From 1bb500067ee276ae6d59a4f7a79a5705865a928d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Richard W.M. Jones" Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:38:27 +0100 Subject: Start video tutorial. --- video-tutorials/.gitignore | 1 + video-tutorials/README | 126 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ video-tutorials/template/cc-by-sa.png | Bin 0 -> 5083 bytes video-tutorials/template/endcard.blend | Bin 0 -> 139636 bytes video-tutorials/template/endcard/.gitignore | 2 + video-tutorials/template/final.blend | Bin 0 -> 144716 bytes video-tutorials/template/final/.gitignore | 2 + video-tutorials/template/title.blend | Bin 0 -> 132732 bytes video-tutorials/template/title/.gitignore | 2 + 9 files changed, 133 insertions(+) create mode 100644 video-tutorials/.gitignore create mode 100644 video-tutorials/README create mode 100644 video-tutorials/template/cc-by-sa.png create mode 100644 video-tutorials/template/endcard.blend create mode 100644 video-tutorials/template/endcard/.gitignore create mode 100644 video-tutorials/template/final.blend create mode 100644 video-tutorials/template/final/.gitignore create mode 100644 video-tutorials/template/title.blend create mode 100644 video-tutorials/template/title/.gitignore diff --git a/video-tutorials/.gitignore b/video-tutorials/.gitignore new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2621fab --- /dev/null +++ b/video-tutorials/.gitignore @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +*.blend1 \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/video-tutorials/README b/video-tutorials/README new file mode 100644 index 0000000..46294c8 --- /dev/null +++ b/video-tutorials/README @@ -0,0 +1,126 @@ +This directory contains the source for the "Virt tools in 60 seconds" +videos. + +How to use it: + +(1) You need a computer with a full sized keyboard (with keypad) and 3 +button mouse. Blender is not usable with anything less. If all you +have is a laptop, then you will need to plug in an external keyboard +and 3 button mouse. You will also need a good quality external +microphone to record the voiceover. + +(2) This is not a tutorial for Blender. If you are not familiar with +Blender, then you need to consult an online tutorial or buy a book. +You *cannot* just figure out Blender by messing around with it. It +won't work so don't even try it. Start at the Blender home page +(http://www.blender.org/) for suggested reading material and books. + +(3) Decide on a topic. The virt tools project status has some +suggestions. + +(4) Write a script. Jot this down on paper or in a new text file. + +The math of "virt tools in 60 seconds" is quite simple: 5 seconds for +the title sequence + 5 seconds for the final card, means you have to +fit everything comfortably into 50 seconds. A little bit of time is +spent in fades too, so in reality it will be a few seconds less than +this. + +What can you say in 50 seconds? Not very much. You'll have to stick +to one very simple point. You should practice reading through your +script and timing it. [On a side note: Who owns a stopwatch, or even +a watch these days? Certainly not me. And GNOME doesn't seem to come +with a stopwatch applet either. I use my phone to time myself.] + +Along with your script, note down what you'd like to appear on the +screen. Timing is less important here because you are allowed to (and +should) cut things out and even speed up parts. + +(5) Copy everything from template/ into a new subdirectory. The files +in this directory are: + + * title.blend - The "Virt tools in 60 seconds" title sequence which + generates a 5 second clip (without the final fade - that will be + added in Blender Video Sequence Editor). You have to modify the + title and render this as "title/*.exr". Make sure to enable + OpenEXR output, and also MBLUR (motion blur) when rendering. + + * title/*.exr - The title sequence. Each *.exr file is a single + frame of the output. (5 seconds at 25 fps => 125 files). + + * endcard.blend - The card displayed at the end which advertises the + website and other tutorials. This is 5 seconds long. + + * endcard/*.exr - The rendered card (5 seconds). This is in OpenEXR + format (one file per frame). You could re-render this if you need + to change the end card for any reason. + + * final.blend - The Blender VSE that ties everything together into + the finished 60 second video, including the title sequence, end + card, and fades. You have to add your demonstration to this (see + below) and render the final sequence. When rendering, don't + forget to select "Do Sequence" before pressing ANIM/F12. + + * final/*.exr - The final video as separate OpenEXR files. + +(6) Record (your) desktop. + +We've found a GNOME program called "recordmydesktop" to be perfectly +good for recording what appears on the screen while you're running +through the demonstration. Three important points to note: + + * You are going to throw away the soundtrack from the recording. + (You will record it separately later). It makes no sense to keep + it because the sound quality will be crap and no one wants to hear + you hammering away on the keyboard. This means it doesn't matter + what you say while you're recording the demonstration. Don't try + to read the script. + + * You can going to shorten and edit this heavily. You need enough + video so that *after* editing, the demonstration will run to + exactly 50 seconds. *Before* editing, the video can be much + longer. + + * Adjust the program or terminal so that fonts are as large as you + can get away with. People might watch this in a tiny YouTube + window, and small text will be completely unreadable. For the + same reason, adjust the area recorded so that there is as little + wasted space around the edges as possible. + +Watch the recording back over with the sound turned off, and if +something's not right, record it all again. + +(7) Edit the desktop recording. Use Blender VSE ("final.blend") and +edit it down to 50 seconds. Note in VSE you will need to remove the +sound from the recording. + +Once it is edited down, render this. Don't forget to select "Do +sequence" before rendering otherwise Blender will try to render from +the 3D view instead of the sequence. + +(8) Plug in your high quality external microphone. Test that it works +and there's no background noise. We use Audacity for this, but there +are plenty of alternatives. + +Now record your sweet voice as you play the rendered video back. +Again you might have to do this several times to get it right. + +(9) Back in Blender VSE ("final.blend") add the sound recording as an +extra track, then render the final video. + +(10) We like to render the video in several formats: + + * MJPEG (Blender calls it "AVI Jpeg"). The files are huge, but + they can be played everywhere. + + * Ogg Theora (OGV). You can take the MJPEG and convert it to .ogv + using "gst-launch". However doing this is "doubly lossy". I + don't know if we can generate OGV directly or from the EXR files. + +(11) Upload it to the website. Send a message to the virt-tools +mailing list so we can coordinate the upload. You can also upload +videos to external services like YouTube. + +Thanks for your participation in the virt tools project! + +- Richard W.M. 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