As someone who has followed Halo Machinima since Halo: CE, finally getting an opportunity to make my own in the form of a capture card has been great. Now, there are a plethora of Machinima tips already out there, but let’s be honest. Halo 4 is an entirely different beast. Plagued with counter-creative little flaws like the presence of battle text if you’re focused on the wrong player, or the absolutely horrid implementation of the weapon lowering system, I feel like we need to have a discussion about tips and tricks to help improve Halo 4 Machinima, despite it’s regrettable flaws.
I’ll start.
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Make sure you have your camera set on an unaffected target before switching to free cam if you are filming a death. Otherwise, the text will appear in the corner regardless of the fact you are in “free cam”.
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In the same vein, make sure you have the camera on an unaffected target if you need to record someone using Promethean Vision. The sound effect played by Pro Vision likes to linger, especially if there is a lot of pausing, rewinding, and other should-be-simple theater operations. No one wants “WEEEAOU WEEEAOU” looping endlessly behind their dialogue.
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Unfortunately, the closest we can get to a non-combative stance is an empty energy sword. It looks rather silly, but it can work. Here’s a tip for draining sword ammunition. When two players clash, they still drain the sword ammo. Have two of your actors hack away at each other until the sword is drained and walla! Two empty energy swords.
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Lowered guns only remain lowered if the character is standing still, and only rotating about 80 degrees. If you move, or turn too far, the gun will be raised, and then lowered again. This is why the sword is so useful; It’s hard to show someone walking with a weapon without them appearing combative.
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I highly recommend writing atleast a script, if not a storyboard before filming. Spartan’s heads shouldn’t move too much, especially not in a serious Machinima, but a little nod here and there really adds something. Too often I see people record their film and then try to sync the audio up later. This is messy, and doesn’t usually work. On a related note, you cannot move your Spartan’s head if they are both crouched and have a lowered weapon. Ridiculous, but something we must contend with.
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Remember; Guest accounts get all of the armor your main account has unlocked. Unfortunately, it is reset whenever you sign them out, but hey, it’s better than Halo 3.
Please, feel free to contribute and discuss Machinima! I’d love to hear your tricks, opinions and advice.
Starting topic - Do you have any tips for Machinima in Halo 4, or Machinima in general? Do you still watch Machinima? Are you interested in joining a Machinima team or providing voice/body acting?
TL/DR; Read it.