LBP2 filmmaking (cut-scenes, movie levels)

[shebhnt]

This is the best thing EVER!!!

This is what I've been wanting since it came out! Finally I can use all that film stuff I learned in college and instead of trying to get a career I can spend the time making amazing movies!!!

In all seriousness, this is what excites me the most about the sequel. I feel like also I could really go to town with it. I also feels like I am going to have to re start my blog once it comes out because I can finally use real examples of camera work and dialogue to show my points.

This also means that the idea of writing scripts for levels is finally justified in my head... time to pull up the ol' Final Draft.

[RangerZero]

I didn't realise the cut-scene maker was this deep!
Wow Tee, I am looking forward to what you will pull off with all of this

[lk9988]

This cinematic tool is quite the godsend to those who wish to create a good plot. I'm more of a gameplay person, so I probably won't use this tool too often, but I'll still take a good look at what it can do. I am very glad though, I thought cinematic tools were going to be overlooked, but turns out I'm wrong.

[Modest-Genius]

This is going to make new collaborations. One person working on the gameplay and level, someone else working on the plot, cut-scenes etc.

[Teebonesy]

New details! this stuff from IGN's article:

you've full control over camera position, movement (including tilt, zoom and shake), transitions and timings. You can even record full voice work for your happy parade of Sackboys, should you want to really set your directing chops noshing. Cameras alone add a whole new level of polish to the game - and can significantly alter the action itself with a bit of creativity. Yet they're only the first phase in expanding LittleBigPlanet's scope exponentially.

Camera position, movement, TRANSITIONS, and timings. So we may see options like dissolving between cameras and fades in and out.

It's also been confirmed that you can jump into a sackbot to record your own animations to use for the cutscenes as well.

Getting better all the time. Now if only custom foregrounds and backgrounds would be implemented...

One quote somewhere - forgot where - said that using the new cinematic angles, "people won't need the layer glitch" because the wider variety of camera angles will add more depth to shots that are usually more flat.

But this doesn't give me certain shots I want to do, like a camera floating past objects going forward. With the layer glitch and a "dolly in" move, you could create a full bustling street with the camera walking down it, giving the impression of a wide open, fully-3D sandbox world. without custom backgrounds and foregrounds, this will not be possible, or we'll have to rediscover a layer glitch for LBP2...

[standby250]

I'm looking forward to this feature. Don't you think it'd be cool as an intro to a series of levels that you might be making - to kind of set the mood, and tell people what's going on before the player leaps into the action!

[Teebonesy]

I'm looking forward to this feature. Don't you think it'd be cool as an intro to a series of levels that you might be making - to kind of set the mood, and tell people what's going on before the player leaps into the action!

And if you wanted, you could create an optional standalone story intro that people could skip if they wanted to get straight into the action.

Another cutscene shot:

Deep in the mushroom kingdom...

[Darth]

You sure can zoom out far. To be honest, I think it'd look better with a clear background, maybe with a few more clouds.

And I wonder what those weird front thin layer shapes are about...

[Teebonesy]

HUGE new details from Alex Evans!

If you use the cut-scene camera [in LBP 2], the first button you get is “angle.” Change the camera angle. You don’t have to know anything about cinema to get that. But if you want to go deeper into the onion skin, you get to depth of field, rack focus, dollying, all these different features. They’re there for you. You can discover them at your own pace.

I would make some abstract interface for editing timelines, and Chris, the guy who implemented it was like, “No, it’s very simple. You’ll take a camera, and you’ll wire it to the next camera you want physically. So if you want a sequence of cameras, you’ll just wire them together in a daisy chain.”

Very elegant-sounding system. But this is also a confirmation of dolly moves, focus tweaks, and how "editing" works.

I just can't wait to dig into this.

[Shadowcrazy]

so TEE does this mean that i can expect the sequel to the legend of the DEEP ONE to be a movie made by you? because i really would love to see a monster flick and that level makes me anticipate a sequel for LBP2....let me know im getting too excited just thinking about it

[JspOt]

Awesome cutscenes and lbp levels that are movies in reality!
WWWOOOOOHHHOOOOOOOO!!!

[TripleTremelo]

Tee, what is 'dollying' exactly?

Man I have some good ideas now, the wait is about as short as we could hope for and it's still agonizingly long... and it's only been a few hours...

[shebhnt]

Dollying is refers to when you set your camera onto a dolly which can look like many different things but all are basically platforms on wheels. Dollying is the movement of pushing the dolly and thus moving the camera.

You see it all the times in movies, the character walks down the street and the camera moves along with him. The character realizes something and the camera moves in towards his face.

Like I said, I am already thinking about how I need to redo my film maker's blog so that it covers actual camera techniques.

[Teebonesy]

Well, it's confirmed: LBP2 will have an over-the-shoulder view to look down the planes. ZOMG

I would LOOOVE to finish Legend of the Deep One and to make it really epic and fun. I think I'd rather make it playable actually, but it's surely something I'll revisit in LBP2. Glad to hear you like it! Sorry for never finishing it. It just sort of sits there now, in the water, full of potential but really only halfway there.

Tee, what is 'dollying' exactly?

When I refer to dollying here, and I think when most of the articles refer to it, we're specifically talking about the camera itself moving forward and back - as opposed to just ZOOMING in and out which gives a different effect... hopefully we can zoom in and out too.
Hah, which means you could animate a "vertigo" effect and zoom in and while dollying out (or vice versa). Will be especially great if we can manage to get a sackbot to remove his sunglasses and say "oh my GOD."

[BasketSnake]

I have a feeling that heavy metal mullet planet will turn into a rock concert.

[TripleTremelo]

So basically dollying is exactly what I wanted for a C&E level Cool.

[Sehven•]

I liked your narration of the cutscene shots. Does anybody else think it was a metaphor for the war in Isaq?

You can never let your movie take itself seriously - it's going to be sack-people, floppy and grinning and button-eyed. If you can find a way to create a funny, touching, whimsical tale using the tools provided, I think you could really surprise people with what's possible with these tools.

On the contrary, I think an lbp movie that took itself extremely seriously would be hilarious in an ironic way. You'd have to do it just right, though. Otherwise it would just be corny. I doubt there's very many serious lbp creators who could pull it off.

[Teebonesy]

On the contrary, I think an lbp movie that took itself extremely seriously would be hilarious in an ironic way. You'd have to do it just right, though. Otherwise it would just be corny. I doubt there's very many serious lbp creators who could pull it off.

Hah, you're absolutely right about that, but doesn't the knowledge of the irony strip it of its "seriousness"? If you know the tone will make it MORE funny, then you're aiming for comedy!
Except of course for the many out there that may not realize this simple truth, and will accidentally create hilarious movies. Oooh, that's going to be entertaining!

You're totally right though, doing a grimly earnest and serious story could be hilarious.
*dollying behind sackboy as he walks down street. other happier sackpeople populate the streets, pushing babystrollers with tiny sack-babies with giant heads*
gravelly voice over: The days were blurring together. I knew my father's killer was out there. He was just waiting for me to find him.
*cut to reverse shot, looking at sackboy with an angry face, walking toward the camera, passing all the other sackpeople*
gravelly voice over:Laughing at me. I could see his face in my memory. Could hear that laugh. Like he was right there. In front of me. A man don't forget a face like that.

*cut to a picture hanging on a wall along with newspaper clippings and notes. The picture is of a sackboy, he's so adorable! His little angry face and eyepatch. He's got a bandana on like he's so tough, it's just the cutest thing!*
"Jonathan Kage his name was. The rain fell outside my window. In every drop I could hear the echoes of his laughter as the light left my father's eyes."
*cut to closeup of a smoking ashy cigarette in an ashtray*
"I'm going to find him. I'm going to find him and I'm going to kill him. There's just something I've got to do first."
*cut to sackboy sitting oh-so-cute on his couch*
"I'm going to finish this whiskey."

[Sehven•]

As soon as I read "...my father's killer..." I cracked up. That would be hilarious.

You could even go all Joss Whedon and make something silly and funny, but with a serious undertone and a tragic twist ending.







.........................I'm talking about Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blogs for those who didn't get the reference.