Howto:Creating FlightGear Promo Videos
Contributors: LukeaFG, Osjcag, Trez, connect, sa7k
Release process |
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Examples
Illustration of using a recent model GPU, good memory, and full settings while using a IR point tracker to impress the FSX guys :)
We recommend two different styles. The first video is showing you the detailed features of FlightGear Version 3.2.
The second video shows you how to present a FlightGear Version 2.10 video in the form of a slideshow.
Content
Use the Next changelog for the list of changes or updates to include in the video. Probably, promo videos should focus on feaures to be found in the release, not on optional aircraft, addons etc. (see screenshot guidelines).
Please also try to include your system specs, so that others can more easily determine if certain features are likely to work with their own hardware, specifically:
- operating system
- hardware (CPU, GPU, RAM, VRAM)
- FlightGear relevant settings (Rembrandt vs. ALS, Basic weather vs. advanced weather)
Style / Appearance and Branding
Place the FlightGear logo in some corner of the video and a link to the official website, i.e. flightgear.org
I would probably make sure to add links (or even watermarks) to each video, so that "flightgear.org" is made very prominent - to make it more difficult for scammers to reuse such promos for their own purposes ... For the same reasons, we may want to use the terms "free" and "open source" to ensure that people cannot easily reuse the promo videos to sell rebranded versions of FG. And maybe each review you should have a date added, so that people know just how recent the promo video really is ? A semi transparent FlightGear logo in the corner of the video might help
Audio / Background Music
Use royalty free audio or ask for full permission, FlightGear is opensource your video should follow that as much as possible. Look up royalty free on google, there are many websites that feature royalty free music. MachinimaSound is a great site for royalty free music and it's made for content that features gaming.
Using the aircraft sounds also showcases FlightGear well.
Localization
We may still want to provide an option to localize/translate videos (I understand that's made possible for YT videos), to give even wider exposure to FG. I think YT videos can have text comments and audio translated for different audiences. Also, using the changelog to create a promo is definitely a very good idea! You can create an interactive transcript for YouTube in a .txt file in a different language which would be helpful.
Performance
Only record video if FlightGear's framerate is high (this prevents jerky motions... Example of what I mean here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW7ZrGpSCbk)
A good way to get better framerate is to slow the video down in the flightgear replay and speeding it up in the editor.
Format & Codecs
- Container: mp4
- Codec: h264 (for optimal quality)
- Resolution : 720p or 1080p (progressive)
- Framerate: 24 - 30FPS (30 is the maximum YouTube supports)
- Aspect ratio: 16 ; 9 (any other ratios will have unwanted back bars in your video)
You should also consider encoding with webm, which is google's royalty free codec if you are just planning to upload to youtube.
Video Recording Software
Programs to record your video:
- CamStudio (free) - Windows
- Quicktime (free) - Mac | only captures the full screen
- VLC (free, multi-platform)
- Fraps (paid) - Windows | works great if configured right
- Action! (paid) - Windows | one of the best, has openGL support, can utilize multi-threading.
- recordmydesktop - Linux
- NVidia ShadowPlay (free) - Windows | Requires higher end NVidia card with recent drivers. Works great with minimal frame rate hit but must be used in desktop capture mode with OpenGL.
- glc-capture (free) - Linux | A little more difficult to use, but it forms a layer inbetween FlightGear and your graphics card for the fastest way of capturing video. Also files become very big, so make sure your disk is big enough.
MAGIX is a set of Applications that handles video and audio editing, it also has a recording software.
To install record my desktop on Ubuntu(and it's variations), Linux Mint and Debian open the terminal and type: sudo apt-get install gtk-recordmydesktop
Video Editing Software
Programs to edit your video:
Name | Platform | License | Notes |
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Adobe Premiere Pro | Windows, Mac | Commercial | |
Kdenlive | Linux, BSD, Mac, Windows | GPL | |
OpenShot | Linux, Mac, Windows | LGPL | |
Pitivi | Linux | GPL | |
IMovie | Mac | Commercial | IMovie comes with every mac for free. Paid upgrades. |
Sony Vegas Pro | Windows | Commercial | |
VirtualDub | Windows | GPL | Discontinued |
Example | Example | Example | |
Example | Example | Example |
Helpful Tips & Tricks
Linux: export the env variable "vblank_mode=0" on the same session you're running FG from. Windows w/ Nvidia GPU: Nvidia Control Panel > Manage 3D settings > Program Settings.
FinallyEverything else is up to the editor... ;) |