How do i record machinima?

[RecycleBin]

Can't i just plug a USB in my Xbox and move the video to the USB?
Or do i need something special?

[teh lag]

As far as I know, you will need some sort of a capture card or other means of letting your computer record video input from your 360/TV. As saved films (which I assume you are referring to in your post) are just recorded game data and not actual video files, you cannot directly transfer them to your PC.

Google could really help you here for the specifics.

[RecycleBin]

http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/intensity/

JEEZ! Those prices are insane!

Well thanks anyway.

[Advancebo]

If you want Halo 3 videos, I think Bungie added a feature on Bungie.net. For if you are a Bungie Pro subscriber, you can render out films and film clips into an mpeg or avi or something.

[t3h m00kz]

I heard about that too but I've never really seen anything come out of it.

But yeah you need a capture card with the Red Yellow and White inputs. Dazzle Platinum is what I have, stuff comes out okay. The only problem is you need to use the shit ass Pinnacle Studio it comes with, you can't capture with WMM or anything else.

[paladin]

you need a capture card

[Darqeness]

Bungie still hasn't implemented the render to video feature. That's why you haven't seen much of it.

[RobertGraham]

As saved films (which I assume you are referring to in your post) are just recorded game data and not actual video files, you cannot directly transfer them to your PC.
I wish :(

[RecycleBin]

They should add that option to save it as an mpeg or something

[Con]

I wish :(
Why? I imagine it would be pretty close to what's sent over the net in matchmaking games. There wouldn't be anything useful that you could rip.

They should add that option to save it as an mpeg or something
The problem is that Bungie would have to have a whole new farm just for rendering to mpeg, and then sending to people. Expensive much?

[SilentChaos]

the video rendering option is not available yet, bungie said that we will be seeing that option sometime this spring.

[sdavis117]

I believe Bungie is actually working on a Render-to-video service. I hear them mention it all the time in the podcast.

[p0lar_bear]

DigitalPh33r's Guide to Making Halo 3 Machinima (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B220EB42C400F91D)

Covers filming techniques, what equipment to use, how to get music without the DMCA enforcement jumping down your throat, etc.

Basically, if you want to make Halo 3 machinima, you're going to have to spend some money. There's no way around it.

[sevlag]

DigitalPh33r's Guide to Making Halo 3 Machinima (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B220EB42C400F91D)

Covers filming techniques, what equipment to use, how to get music without the DMCA enforcement jumping down your throat, etc.

Basically, if you want to make Halo 3 machinima, you're going to have to spend some money. There's no way around it.Ph33r sold his soul to machinima.com long ago and I have no respect for him TBH, great he makes a series that little kids like to mimic so that they think they are cool doing it...

find capture card, or do the poor man's method, get a camera that reconrds video, make a stable camerastand, center the TV screen so only the screen is present...have good lighting to keep quality as high as possible..and done, yes it may make somewhat crap quality, but hey...it gets it done and as long as you enjoy making it you're ok

and I have yet to shell out $ to make any of my machinima videos :P

good luck on making a series and remember...have fun, and improv leads to actual funny moments...scripting a funny moment in a machinima rarely ever works (unless you use bathroom humor to draw in the 8 year old audience)

[p0lar_bear]

Ph33r sold his soul to machinima.com long ago and I have no respect for him TBH, great he makes a series that little kids like to mimic so that they think they are cool doing it...The fact still remains that DP produces quality content, regardless of who he sold out to. By "quality content," I don't mean that his videos are the holy grail of machinima and that they are the best, but the cinematics are done right, and that's what counts (p.s. get some fukken voice actors).


find capture card, or do the poor man's method, get a camera that reconrds video, make a stable camerastand, center the TV screen so only the screen is present...have good lighting to keep quality as high as possible..and done, yes it may make somewhat crap quality, but hey...it gets it done and as long as you enjoy making it you're okIf you're going to record a TV screen, don't even think for a second about getting serious with your machinima. As shallow as it sounds, nobody's going to take you seriously as a machinima director if your videos are done that way. But, if you're doing it for yourself to flex your machinimuscle (heh), go ahead and do that until you get your feet wet and you get a capture card or a camcorder that can record TV output. Just make sure that you can manually set most aspects of your camera, such as white balance, focus, and exposure (so the picture remains steadily viewable and doesn't blur, change colors, or fade in/out). It's kinda like mapping for a video game; look at recorded-TV videos as your first boxmaps. (Side note: If your TV is a tube TV, don't even bother. The flicker that will happen will annoy the shit out of everyone.)


good luck on making a series and remember...have fun, and improv leads to actual funny moments...scripting a funny moment in a machinima rarely ever works (unless you use bathroom humor to draw in the 8 year old audience)Most likely because nobody knows how to do it right. A joke requires set-up, delivery, and a punchline, if the joke is even funny in the first place, I'd imagine that most people fuck up the set-up or the delivery, leaving a punchline just hanging there.

Remember that humor is entirely situational, and doesn't always need to draw a fit of hilarious laughter from the crowd; sometimes a chuckle at a quick show of wit or a well-placed one-liner is what's needed at various points. Don't do shit like randomly reference obscure shit (or worse, memes). Make sure that the joke fits in with the events happening around it, regardless of if it's unique or a running gag. You're most likely making a story that you want to tell, not a stand-up comedy.

[sdavis117]

If you are making a dark horror Machinima though I bet you could get away with pointing your Camera at your TV. Digital Ph33r did that for a horror short he did, and it was pretty well received.

[sevlag]

p0lar...TBH, thats what I've used to record Halo 3 videos and its worked out fine because I know how to utilize everything, I may not be fancy and have the money for a capture card, but I STILL make it work and everyone who takes part in the video still enjoys it.

also, I prefer improv over scripts, 98% of my videos are unscripted, when applied to the videos its normally a "just follow my lead and build off that". it works quiet well, say what you want but until I can afford a high end capture card like the rest of you, I'll be using proper lighting and my TV thank you very much (my dazzle CC is dead anyways)

[Rook]

You could ask CJ, he does tons of recoding on Halo 3.

[Cortexian]

What they need is some kind of PC distribution of a cinematic view of Halo 3 game data. Something that can interpret Halo 3 video saves and play them back in a 3D environment on the PC.

[sdavis117]

Bungie has already thought of that Freelancer. (http://www.bungie.net/fanclub/index/Group/Resources/Article.aspx?cid=437425)

But what I'm using is a high quality DVD recorder and a DVD Ripper in combo to bring Halo 3 videos to my PC.

[Cortexian]

Bungie has already thought of that Freelancer. (http://www.bungie.net/fanclub/index/Group/Resources/Article.aspx?cid=437425)

But what I'm using is a high quality DVD recorder and a DVD Ripper in combo to bring Halo 3 videos to my PC.
Something offline based, that lets you grab the game data onto a USB storage device and then onto your PC and into the viewer/recorder program. That would be the best, something like the Theater, only for PC.