The Nanny's TW Video Gallery and Vid Tech Help (Feb 20th New VID!)

[Nanny de Bodemloze]

How do you always find your soundtracks ?

I always have my ears open for them...I saw the trailer for Inception at the theatres, and then for the rest of the movie I was there to watch I was thinking about how to use that music LOL

[Emperor BLUBBS VII]

Your poets of the realm trailer looks amazing!! I cant wait till the full movie is released!!!

[Nanny de Bodemloze]

Promo for the highly entertaining Historical Fiction section of these forums... Watch in full HD!

[Nanny de Bodemloze]

I've had a few questions about applying black bars in Movie Maker to hide screen radars and HUDs from people who didn't take the course. So, here is the ♔LuckyLewis♔ awesome method for doing this (rep him!!)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Overlay Technique for Windows Movie Maker

In some of the Total War games, it can be considered quite hard to hide the entire UI. As a remedy to this, we can hide the UI ourselves using this nice little technique.

1. Download PapaJohn's Vista Overlays here for Vista/Win7 or here for XP

2. Thankfully, this addon does require you to make the XML document yourself, so extract the XML document to C:/Program Files/Movie Maker/Shared/AddonTFX Ignore the .png images and do not extract them!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Location of AddonTFX folder:

3. We will be using a pre-made black border in order to hide the UI. I made a new .png using a transparent background and added a black border to it, big enough to hide the game's UI.

Here is the background image I used, either make your own or save this one to your computer and make sure it is in .png format.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...s/overlay1.png

4. Rename your background image as overlay1, you won't have to if you use my background.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

5. Copy and paste the new overlay1.png file into your C:/Program Files/Movie Maker/Shared/

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

6. Start up Windows Movie Maker, select the first scene from your movie and try to add text by using 'Title on the selected clip'. You should see the overlay as the options for the 'change title animation' as 'overlay1'. You will have to write something in order for the border to work, so just put a space in the 'Enter text for title' area.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

7. You should now be able to see the overlay over the selected first clip, extend the border across the entire movie.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

5. Play your movie and see if the border works

My Example video - showing a before and after using the technique


--------------
Additional info, from a Lewis post where someone's overlay wasn't working in Windows 7:

He is most likely using the overlays addon for Movie Maker 6.0 instead of the overlays for Movie Maker 2.1 & 2.6. That is why it isn't working in 2.6. He needs to download this version instead:

http://www.papajohn.org/Downloads/PapaJohn-Overlays.zip

I tried it myself using the link above and it worked fine in 2.6. Tell him to do the same as before. He should put the .xml into the AddOnTFX folder and all the .png images into the shared directory. He should then replace overlay1 with the black borders I provided.

This is somewhat my fault as in the lesson what I wrote was misleading. I said this in the lesson:

"Quote:
1. Download PapaJohn's Vista Overlays here for Vista/Win7 or here for XP
. "

Where I said Vista/Win7, I actually meant Movie Maker 6.0 and when I said XP, I should have said Movie Maker 2.1 & 2.6. So perhaps we should fix that.

.

[Nanny de Bodemloze]

THIS IS NOT MY VID******
THIS IS NOT MY VID******
Megadorku is the guy.. it is worth watching...one of the best M2TW vids I've seen...wow



Wow.

[bushranger]

will the black bars work for the new movie maker or will i have to back to the old one,which i might do anyway it was a lot less buggy.

[Nanny de Bodemloze]

I have never been able to get the bars working in a win7 OS regardless of what MM I'm using. Now, the link says vista/7, so maybe I just wasn't trying hard enough. But, the 2.6 MM version is the best one, IMHO.

[Tim1988]

THIS IS NOT MY VID******
THIS IS NOT MY VID******
Megadorkuru is the guy.. it is worth watching...one of the best M2TW vids I've seen...wow



Wow.

Wow. I think this is the best TW video i've seen so far (and that's saying something because The Nanny, I love your vids). Absolutely mind blowing. Is this guy on twcenter so I can rep him?

[Nanny de Bodemloze]

I'm not sure...I've sent him a message on youtube

[Nanny de Bodemloze]

Unlocking the Camera in ETW/NTW:

"Debugging" the Camera
In ETW and NTW, the camera is "locked" at a minimum (about eye level for the troops) and a maximum height. For many camera shots, you'd like to be lower, higher, and closer. To do this, you need to unlock the camera.

This step can be tricky if you are trying to change your in-game graphics and settings. We suggest not debugging the camera until you have done the following:

• set all of you graphics options to your optimal recording settings - that is, best graphics you can get while still getting an acceptable FPS while FRAPS is recording.
• in OPTIONS, you have the "camera control" type that you want...we suggest TW Style
• you have turned off all flags, shooting range/radius graphics, and any other interface options that will interfere with the video.

VERY IMPORTANT: If you make any of these changes after you have debugged the camera, the camera will immediately resort to vanilla (don't know why).

Now, if your game settings are where you want them, you can follow these steps to debug and unlock the camera:

1. In Vista, go to the "preferences.script" file in the folder C:\Users\owner\AppData\Roaming\The Creative Assembly\Napoleon\scripts (substitute Empire for Napoleon in ETW)
2. Open the file, find the line "default_camera_type" and change the following number to 2 (it will either be set at 0 or 1).
3. Save the file and close. Now right click the file to see the preferences, and set it to "read only". If you do not do this step, the 2 will always change to a 0 whenever you change your in-game options/settings.

[Nanny de Bodemloze]

(courtesy of LuckyLewis who found this gem...) OK, here is a lesson in SOMETIMES, LESS IS MORE...



Think of the depth of story this guy conveys with almost no action (like the grenade part of 3:11....you know what happened there but he didn't need to show it). A good object lesson in minimalism I think.

[Neige Noire]

Yeah, you're so right. Although half of this video is music. Without the awesome audio this video would be much less attractive. Actually most people do not even realize how big a role music plays in a video. If the actual picture isn't that good, the sound (if chosen wisely) can do much more than just make up to it.

Still, it's a wonderful video and a great find. Thanks for showing it to us, Nanny.

[Nanny de Bodemloze]

CREATING CINEMATIC BLACK BARS IN SONY VEGAS

These bars have two purposes for our TW vids: to cover things like radars, units tabs, FRAPs watermarks etc; and to help better direct the audience eye to where you want it to focus.

How to create them in Sony Vegas:

1. Select the clip you wish to add the bars to in your timeline
2. Click on the "Crop" box on the clip on the middle right-hand side (it is white if there has been no cropping, green if some cropping has been applied
3. The crop window should now open. Within in the window, you can select one of many pre-set crops in the Present pulldown.
4. If you wish to create your own, at this point unlock the ratio lock by clicking the Lock Aspect Ratio button on the left hand side of the box. Now you can move any corner or side of your crop space to your desired shape. When you are done, be sure to type in a new name for your shape in the Present window, and click the Save button on the right hand side.

[Ltflak]

Unlocking the Camera in ETW/NTW:

"Debugging" the Camera
In ETW and NTW, the camera is "locked" at a minimum (about eye level for the troops) and a maximum height. For many camera shots, you'd like to be lower, higher, and closer. To do this, you need to unlock the camera.

This step can be tricky if you are trying to change your in-game graphics and settings. We suggest not debugging the camera until you have done the following:

• set all of you graphics options to your optimal recording settings - that is, best graphics you can get while still getting an acceptable FPS while FRAPS is recording.
• in OPTIONS, you have the "camera control" type that you want...we suggest TW Style
• you have turned off all flags, shooting range/radius graphics, and any other interface options that will interfere with the video.

VERY IMPORTANT: If you make any of these changes after you have debugged the camera, the camera will immediately resort to vanilla (don't know why).

Now, if your game settings are where you want them, you can follow these steps to debug and unlock the camera:

1. In Vista, go to the "preferences.script" file in the folder C:\Users\owner\AppData\Roaming\The Creative Assembly\Napoleon\scripts (substitute Empire for Napoleon in ETW)
2. Open the file, find the line "default_camera_type" and change the following number to 2 (it will either be set at 0 or 1).
3. Save the file and close. Now right click the file to see the preferences, and set it to "read only". If you do not do this step, the 2 will always change to a 0 whenever you change your in-game options/settings.

I just tried this but I've noticed no change in camera abilities...but by default_camera_type is definitely set on 2...

[secrola]

Hi I'm at4214 from youtube who just asked you about the video =D I'm using Windows 7 and i use sony vegas and fraps to edit/record.

[Nanny de Bodemloze]

Hi I'm at4214 from youtube who just asked you about the video =D I'm using Windows 7 and i use sony vegas and fraps to edit/record.

hey there mate! welcome to TWC

ok your questions on youtube...Well if you are using Vegas, this makes things easier. To maker sure the cursor isn't visible, I always place my cursor in the very top or very bottom of the screen. Then, the cursor along with the other HUD and screen noise can be covered with black bars using this method:

CREATING CINEMATIC BLACK BARS IN SONY VEGAS

These bars have two purposes for our TW vids: to cover things like radars, units tabs, FRAPs watermarks etc; and to help better direct the audience eye to where you want it to focus.

How to create them in Sony Vegas:

1. Select the clip you wish to add the bars to in your timeline
2. Click on the "Crop" box on the clip on the middle right-hand side (it is white if there has been no cropping, green if some cropping has been applied
3. The crop window should now open. Within in the window, you can select one of many pre-set crops in the Present pulldown.
4. If you wish to create your own, at this point unlock the ratio lock by clicking the Lock Aspect Ratio button on the left hand side of the box. Now you can move any corner or side of your crop space to your desired shape. When you are done, be sure to type in a new name for your shape in the Present window, and click the Save button on the right hand side.

I you don't with to see the black bars, but still want to get rid of curser and HUD on the other parts of the screen, you can zoom in with that crop box until it all disappears...however, you will lose some resolution by doing this.

If you post specific questions, it is easier to help you out...for example, if you see something specific you want to know how to do, link me the vid and give me a specific time and I'll try to tell you how that is done

cheers!

Nanny

[secrola]

Hello for example the zoom and then the camera goes blurry and comes back like it's adjusting the focus 3:39 to 3:41 in ur video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhsLFb9OSio

[Nanny de Bodemloze]

Hello for example the zoom and then the camera goes blurry and comes back like it's adjusting the focus 3:39 to 3:41 in ur video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhsLFb9OSio

That is the effect "Defocus" in the effect list. How I do that is apply the effect to the clip, then in the EFFECT timeline, I create 4 points. Point one has the effect strength at zero. Second point is also zero...and is located a split second before I want the effect. 3rd point is the effect at whatever strength I want. 4th point is back to zero strength, a split second later.

[EmperorBatman999]

Promo for the highly entertaining Historical Fiction section of these forums... Watch in full HD!

Why isn't my short story in there? Couldn't find any clips of dying German soldiers eh?

[Nanny de Bodemloze]

well your story was posted in April. I was only going to go back so far.

No matter what you do sometimes, somebody complains