CUTTING TO THE CHASE cinematic construction for gamers

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CUTTING TO THE CHASEcinematic construction for
gamers

• Hal Barwood LucasArts Entertainment Company
• 20015095 ???

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Content

• Introduction
• Fundamental Ideas
• Cinematic Elements
• Cinematic Style
• Adapting the Language of Film to Games

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Introduction

• Game vs Film
• Game development rules are vague
• Language of film
• Has changed little for 75 years

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Fundamental Ideas

• The shot
• No possibility of motion picture entertainment
• In 1895, Lumiere Brothers Train which lumbers
  across a bedsheet (3 min.)
• Cinema would consist of a single shot and nothing
  more

Arrival of a train
Lumiere Brothers
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Fundamental Ideas(Contd)

• The cut
• In 1902, Edwin S. Porter
• The Life of an American Fireman
• to understand a collection of separate film
  shots
• Film Theory
• How to cut? Language of film developed in the
  1st decade of the 20th century

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Discoveries

• Kuleshov Effect
• The mental tendency of viewers to attempt to
  figure out how filmed shots fit together, even if
  the shots are totally unrelated
• Mozhukhin a bowl of soup
• Mozhukhin a dead body
• Mozhukhin smiling child
• Artificial Landscapes
• Placing the White House in Moscow
• Synthetic Woman
• Image of a woman from cuts of one womans lips,
  anothers legs
• Parallel action

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Cinematic Elements

• Actors Acting
• Images Staging
• Wonder whether changes in the apparent size of
  actors in different shots changes audiences
  feeling
• Focal length of lenses dictate perspective
• Lighting for a sense of 3-d and for emotional
  color
• Stage scenes to look good on camera
• Big image changes carry more power than little
  ones
• Shots have a life of their own
• Something should happen in each one

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Cinematic Elements(Contd)

• Cinematic Expression
• Flow of time timing the cut
• Dramatic Emphasis CLOSE-UP, INSERT
• Ecstatic point of view Apollo 13
• Camera Elevation
• Suspense When the audience is informed about
  the nature of a situation
• The World of Left Right
• The Establishing Shot audience can see
  important spatial relationships
• The Stage Line imaginary and elastic line
• Coverage preserve the look direction
• Camera progress In a chase, movement must
  proceed in the same direction

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Cinematic Style

• Visual exposition
• Show, dont tell
• Economy
• Get rid of unnecessary details
• Clarity
• Change angle when cutting from one shot to same
  scene
• Screen Reality
• Melodrama
• Unlike stage play, not physically present.
  Realistic

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Adapting the Language of Film to Games

• Dont worry too much about the above strictures
• Make imagery clear
• Use the story arc to maintain player involvement
• Cinematic scene hold player attention
• Visual clues
• Organize cinematic interval
• Interactive play cinematics on story
  development
• Pick your point of view
• In planning cinematic sequences
• Maximize the dramatic impact of your scene
• Make your scenes as short as possible