued and corrected

reminder:
instruct people before the event, prepare the event, provide a lobby, instructing people during the event, recording during the event, check your material during the event, managing your time during the event, backupping, sharing files with other people who also recorded, editing your material, rendering, individual post-rockstar-editor-work, publishing