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分享为游戏制作视频需注意的事项

发布时间:2014-07-03 15:51:34 Tags:,,,,

作者:Kirill Kliushkin

最近我们在Alconost工作室为游戏制作了一些视频,在与客户合作的过程中,我们再次听到了之前的问题:我们应该呈现什么内容,视频是否要有画外音,将其翻译成多种语言的成本是否昂贵,我们需要哪些源素材,我们如何剪辑移动设备上的画面……为了统一解答这些问题,我们将在此分享自己制作游戏视频的一些特定例子。

我们认为自己的经历也许会对尝试独立制作视频的人,以及正在为游戏寻找视频制作外包人员的开发者有所帮助。

以下就是视频制作过程:

选择一种视频类型

我们向客户提出的第一个问题就是:“你为什么需要视频?”我们会根据对方的回答提出以下视频类型的建议:

*预告片:不含玩法,也不会展示游戏的特定内容。但可以创造出吸引观众的噱头。

*游戏内置视频:作为简介或结束视频,或者过场动画。也可以放置于游戏评论中。

*宣传片:可以呈现玩法和游戏特征。适用于吸引潜在玩家的任何地方,例如游戏内置广告,社交网络和网络媒体,甚至是商场/商店中的电视。

理念和脚本

游戏内置视频的故事一般都要跟随游戏情节来走,预告片像游戏本身一样能够激发人们的情感,而宣传片则可以快速让观众见识游戏玩法,以及游戏的特征所在。

在编写脚本时,我们会将文件划分为三个栏目:场景用途,视频情节,以及画外音文本。

在编写脚本时,我们会先从“场景用途”开始。我们会针对每个场景撰写一句话内容,概括为何该场景有必要出现在这个视频中。这可以是“视频的起点以及游戏的简介”,“主要独特功能”,“核心玩法”或是“行动号召”。这样我们就确立了场景序列并形成了脚本的轮廓。

当只有场景用途场景具有文本内容,而其他栏目还是空白的时候,就比较容易注意和修正叙事流程中的漏洞。

描述视频情景的细节量取决于接手该项目的视频设计师的天份和艺术眼光。对于我们中的一些人来说,你所需要的就只是写下“logo伴随耀眼的动画出现”这种文字,并给予一个参考链接,但在许多情况下,我们还得更具体一点——“在对象出现时增加一个弹跳效果和减少不透明度,从左边向中间加速。”等等。

有一点极为重要:每个场景的画外音数量必须与视频中的事件数量对应。以下就是我们计算这种平衡的方法:

2个画外音文字=1秒

1个主要屏幕事件=1-2秒

源素材

我们当然也可以自己制作所有的图像。但既然客户已在游戏制作过程中完成了角色插图、游戏界面、背景、关卡等其他视觉元素时,我们何须再去花这种时间和预算?我们可以简单地截取这些源素材(图层、psd、ai文件上、3D模型等)并自己添加所有必要的感觉。通常情况下客户提供的图像已经完全足够制作一个视频了。

sources for Landgrabbers(from gamedev)

sources for Landgrabbers(from gamedev)

顺便一提,我们推荐一款在iOS设备上截取视频的优秀应用Reflector(其试用版本允许一次性记录长达10分钟的视频,这已经足够呈现玩法了)。我们还没有发现与之同样好用的Android应用产品。

故事板

故事板允许我们在工作远未结束之前形象化呈现视频内容。

故事板可以根据视频复杂程度呈现不同形式:包括一系列的手绘草图,以及选自视频内容的静态图。为故事板添加细节意味着避免客户在之后的工作阶段出现意外的评价(也就是说可以进行更少的修正和花更少的时间)。我们会在故事板中尽量纳入视频中的关键场景。

storyboard for Darklings(from gamedev)

storyboard for Darklings(from gamedev)

我们的经验表明,没有故事板最终很可能产生意想不到和无法预测的结果。

画外音

游戏视频需要配音吗?我们的回答是肯定的。声音是虏获观众而不可忽略的重要元素。无画外音的视频更易于切换成其他语言版本(因为你不需要重制可能与原版有所不同,必须配合新音轨的动画),但削减制作成本与削弱视频影响力比起来更像是一种得不偿失的节约行为。

用一名业余人员来代替专业配音人员是不是更值当的选择呢?当然不是。

专业配音师会在隔音出色的工作室中的昂贵设备上录下自己的声音。其声音记录较均匀,不会出现音量或频率上的波动。这些专业人员通常会手持宣传和信息文本并恰当地开口:不会出现大幅度的情绪波动以及不必要的声音。这种声音较容易与音频和音乐进行合成。

注意,音频总是先于动画制作之前进行记录,动画只能根据现成的配音来制作。如果反其道而行就会浪费大量时间。如果你无法马上录制一个配音,有一个折衷的办法就是,首先录制一个“粗略版”配音(可以是你自己通过耳麦录制的声音),并据此制作动画。过后再让配音人员以高质量的水平阅读文本,令其匹配草稿配音的时间。但这将为配音人员增长30至50%的工作量。

需要注意的是,如果你是用另一种语言录音,一定只能用本地语言使用者来配音!

动画

这个阶段的话题本身就足够另起一文了。这正是发生奇迹的地方,它会将静态图片转化成移动、富有感情色彩的视频。我们的建议是:

*动画要配合音乐。通常情况下我们会给视频制作人员一个节拍器,以便他们根据音乐节奏来制作所有的视频事件的动画。

*动画必须遵循迪士尼12项基本原则

*视频中的摄像视角必须是活跃而非静止的。即便视频中仅含静态对象(例如logo和URL),也应该让摄像机进行一点转变,缩放或者轻微摇动和“呼吸”。

音乐和音频

我们会针对每个项目重新编写音乐,或者从http://audiojungle.net/, http://www.neosounds.com/, http://www.premiumbeat.com/等网站购买无版税的音轨。

那么我们该如何选择合适的音轨呢?显然音乐必须符合视频的基调和内容,音乐不应该含有粗鲁或可能转移观众注意力的唐突之音。通常最佳音轨会包含脉冲以及特征明显的低音。

视频中所有的事件都应该用声音做标记,这样整体视频就会更为顺畅。确保配音够大,但要进行一点压缩,并且其频率不会与音乐重叠。

本土化

对视频进行合理的本土化操作包含许多任务:翻译所有出现在屏幕上的文本,重新截取本土化后的游戏玩法视频,录制新的配音,重新调整动画以便它跟上新配音的节拍。根据视频复杂程度,完整的本土化操作可能会在原版视频的基础上增加50-90%的预算。

低预算的本土化选择就是只翻译屏幕上出现的文本并添加目标语言的字幕。

总结

做到这一步视频就算完工了,如果打算在游戏内部中使用视频,就要将其整合到游戏中。预告片和宣传片可以传送到社交网络、博客和媒体网站上,以便引起潜在玩家注意,并进行宣传预热——甚至可以添加到应用商店页面中。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

How To Make Videos For Games

By Kirill Kliushkin

Recently we at Alconost were producing several videos for games and, in the process of working with clients, we heard questions again that we had heard before: what should we show, should the video have a voiceover or not, how expensive is it to translate into multiple languages, what source materials do we need, how can we capture video of the screen of a mobile device… To answer these burning questions once and for all, we would like to share with you and give specific examples of how we make videos for games.

We think our experience will be useful both to anyone who is trying to produce video independently and to developers who are outsourcing creation of video for their games.

Here is the video creation process:

Choosing a video type

The first we question we ask our clients is, “Why do you need a video?” Based on this answer, we propose one of the following video types:

- Teaser. No gameplay is shown and nothing specific about the game is said. But we create interest in the game and tease the viewer.

Example: Our teaser for the gloomy and addictive game Darklings 2 from Mildmania

- In-game video. Used as an intro or closing video or cut scene. Can be placed in game reviews as well.

Example: Our opening for Lost In Reefs from Rumbic Studio

- Trailer showing gameplay and game features. Used everywhere suitable for attracting the attention of a potential gamer: in-app advertising, social networks and online media, even TVs at malls/stores.

Example: Our trailer for the multiplayer version of LandGrabbers from Nevosoft

Idea and script

The storyline of an in-game video always follows the plot of the game, a teaser evokes the same feelings and emotions as the game itself, and the trailer immediately dives into the gameplay and the essence of what makes the game special.

When writing the script, we split the document into three columns: Scene Purpose, Video Action, and Voiceover Text.

When writing a script, we start with the “Scene Purpose” column. For each scene we write a one-sentence outline of why the scene is necessary in the video. This could be “Beginning of the video and introduction to the game”, “Main unique feature”, “Engrossing gameplay”, or “Call to action”. So we establish the sequence of scenes and form a bare-bones outline of the script.

When there is text only in the Scene Purpose column and the other columns are empty, it is easy to spot and fix any errors in the flow of the narrative.

The amount of detail necessary for describing the video action depends on the talent and artistic flair of the video designer who will be working on the project. For some of our people, all you need to do is write “logo appears with a spiffy animation” and give a link to a reference; in a handful of cases, we have needed to be more specific – “an object appears by increasing the scale with a bounce effect and reduced opacity, with acceleration from the left edge towards the center”, and so on.

Very important: The amount of voiceover text in each scene must match the number of events in the video. Here is how we calculate the balance:

2 voiceover words = 1 second

One major on-screen event = 1–2 seconds.

Source materials

We can, of course, make all of the graphics ourselves. But why spend time and client budget if, during the game creation process, the client has already done enormous work to illustrate the characters, game interface, backgrounds, levels, and other visuals? We can simply take these source materials (layered .psd or .ai files, 3D models, etc.) and add all of the necessary touches ourselves. Oftentimes the graphics provided by the client are entirely sufficient for creating a video.

Example: Sources for Landgrabbers

Incidentally, we can recommend a good app for getting video grabs on iOS devices: Reflector (the trial version allows recording up to 10 minutes of video in a single session, which is more than enough for showing gameplay). We have not found an Android equivalent that is quite as convenient, so if you have any recommendations we will be glad to hear them!

Storyboard

The storyboard allows us to visualize the video long before the work is finished.

Depending on how complicated the video is, the storyboard can take on different forms: from a set of hand-drawn sketches to near-stills from the video-to-be. Adding detail to the storyboard means fewer unexpected comments from clients at later stages of work (which means fewer fixes and less time spent). We try to include all of the key scenes in the video in the storyboard.

Example: Storyboard for Darklings

Our experience shows that going without a storyboard makes the end result unknowable and unpredictable.

Voiceover

Does a game video need a voice? Our answer is yes, it does. Voice is too important of an avenue for reaching viewers to be ignored. Voiceover-free videos are easier to localize into other languages (since you do not have to redo the animation to fit the new audio track, which will have different timings than the original) but reduced production costs may be a false savings compared to the lessened impact of the video.

Is it worth it to save money by using an amateur instead of a professional voiceover artist? No, it is not.

A professional voiceover artist records his or her voice on expensive equipment in a studio with excellent audio isolation. The voice is recorded evenly, without jumps in volume or frequency. The artist regularly works with advertising and informational texts and speaks properly: there is no or very little aspiration and unwanted sounds are not present (hissing, whistling, popping, etc.). This kind of voice is easy to mix and combine with music and audio.

Note that audio is ALWAYS recorded before the animation is created, and animation is created only based on an existing voiceover recording. Doing the opposite will waste significant time. If you are unable to record a voiceover right away for any reason, here’s the workaround: first record a “rough-draft” voiceover (yourself, on a karaoke microphone through a laptop’s run-of-the-mill audio card) and create the animation based on that. Later, the voiceover artist reads the text in high quality so that it fully coincides with the timing of the rough draft. But this will add 30 to 50% to the cost of the voiceover artist’s work.

One thing that should be obvious, but we’ll say it anyway: if you are recording in another language, have the voiceover done ONLY by a native speaker!

Animation

This stage is worthy of an article in itself. This is where the main magic happens, turning still pictures into a moving, emotion-provoking video.

Our advice:

Animate in time to the music. Usually we give our video crew a metronome, which they use to animate all of the video events in rhythm to the music.

The animation must follow the Disney’s Twelve Basic Principles.

Camera perspective in the video must be “live”, not static. Even if the video contains only static objects (for example, a logo and URL), the camera should shift about a little, zoom in/out, or slightly sway and “breathe”.

Music and audio

We write music from scratch for each project or else buy royalty-free tracks from stock sites: http://audiojungle.net/, http://www.neosounds.com/, http://www.premiumbeat.com/.

How does one select the right track? Obviously the music should fit the mood and content of the video; the music should not contain abrupt or startling sounds that distract the viewer. Often the best tracks contain a pulse and feature deep, clear bass.

All events in the video should be marked by sound, so that the video on a whole is perceived smoothly. Make sure that the voiceover is loud but with slight compression, and that the frequencies do not overlap with the music.

Localization

Properly localizing a video involves many tasks: translating all on-screen text, recapturing gameplay video in the localized version of the game, recording a new voiceover, and retiming the animation to fit the new voiceover. Depending on the complexity of the video, full localization can cost 50 to 90% of the budget for the original video.

The low-budget option for localization is to translate all on-screen text and add subtitles in the target language.

Ta-da!

It’s done! The video is ready now. The video, if intended for in-game use, is integrated into the game. Trailers and teasers are distributed on social networks, blogs, and media sites, where they draw the interest of potential players and build up pre-release anticipation – and even get added to app store pages (we still hope that Apple will soon add the ability to place video alongside App Store descriptions).(source:gamedev


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