[TUTORIAL] How to make an intro movie!

[Nineaxis]

Thanks all - a very handy thread. Does anyone know if there is a way to compile the video in the with the map or does it have to be placed separately in the media folder like the Valve ones? I remember hearing that the maker of cp_steel (sorry, can't recall the mapper's name) had this problem and just wanted to find out if there was a way round it.

You can use a .res to make the video download off the server into the media folder of the player, the same way language files work.

 

[shpladoink]

argh, i just did a perfect flythrough except for the LAST CORNER WHICH CLIPPED AND NOW I SEE NO WAY TO FIX IT OTHER THAN STARTING OVER THIS IS HORRIBLE oh hi caps lock sup

 

[IceWarrior]

Just one thing. When using the Source Recorder all you have to do is put in this code to get a pure avi video "startmovie <demoname> avi" without the quotes. From here you will see a window come up asking which codec you wish to use. I forget which I use, but I'm sure you'll find one that works best through trial and error.

Don't forget to "playdemo <demoname>" before you start the movie and use endmovie to stop recording.

Also don't forget host_framerate 30 (30 is recommended for normal video, higher is recommended if you intend to do slow-mo scenes. The more FPS the better it looks when being slowed down).

Good tutorial though

 

[JDB]

Hey. I've followed the guide and everything, and it all works in TF2, but when I go on play movie, the movie plays, but it has green lines over it. They're a real eyesore, was wondering how to get rid of them?

I have the same problem, anyone got a solution to fix this?

 

[[O]]

We've certainly seen the little "instructional" movies that comes with VALVe TF2 maps. Here's how you can make your own!




First Step: RECORD YOURSELF PLAYING THE LEVEL

First, you'll need a tool to record yourself playing the level. You can use FRAPS, but it has a 30 second record limit. It'll save the files as AVI.

Although you can record a demo file, you can't convert the demo file into a real video file (not that I've found). That's why you'll need FRAPS.

Optional: If you have a video editor program, it's a good idea to maybe edit different AVI clip files together.

Optional: If you want to add a bit of the music from the VALVe video files You can find three TV tuned sound files in %SteamDir%steamapps%username%team fortress 2tfsoundui that are perfect for the little video.




Second Step: CONVERT THE INFIDEL! uh... I mean THE VIDEO FILE

TF2 will play BIK (Bink) files. You can get the RAD Video Tools here, which will allow you to convert many different video file types into BINK.

Supposedly, TF2 plays uncompressed AVI files. I tried but it didn't work for me. I had to convert them to BIK files.




Third Step: EMBED YOU VIDEO

Next place your BIK video into %SteamDir%steamapps%username%team fortress 2tfmedia directory. Make sure you name your video file the same name as your map, so TF2 knows which it belongs to. Thus, if your map is called CTF_brownstone_beta make sure the video file is also called CTF_brownstone_beta.




Fourth Step: Enjoy a little movie

Now your map should have an option to "Watch Movie". Huzzah!

If you want to test this without going to all this hassle, go to %SteamDir%steamapps%username%team fortress 2tfmedia, copy and rename one of the VALVe BIK movie to the name of your map, and you'll see it plays.




I'm in the middle of editing some AVI files of me playing my map, and I'll post up a real video later. If you absolutely, positively want proof that this works, and you've downloaded my map CTF_brownstone_beta, then download CTF_brownstone_beta.BIK (20MB) and place it in the directory mentioned above. It isn't the finished video, but it works ;D.

Fell free to post any questions or comments. Good luck!

i was wondering if, after following all of the above, the video that is finally shown on the "projector" is black and white with the same "old" look?

or does that have to be worked on in a seperate program before BIKing it?

 

[Bermuda Cake]

While this might be a bit of a necro bump, I think its worth pointing out that TF2 doesn't do any of the flickering effects, and the text underneath must be controlled differently.

 

[Kill_the_Bug]

Hi,

I do motion pcture editiing - can I convert in game recored demos into something that can be edited with Final Cut Pro.

I'm looking for your definiton of "real video file" just to make sure we're on the same page - thanks.

 

[Fruity Snacks]

Hi,

I do motion pcture editiing - can I convert in game recored demos into something that can be edited with Final Cut Pro.

I'm looking for your definiton of "real video file" just to make sure we're on the same page - thanks.

iirc from just reading in on some chat conversations, there might be a way to convert to .avi

 

[Micnax]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to record using the Replay feature now, exporting to a file and then editing/converting it to .bik, rather than using the Source Recorder manually?

 

[Fruity Snacks]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier to record using the Replay feature now, exporting to a file and then editing/converting it to .bik, rather than using the Source Recorder manually?

It depends though on what your doing though, if your doing a flythrough, you need STV. In this case I'd think it'd be okay.

 

[ANova]

You can do a quick and smooth flythru with the replay system but you'll need to mess around with the speed and acc.

 

[Kill_the_Bug]

Hi,

I've looked through various commands in the console - and the list but - can't seem to find what I need and I think it's because the server has to be set with sv_cheats 1 which you can't do if you're not the host.

I'm trying to do some demos (one for halloween and others for intro movies plus general use) but I need to disable everything that I'm seeing on the screen.

Anyone know the commands that I can use on my local to get rid of:

- all the text messages on the lower left hand side of the screen
- the text messages on top right - showing who killed who etc
- player name in the center of the screen as you track a player.

Thought that this would also help others who are looking at making intro movies too.

Thanks

 

[The Asylum]

grahahahaa why does windows movie maker have to be so bad at everything

What's a good video editor for Vista? I'm real good at Adobe After Effects but I wanna know if there's something cheaper/better out there

 

[Pocket]

I've heard good things about Sony Vegas.

 

[MALYSZ]

Hi, I'm new here. Question: Can I use mov file instead of bik?

 

[Freyja]

I do not believe so, bik is used very often in games for some reason.

 

[MALYSZ]

Ok, but why my bik file look like that?

 

[henke37]

Does the file play properly when played using the standalone player?

 

[ForbiddenDonut]

Sony Vegas isn't cheap, but it's incredibly intuitive and fun to use. I absolutely love it.

But yeah, it will stalk your wallet into a dark alley and beat the living crap out of it.

 

[Pocket]

Vegas Pro will, but they have several cheaper "home" versions that are probably good enough for something like this.