SSC Firefly Series/Episode Trailer Contest
POSTED BY: Hera
UPDATED: Thursday, August 3, 2006 15:06
VIEWED: 43129
PAGE 3 of 11
Shiny shiny trailer, naflm!
It led me thru with music and images til I was actually cringing a little.. expecting something to jump out at me.
Great job!
Oh, and don't forget to put the text at the end that Hera suggested! We wanna be all legal like here.
"You hold. Hold 'til I get back." Mal
Click here www.fireflyfans.net for info about the Serenity Summer Campaign and how you can help!
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hera:
What do you think about adding the info text at the end?
Crud, knew there was something I was forgetting. I've added the text to the video description on Youtube, I'll update the video as soon as I get the chance, shouldn't be later than this weekend.
Quote:
How long did it take you, if you don't mind my asking? Any tips you can give on vid making would be appreciated by us.
Longer than it should have, but that's mostly because it was my first attempt at anything like this and a lot of time was spent learning the software. Ended up doing some things two or three times before I learned how to do it right. (The Zoe/Simon dialogure came out sounding like chipmunks the first time I extracted the audio).
First thing I did was sit through the episode making notes of scenes and music that I could use. Don't know why I started with Bushwacked, except that I had probably watched the pilot shortly before reading this thread (which is where I took the Zoe/Simon dialogue from -- is that cheating?). I'm running Linux so I used a couple of tools to convert the dvd and then extract the scenes I wanted (later I learned I could have simply extracted the scenes I wanted directly from the dvd - d'oh!) I'm running Linux so I used Kino for the video editing, Audacity for the audio editing (free, easy to use and available for Windows too) and Mplayer/transcode to merge everything together. Spent most of Sunday and a bit of Monday night putting it all together. (Again, I stress, this is mostly because I was learning and screwed up several times.)
As for hints or tips, keep in mind that I have a wide experience of "once", so there's not much that I feel comfortable in saying. Best I can do is, if you're extracting snippets of video to work with make the snippets a bit longer than the piece you actually want. I don't know about other software but Kino lets you mark how much of the clip to use, I'm assuming other software would have the same feature. Other than that, I guess, maybe, don't use a scene just because you like it. Originally the trailer was a bit longer; it went from the Alliance soldier to Wash's bit of speech at the beginning of the episode ("Oh my god, what could it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing?!") After viewing the trailer a few times I took it out. I really liked the scene, and I wanted to try and switch tones to give a fuller(?) impression of what Firefly is like, but I found that the way I had it was just too jarring.
My main concern right now is that I've created a trailer that will lure people into a false impresion of the show. You know, like the trailers for a movie the studio can't classify easily, so that make a trailer that pigeonholes it as a specific type, then when you see it it's nothing like the commercial?
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I was watching CNN in my office this evening.
YouTube and MySpace films account for millions of hits a day.
Millions.
We want to be seen by millions right folks?
"You hold. Hold 'til I get back." Mal
Click here www.fireflyfans.net for info about the Serenity Summer Campaign and how you can help!
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Quote:
Originally posted by naflm:
My main concern right now is that I've created a trailer that will lure people into a false impresion of the show. You know, like the trailers for a movie the studio can't classify easily, so that make a trailer that pigeonholes it as a specific type, then when you see it it's nothing like the commercial?
Hey NAFLM, sorry took so long to get back to you. Work is hell, getting in the way of the fun stuff.
I don't think your trailer gave a false impression at all. That is a very creepy episode, so your direction was a valid one to take.
There's an interesting discussion in another thread that you may enjoy. I dropped a bunch of stuff in there on video tutorials, which I also added to the post at the top of this thread, for reference.
http://fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=2&t=22392
Keep us posted! Would like to see more of your work.
-Hera
"Wanna?" – Mal to Kaylee, Out of Gas
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Hey there folks. I know I'm kinda late to the party but I just had to pop in and say I'm in. I'll be working on some things as soon as I can get the eps downloaded.
And how about that prize. I didn't know there wasa prize. Now curiosity is eating me alive. What is it? I must know. (al la Invader Zim) Tell MEEEEE. Tell me the seecrets!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Op: You're fighting a war you've already lost.
Mal: Yeah, well I'm known for that.
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Here's my question.
Is this just for the series?
I have a nugget of an idea for a trailer of both the series and the BDM.
Would that count?
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Quote:
Originally posted by Kayna:
Hey there folks. I know I'm kinda late to the party but I just had to pop in and say I'm in. I'll be working on some things as soon as I can get the eps downloaded.
And how about that prize. I didn't know there was a prize. Now curiosity is eating me alive. What is it? I must know. (al la Invader Zim) Tell MEEEEE. Tell me the seecrets!
You're not late to the party, Kayna, we're just hitting our stride! I'm glad you're in and interesting in trying your hand at this.
What we have in mind for first prize is a trophy adorned with the Serenity ornament from Dark Horse Comics (6" x 3.5"):
The ornament will be mounted to a custom designed base (as we're of the opinion that the base that comes with the ornament may be too small or unsuitable for inscription). The trophy will be inscribed with the name of the winning entrant, dates, Serenity Summer Campaign Firefly Trailer Challenge, etc.
We're developing a wall plaque for runner-ups, honorable mentions.
Will post more info on the prizes as things develop. Also, who the judges will be.
Waddya think?
-Hera
"Wanna?" – Mal to Kaylee, Out of Gas
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Quote:
Originally posted by dopeyname101:
Here's my question.
Is this just for the series?
I have a nugget of an idea for a trailer of both the series and the BDM.
Would that count?
Hey there Dopeyname101 (great alias, btw), I think inspiration for the project is what means most to us folks, since we do this for fun and not profit. I'm psyched you have ideas you want to explore! If I were talented enough to do a vid project, I would want to tackle both, for a sense of completeness and a certain 'artistic balance'.
Since we're shooting for a level playing field in the contest, you can do both of your ideas, but only place the FF trailer as an entrant.
The reasoning behind this caveat is that TV is a different animal from cinema. The story telling is different, the development of charactor is slower, the imagery less grandiose, more intimate. Serenity to FF may be apples to oranges. It's best to keep them separate.
But also, a Serenity trailer would be a useful thing to have! Anything to spread the word to new folks.
How does that sit with you? Thoughts? Opinions?
-Hera
"Wanna?" – Mal to Kaylee, Out of Gas
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Actually, what I meant was a single trailer utilizing footage and dialogue from both the series and the BDM.
More of a trailer fore the 'Verse, really.
Oh well. I guess I'll just go ahead and make it and not enter it in the contest.
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Quote:
Originally posted by dopeyname101:
Actually, what I meant was a single trailer utilizing footage and dialogue from both the series and the BDM.
More of a trailer fore the 'Verse, really.
Oh well. I guess I'll just go ahead and make it and not enter it in the contest.
Since we've never done anything like this afore, being new territory and all, I'm thinking we need more categories in order for this contest to work properly. This is me thinking out loud here, so:
FIRST-TIME VIDDERS
Best First Effort-Series Overview
Best First Effort-Single Episode
Best First Effort-All Episodes (14 entries)
Best Single Episode
Best Series Overview
Best All Episodes
Best None of the Above
Of course, they would have shinier titles, but this is a rough list for now.
You could enter your trailer into the "None of the Above Category". FFF are very creative people, and I don't want to squelch anyones enthusiasm because of the structure necessary in order to hold a contest in the first place.
What say you on this approach?
-Hera
"Wanna?" – Mal to Kaylee, Out of Gas
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