Vidder Maker Workshop -- The Six Gates VidTech FAQ
The quest:  When you finish this workshop, you will have a video posted on YouTube. 

This unit is intended to support Learn on Demand (LOD).  Feel free to learn the whole thing by yourself.  Sometimes I offer a class to help.  But I think these pages provide all you need to know to get started.  The class is just to clear up questions.

Inworld resources from Thinkerer Studios
Go to Cookie  Video Venue


YouTube

Resources by Linden Labs
Wiki: Machinima Page

Wiki: Video tutorials
   

 

The First Gate: Camera tech crib sheet (Windows)  
Prep before starting
Notes
1. Check your disk for space.  You will need about 10 G for practice.  More for serious work.   An external drive is a good option.  I get mine from Wal-Mart.   No rebates, just low prices. 
2. Check your disk for fragmentation.  You probably need to defrag.   This may take hours, so start a day early. 

 

The First Gate: Camera tech crib sheet (Windows)   Notes  Feel free to do the rest of this on your own and skip the class.
1. Install free version of Fraps. Open Fraps Fraps.  Start with free version.  You will want the registered version later.
Movies tab.  I save video clips in a file on my internal drive. As soon as I finish a collection session, I move the files to a working directory on an external drive.  I use a separate working directory for each video project.  I leave them there until I finish editing and have posted the final copy. 

I specify a different directory for the stills that I collect.  With Fraps, they are .jpg files, so I take lots of them.  Using a different directory keeps them separate from the vid clips.   

Check "Record Sound."  The resulting clip will include the sound from the game.  When you build the video in WMM, you can adjust the volume of this sound or turn it off. 

2. Check vid file destination drive.  Want 10 G free space on the drive.   
3. Set Fraps to full size, 30 FPS. Otherwise, take defaults.  If your machine it slow or is low on space, set Fraps to half size.
5. Connect to Second life. Note the yellow frame rate counter in a corner of your SL window. Yellow means ready.  Red means recording.  Above 15 means happiness.

If you don't see the yellow frame rate counter on your SL window, open the FPS tab.  Be sure the counter is enabled and that one of the white circles on the black placement panel has a dot in it.
4. Vid capture.  Take about 25 sec of vid.

F9 toggles vid capture on and off. The yellow frame rate counter turns red to show that video capture is on.  Each toggle makes a new avi file. 

You will soon wonder how to clear the User Interface off the screen:  See: VidTech FAQ

6. Play raw vid (.avi) with win Media Player

Try playing it in full size.

7. Give your vid file a name you will recognize next week.

Or don't.  You will learn why next week. 

Alert!  Your raw video file is too big for anything but use on your machine.  If you want to send it to someone else, you must go to gate 2, where you will see how to compress it with WMM,   

You are now a camera tech.

There is more to learn, but let it wait while you enjoy your passage through the first gate.  

 

Your Power Badge for the First Gate  
You have at least one 25 second video clip in raw (.avi) format.  
When you have this Power Badge, you have mastered the First Gate You are ready to challenge the Second Gate

 

The six gates  
Camera tech crib sheet Camera tips
Selection editor crib sheet.  Select and compress what you want to keep. VidTech FAQ
Clip trimmer crib sheet  
VO Tech crib sheet  
VO Talent crib sheet  
Vid finishing crib sheet  
   
The Thinkerer 06/15/2008
Copyright (c) D. F. Dansereau & S. H. Evans

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