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Help wth filming battle reports


Madmonkeyman

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I’ve been filming a couple of battle reports. I was hoping on getting some feedback on them. I’ve only made a couple so obviously there is a lot of room to improve!

 

Here is my one of dark angels vs guard. https://youtu.be/qZLHncP4jNc

 

As for the style of the videos I like to show dice rolls ( like table top tactics / mini Wargaming )

 

As for areas to improve :

I still think they can be a bit shorter.

A background round the board side would help a bit

Lighting could be a bit better.

 

Let me know what you think- but be nice

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Great work with the steady cam.  Honestly, that is the biggest complaint I have about most battle reports is that they feel like they were filmed by someone while in the middle of a seizure.

 

Also, great job keeping the camera focused on the units that are being activated.  Can't tell you how many videos I've seen where the camera is pointed at blank part of the board and all we get is audio commentary on what is happening on a different part of the board.

 

The time component is subjective and you are never going to please everyone, but try to follow the example Hollywood sets.  And just to clarify, I mean their movies, not their awards programs.

 

Far too many of these battle reports do a red carpet opening of commercials and preshows that drags on for what feels like hours... although it is probably only 45 minutes.  And then once they do start the game, they break ever 30 seconds of gameplay for another 5-minute plug of random crap they want you to buy from them.  Please don't do that.

 

If you monetize the video... put a short plug at the beginning and another at the end.  If the video goes more than an hour put short commercials at the half hour and hour marks or on 20, 40 and 60.

 

Most videos don't do this but it is something that I would like to see... the army list, clearly written with options, and readable.  If you have minimal video editing ability, just show the army list after you pan across the army, we can pause the video if we need more time to read it.  If you are a bit savvier then do a split screen with the army list up while panning across the units.

 

A background might be helpful, but don't let it stop you from moving the camera to the other side of the table so we can see the action better.  All you really need to do is prevent or block commotion in the background.

 

Instead of rolling dice on the board and having to swing the camera around and zoom in and back out again, set up a dice box on the side with a dedicated camera, and put that frame in a corner.  Use easy to read dice on a solid contrasting background... think white dice with black pips or numbers on blue felt or something like that.  Try to be mindful of where the camera is focused so that the dice window doesn't block the action.

 

Try to have a feedback monitor setup so that you can see how the video is coming together while you are recording.  It is easier to re-record at the moment than it is to try to figure out what was missed when you are editing.

 

As far as editing goes the real question is do you want the battle report to be one continuous shot or do you want to skip over the slow parts and just film the recaps.  Both styles have their audience so it comes down to what you prefer.  If you feel that cutting the time down is the biggest issue then try to just film the recaps at the end of each phase.  But don't rush the recaps... you are cutting out the gameplay so the video will be shorter, but we still need to have a clear picture of what just happened.

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Thats some great advice - thanks .I'm not going down the adds route. Its just for a bit of fun. 

 

Adding an army list in is a very good idea.

Hopefully I am getting a background sorted out soon as i find the shots of the edge of the table a bit distracting.

Personally i don't like the reap only battle reports so it does mean the videos are a bit longer.

Also i think i need to improve the lighting a little bit as the video is a bit dark.

 

Ha , just a few things to improve on!

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