Calling All Moviemakers:
Ten Tips For Perfect Streaming Movies At The Flightsim Cineplex
Mike DeCastro, Executive Producer, Flightsim Cineplex
The Flightsim Cineplex has been a huge hit, thanks to the
generous support of the world's flightsim and aviation moviemakers. I want to
take a moment here to thank every desktop moviemaker who has generously uploaded
their clips to the Cineplex so I can share them with the world. The response has
been simply marvelous. If you have submitted a movies, but it has not run yet,
please be patient. I am broadcasting them on a regular schedule and your movie
will eventually wind up at the head of the queue. Check back often to see your
clip.
Upload Your Movie, Get A Free First Class Upgrade
When you upload your movie to the Cineplex and I broadcast it,
we will give you a free, one-year, First Class Membership Upgrade. Be sure to
include your FlightSim.Com user name in the movie description and your email
address on the submission form. For those moviemakers who have uploaded to the
file library, I often pull movies from there to broadcast at the Cineplex. If
you see your movie from the file library at the Cineplex, please send your claim
for First Class Membership to
capmason@flightsim.com. Include your name, the name of your movie file, and
your FlightSim.Com user name.
The Best, Broadcast First
Many of you may wonder what goes though my head as I produce the
Cineplex and why some movies get broadcast ahead of others. Well for starters,
this is not a First-In-First-Out (FIFO) system. I view the Cineplex as any
producer of a hit TV show or cable channel views their content. I have certain
criteria that determine which movies get broadcast first in the queue, which may
be delayed, and which ones end up on the cutting room floor.
Properly formatted movies with complete information that is
requested on the movie upload form, always go to the head of the queue. From
there, those movies that are timely (related to an event in aviation history,
holiday, etc.) and well done, get to be broadcast right away,. Sometimes, if the
content is holiday-related, I might hold a movie's debut for a special occasion
such as D-Day Anniversary, Pearl Harbor Day, VE or VJ Day, ANZAC Day,
Memorial Day, Independence Day, etc. I also consider what's going on at
FlightSim.Com and will often schedule movies to coincide with reviews and
features that are published there.
What does "properly formatted" mean?
Good question. Here's the multi-part answer:
-
Movies need to be in Windows Media WMV format.
-
We do not broadcast or convert QuickTime, AVI or MPEG
movies files.
-
The movie must be no larger than 320x240 pixels.
-
You should encode it using Windows Media Encoder (a free
download from Microsoft) for Windows media server (streaming) and set multiple
bit rates of 548, 340, 282, and 148 Kbps.
-
Don't worry about the length or the file size. I can broadcast
anything from a short clip of a couple of minutes, to a full-length show of 1-2
hours or more.
-
Movies need audio. Whether you use the ambient sound from
FS2004, or add your own sound track you must include audio. I never broadcast a "silent movie."
-
All movies should feature the current flightsims such as FS2004,
CFS3, IL-2 Forgotten Battles and Pacific Fighter, X-Plane 8, etc. I won't
broadcast movies using CFS2, CFS1, or any previous version of Microsoft Flight
Simulator such as FS2002, FS2000, FS98, etc.
What if you want to distribute a large format version of
your movie?
If you want to circulate a large format, high-quality (an
high bit rate) version of your movie, just upload that version to our File
Library in addition to the 320x240 version that you upload to the Cineplex.
Freeware Versus Payware &
Advertisers Versus Non-Advertisers
This is where things get interesting. I will broadcast all
movies that use freeware aircraft and scenery. Most freeware developers have
granted the world permission to use their work for non-commercial purposes
and this fits that license. No problem there at all. Make movies of freeware
add-ons to your heart's delight and you'll always see them broadcast here.
After all, the Cineplex is just one more way we support and encourage the
freeware flightsim world.
Where things get a bit sticky is when the movie features a
payware product such as add-on aircraft or payware scenery. This also
applies to commercials and infomercials from developers who are not current
advertisers at FlightSim.Com. All our current advertisers have granted us a
license to use their products. So, we are "weapons-free" to broadcast your
movies that feature add-on aircraft or scenery from just about all the very
best payware developers. If you see the product advertised or reviewed at
FlightSim.Com, you know that it is among the very best for quality and value
plus that there will be absolutely no problem broadcasting your movie
featuring those products. We are extremely grateful for the continuing
support and cooperation of these payware advertisers that include:
|
Abacus Systems (Vickers Super VC10) |
GMX (Battle of Britain II, Forgotten
Battles Aces Campaigns, F/A-18: Desert Storm |
|
ActiveSky |
FScene |
|
Aerial Foundry (F/A-18 Hornet) |
Horizon Simulations |
|
Aeroplane Heaven |
Icarus Gold |
|
Australian Simulations |
Just Flight |
|
Captain Sim |
Lago |
|
Cloud9 |
Level-D Simulations |
|
DreamFleet |
MegaScenery & MegaCITY |
|
Eaglesoft |
MG Sim |
|
eDimensional |
Mid-Atlantic Air Museum (MAAM-Sim) |
|
Feel There (ERJ 145 Pilot In Command) |
Perfect Flight |
|
Flight 1 |
Shockwave Productions (Wings Of Power) |
|
FS Quality Add-ons |
Visual Flight (VFR scenery) |
Some other developers have chosen not to advertise with
FlightSim.Com or support our efforts to assist the worldwide flightsim
community. Therefore, these few payware developers have not granted us a
license to broadcast movies of their products. Because of that, I cannot
broadcast their movies at the Cineplex. However, you are welcome to upload
these movies to the FlightSim.Com File Library.
- The easiest way to create a desktop movie of your
flightsim action is to use Fraps. The free demo version is available at
www.fraps.com
- Use Microsoft Movie Maker to edit and encode your
finished movie for streaming. It comes with Window XP. You can also
download Movie Maker for free from Microsoft.
- Use these settings when creating your finished movie
using Movie Maker:
Save the Movie Location to "My computer"
Name the movie whatever you want
Select the Movie Setting for Other setting, Video for broadband (340
Kbps)
- Use Windows Media Encoder to convert existing movies to
Windows Media Video format and use these settings:
Click new session.
Select: Convert A File
Select: Source File
Select: Output file name (usually defaults the source name and adds a -1
automatically.
Click: Next
Select: Windows Media server (streaming)
Select Multiple bit rates video (CBR)
Select: KB rates of 300 128 Kbps (or the closest numbers to those rates)
File out: Title, copyright, etc. in display information.
Click next
Click: Finish
- Use fades instead of cuts. When switching between
scenes, use the fade-in and fade-out effects to transition from one
scene to the next.
- Keep the intros and credits short. Avoid leading and
tagging your movies with long intros or elaborate credits.
- Add sound. It can be the ambient sound of the aircraft
from Flight Simulator or you can add a voice-over or music sound track.
This is television and silent movies just aren't very interesting. It's
OK to get creative with your sound track.
- Make it lively and interesting. Show a variety of
views. Display your virtual airmanship and keep the action moving. For
real world aviation movies, frame tight on the action. have the airplane
fill the frame. If shooting an air show, try to position yourself so you
crop out most of the audience interference. When shooting fly-bys, let
the airplane fly into the shot, anticipate the fly-by and start to pan
with it as it flies past your point of view, then hold the camera on
subject and let it fly out of the shot. Watch your camera shake, focus
and the scene lighting. Gruesome airplane crash movies are not
acceptable for broadcast at the Cineplex. We seek to celebrate the
majesty of flight and the beauty of aircraft. We also have a good sense
of humor so comic clips are always welcome.
- Make the movie long or short. But, not too short.
Movies should not be less than 1 minute and can go to any length.
Produce it the same way a director produces a commercial spot,
television program or feature-length movie. TV shows are 30-60 minutes
long including commercial breaks. Movies are 100 to 150 minutes long. 90
minutes is a very long Internet movie so it needs lots of action and
cool scenes to hold viewer attention.
- Use the right gear. The finished movies should run
smoothly without lag, stuttering or drop-outs. It takes a powerful PC to
run FS2004, high-end add-on scenery and desktop video capture. If
Flight Simulator is running smoothly with moderate settings, you
probably have a system that can handle making movies. The minimum
recommendation is FS2004 with stock aircraft and stock scenery, Pentium
4 processor 2.8 GHz (preferably 3 GHz or faster), a 128 MB high performance
ATI RADEON or nVidia GeForce video card, and a large capacity hard
drive. Movies eat up a lot of disk space.
Tell Me What You Want To See At The Cineplex
I want to hear from you. Please tell me what you would like to
see at the Cineplex so I can make this an even better experience for you.
Mike DeCastro, Cineplex Executive Producer
mike@flightsim.com
