Personally, I don't think boosting or buying a 50 is the way to go. I think that you should earn everything legit, but that's just me. Anyway, I have a really good booster who is 100% legit. What he will do, is have you make a new account, send him the info to the account, then he will boost it. Once, he gets it to a 50, he will ask you to pay him 1600 MS Points (US Code only). After he checks if the code works, so he doesn't get spammed, he'll give you the account back.
AIM: littlejims420
If you want to buy a 50, there are several sites out there. But only some of them are legit. Here are the top 2 legit sites that I would use if your looking to buy a 50.
http://www.halo3proaccounts.com/
http://www.halo3boostingservice.com/
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Basic Halo 3 Theatre Tips
- Before you start recording clips, make sure that you aren’t connected to Xbox Live because that puts you at risk of updates such as game invites and friends signing on popping up while you are recording. This will allow viewers to watch your clips in all their glory without pesky interruptions.
- Make sure you have the reticule/aimer in your clips unless you are leaving it out for editing purposes. Accidentally leaving out the reticule makes the clip look incredibly awkward, which is why this is an important requirement when you are recording clips for a montage. If the reticule does not appear in your clip press B until nothing but your HUD appears on the screen. Then hit A, Y twice, and zoom. Your clip should now have a reticule. Also make sure that before you start recording clips, the time-bar and theater menu are gone because they are distracting
- When you are cutting clips from a gameplay, make sure to record a couple seconds before and after the clip. This is because a clip ending or starting too soon makes a montage look choppy and is rather annoying. Remember, you can trim down clips to their perfect length in whatever editing software you use, and it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
- When you are recording angles, make sure that they are as smooth as possible. A problem I often see in montages is that the camera work is all over the place, and I think that this is often a result of impatience. Remember, you can use more than 1 angle when working with a clip in theater. For example, a lot of the sticks I have seen in montages are recorded like this. The player throws a grenade and then the camera quickly detaches and desperately follows the grenade across the map and right before the grenade sticks the person or as it’s blowing up, the camera quickly zooms in to get the shot, often resulting in an off-center shot or one that’s way too close up. Even though I have seen this technique work out well in some montages, it is very hard to do with the way the camera works in theater. A better way to record sticks is to use a combination of many still angles to record it. For example, if you got a stick on a guy in the opposite base from throwing a grenade as you were going out your man cannon on Valhalla, you can first record yourself just throwing the grenade from a first person point of view, have a shot from top mid showing it fly across the map, and finally have a shot from the floor of the base slightly behind the player to show the actual stick and explosion.
- If you are going to have the camera move in a shot, I suggest just having the camera move in a single direction (up down, left right, or the clichéd spinning your camera around your Spartan from a third person point of view thing) since this can easily be done smoothly in theater.
- Do not try to do work that should be done with editing software in theater. For example, some people try to slow down or speed up clips in theater instead of just doing it with their editing software. This doesn’t work because slowing down a clip in theater at a consistent rate is almost impossible and after speeding up or slowing down a clip a theater, the clip stops. This means that you have hit play again and the slight pause that results makes the clip look choppy and awkward. With your editing software, you can do both of those things very smoothly and unlike in theater, it is easy to control the pace at which you want the clip to be sped up or slowed down.
- Here’s a tip that can save you a bit of time when recording clips. When a clip is loading in theater, the game is actually loading the map. So when you are recording clips, make sure to record all the clips on the same map at once because you will only have to wait for the clip to load for the first clip of the batch. This lets you get a start on editing the clips as soon as possible and is a great time-saver for impatient people like me.
- Here’s another time saving tip. If you need to fast forward through a ton of gameplay in a film in order to get to your clip(s), just hold down the right trigger and hit the start menu twice. Then you should be able to let go of your controller and have the clip fast forward by itself.
- Make sure you have the reticule/aimer in your clips unless you are leaving it out for editing purposes. Accidentally leaving out the reticule makes the clip look incredibly awkward, which is why this is an important requirement when you are recording clips for a montage. If the reticule does not appear in your clip press B until nothing but your HUD appears on the screen. Then hit A, Y twice, and zoom. Your clip should now have a reticule. Also make sure that before you start recording clips, the time-bar and theater menu are gone because they are distracting
- When you are cutting clips from a gameplay, make sure to record a couple seconds before and after the clip. This is because a clip ending or starting too soon makes a montage look choppy and is rather annoying. Remember, you can trim down clips to their perfect length in whatever editing software you use, and it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
- When you are recording angles, make sure that they are as smooth as possible. A problem I often see in montages is that the camera work is all over the place, and I think that this is often a result of impatience. Remember, you can use more than 1 angle when working with a clip in theater. For example, a lot of the sticks I have seen in montages are recorded like this. The player throws a grenade and then the camera quickly detaches and desperately follows the grenade across the map and right before the grenade sticks the person or as it’s blowing up, the camera quickly zooms in to get the shot, often resulting in an off-center shot or one that’s way too close up. Even though I have seen this technique work out well in some montages, it is very hard to do with the way the camera works in theater. A better way to record sticks is to use a combination of many still angles to record it. For example, if you got a stick on a guy in the opposite base from throwing a grenade as you were going out your man cannon on Valhalla, you can first record yourself just throwing the grenade from a first person point of view, have a shot from top mid showing it fly across the map, and finally have a shot from the floor of the base slightly behind the player to show the actual stick and explosion.
- If you are going to have the camera move in a shot, I suggest just having the camera move in a single direction (up down, left right, or the clichéd spinning your camera around your Spartan from a third person point of view thing) since this can easily be done smoothly in theater.
- Do not try to do work that should be done with editing software in theater. For example, some people try to slow down or speed up clips in theater instead of just doing it with their editing software. This doesn’t work because slowing down a clip in theater at a consistent rate is almost impossible and after speeding up or slowing down a clip a theater, the clip stops. This means that you have hit play again and the slight pause that results makes the clip look choppy and awkward. With your editing software, you can do both of those things very smoothly and unlike in theater, it is easy to control the pace at which you want the clip to be sped up or slowed down.
- Here’s a tip that can save you a bit of time when recording clips. When a clip is loading in theater, the game is actually loading the map. So when you are recording clips, make sure to record all the clips on the same map at once because you will only have to wait for the clip to load for the first clip of the batch. This lets you get a start on editing the clips as soon as possible and is a great time-saver for impatient people like me.
- Here’s another time saving tip. If you need to fast forward through a ton of gameplay in a film in order to get to your clip(s), just hold down the right trigger and hit the start menu twice. Then you should be able to let go of your controller and have the clip fast forward by itself.
The Art of Editing (Part 2) - Syncing
Like I said in my first post, the main goal of an editor is to make the video flow with the music. In this post, I will be discussing one way to achieve this flow.
There are two ways to establish flow in a montage, and there are many different devices an editor can use to accomplish both of these ways. The first is audio/video syncing. This is the simpler and easier way and the one I will be discussing in this post. The second way is to create an overall feel that matches the overall feel of the song. This is where a lot of editors fail.
First, let’s lay out the definition of syncing, otherwise known as synchronization. According to Webster, to synchronize something is to: to make (motion-picture sound) exactly simultaneous with the action. In other words, you are having some sort of significant event in the game footage occur harmoniously alongside a part in the song accompanying it.
The first thing you should do before you start editing is to choose which parts of the music you want to sync to. This is a very tricky task. If you’re a beginner editor, you only want to pick the more emphasized parts of the song because their emphasis will make your syncing more apparent and easier to do. However, even if you’re not a newbie editor, you want to sync to the most significant parts of the song; it’s just that you probably have the ability to go beyond that. Also, if you’re beginner editor, don’t try to sync too many beats at once; you’ll usually end up taking away from the footage instead of adding to it. Trying to sync too much is one of the main causes of overediting. One thing all editors should try to do is establish a pattern with their syncing. Pick a certain repeated part of the song and consistently sync it. To better illustrate, my points, let’s look at the 2nd half of Dualtality. Fragtality makes a point to always sync, “Patron saint,” and all of the other elongated syllables of the choir. This congruity gives the video a sense of fluidity instead of a sense of complete randomness. Another good example is Phurion syncing the, “heys,” in “haters” in Good Morning. You should also use the same effect when you’re syncing beats in rapid succession for the same reason why you want to establish a pattern with your syncing. Again, look at Good Morning with the “heys” in “haters” as an example.
NOTE: There are an infinite number of ways to sync something, however I will try the best I can to categorize these ways and provide good examples.
Not only are there different ways to accomplish syncing, there are different types of syncing as well. The two types of syncing are: 1) Syncing to singular beats and 2) Syncing to entire portions of the song.
Syncing to individual beats can be accomplished by having something in the actual footage, an effect, an angle, or a transition match the song. First, let’s go over having something in the actual footage match the song. The most basic way to do this is merely using kills. However, you can sync more events in the footage than just kills. Let’s look at For the Love of the Game 2. After he chokes for the Construct open street killtrocity, the death is synced. So be creative. Don’t just go 1 beat, 1 kill. And now, effects. An example of direct syncing using effects is using a flash to match particular beats in the song like the sky flashing in the second to last clip in Dualtality. I’ve always seen this method as the easy way out so it doesn’t impress me as much. Using an angle is cutting to an angle to match the beat. This method is used often in Dualtality, like in the Guardian Oddball overkill extermination Snipe 1. Lastly, using a transition is just having a clip start or end to match the beat. This is one of less used methods because people don’t think of syncing something so simple, and as a result, it should impress the viewer more than using one of the other methods. An example of this method is the beginning of the last clip in Good Morning.
An effective way of syncing is to combine an event in the footage and an effect. Instead of just having something happen in the footage, combine it with an effect for maximum emphasis. For example, in Robbie B’s 2nd Halo 3 montage, a lot of the kills in the 2nd song are accompanied by a screen shake. However, you want to use this method sparingly because overusing it will lead to overediting. Save it for the most emphasized parts of the song.
Syncing to individual beats of song using the footage always requires some sort of setting up. There are 3 ways to do this. The first and most basic way is simply placing a clip so that it syncs just by playing itself. A good demonstration of this technique is Kblocker’s and OutCold’s For the Love of the Game 2. The second way is using effects. An example is when Phurion slows down the footage in Good Morning to make certain kills happen at certain times. And lastly, you have angles. Instead of using some sort of an effect as filler to set up a sync point, throw in some angles. Using angles is one of the cleaner ways so I recommend using it often.
And now we have syncing to portions of song, not just a single beat. Sometimes certain portions of a song will have certain characteristics that you can match in the footage. For example, let’s look at the beginning of I Found a Way in Apex. The portion of the song has a more somber tone and a slower pace than the rest of it so Kampy matches these characteristics by applying a basic black and white effect and of course, slow mo. One of the main ways of accomplishing this type of syncing is through color correction. This type of syncing is a lot trickier because there’s really no way to explain why certain effects go with certain characteristics. It’s all natural. Why does black and white match a somber tone? Why does red match an aggressive tone? Why does a light glow match the intros and outros of Coldplay songs so well? This is why this is another place where many editors fail. Incorrect matching is very easy to do because these matches just don’t come to some people and it effectively kills the flow of a video (just imagine the beginning of I Found a Way in Apex with sped up footage and let’s say bright red color correction). Anyways, when you’re attempting this type of syncing, just close your eyes and let your mind paint a picture of what would fit.
A more complex form of syncing to entire portions of a song is paralleling the song lyrics to the video. An example is Kampy cutting to an angle of him jumping to take out the guy coming up the lift on Pit in Apex when the song says, “I’m divin’ in.” Another one is OutCold’s Pit Oddball killtacular victim doing a backflip after trying to retreat when the song says, “And no, we can’t go back.” This method of syncing actually requires some thinking and intelligence so I’m really impressed by it. It’s also pretty uncommon in montages.
Finally, I think we’re done. Now that we’ve gone over all of these types of syncing, go out there and try some of them. Remember that different people have different tastes so just experiment, see what you like, and eventually, you will develop some sort of style. Also remember that it’s better to use a variety of these techniques to keep the video interesting. Good luck.
There are two ways to establish flow in a montage, and there are many different devices an editor can use to accomplish both of these ways. The first is audio/video syncing. This is the simpler and easier way and the one I will be discussing in this post. The second way is to create an overall feel that matches the overall feel of the song. This is where a lot of editors fail.
First, let’s lay out the definition of syncing, otherwise known as synchronization. According to Webster, to synchronize something is to: to make (motion-picture sound) exactly simultaneous with the action. In other words, you are having some sort of significant event in the game footage occur harmoniously alongside a part in the song accompanying it.
The first thing you should do before you start editing is to choose which parts of the music you want to sync to. This is a very tricky task. If you’re a beginner editor, you only want to pick the more emphasized parts of the song because their emphasis will make your syncing more apparent and easier to do. However, even if you’re not a newbie editor, you want to sync to the most significant parts of the song; it’s just that you probably have the ability to go beyond that. Also, if you’re beginner editor, don’t try to sync too many beats at once; you’ll usually end up taking away from the footage instead of adding to it. Trying to sync too much is one of the main causes of overediting. One thing all editors should try to do is establish a pattern with their syncing. Pick a certain repeated part of the song and consistently sync it. To better illustrate, my points, let’s look at the 2nd half of Dualtality. Fragtality makes a point to always sync, “Patron saint,” and all of the other elongated syllables of the choir. This congruity gives the video a sense of fluidity instead of a sense of complete randomness. Another good example is Phurion syncing the, “heys,” in “haters” in Good Morning. You should also use the same effect when you’re syncing beats in rapid succession for the same reason why you want to establish a pattern with your syncing. Again, look at Good Morning with the “heys” in “haters” as an example.
NOTE: There are an infinite number of ways to sync something, however I will try the best I can to categorize these ways and provide good examples.
Not only are there different ways to accomplish syncing, there are different types of syncing as well. The two types of syncing are: 1) Syncing to singular beats and 2) Syncing to entire portions of the song.
Syncing to individual beats can be accomplished by having something in the actual footage, an effect, an angle, or a transition match the song. First, let’s go over having something in the actual footage match the song. The most basic way to do this is merely using kills. However, you can sync more events in the footage than just kills. Let’s look at For the Love of the Game 2. After he chokes for the Construct open street killtrocity, the death is synced. So be creative. Don’t just go 1 beat, 1 kill. And now, effects. An example of direct syncing using effects is using a flash to match particular beats in the song like the sky flashing in the second to last clip in Dualtality. I’ve always seen this method as the easy way out so it doesn’t impress me as much. Using an angle is cutting to an angle to match the beat. This method is used often in Dualtality, like in the Guardian Oddball overkill extermination Snipe 1. Lastly, using a transition is just having a clip start or end to match the beat. This is one of less used methods because people don’t think of syncing something so simple, and as a result, it should impress the viewer more than using one of the other methods. An example of this method is the beginning of the last clip in Good Morning.
An effective way of syncing is to combine an event in the footage and an effect. Instead of just having something happen in the footage, combine it with an effect for maximum emphasis. For example, in Robbie B’s 2nd Halo 3 montage, a lot of the kills in the 2nd song are accompanied by a screen shake. However, you want to use this method sparingly because overusing it will lead to overediting. Save it for the most emphasized parts of the song.
Syncing to individual beats of song using the footage always requires some sort of setting up. There are 3 ways to do this. The first and most basic way is simply placing a clip so that it syncs just by playing itself. A good demonstration of this technique is Kblocker’s and OutCold’s For the Love of the Game 2. The second way is using effects. An example is when Phurion slows down the footage in Good Morning to make certain kills happen at certain times. And lastly, you have angles. Instead of using some sort of an effect as filler to set up a sync point, throw in some angles. Using angles is one of the cleaner ways so I recommend using it often.
And now we have syncing to portions of song, not just a single beat. Sometimes certain portions of a song will have certain characteristics that you can match in the footage. For example, let’s look at the beginning of I Found a Way in Apex. The portion of the song has a more somber tone and a slower pace than the rest of it so Kampy matches these characteristics by applying a basic black and white effect and of course, slow mo. One of the main ways of accomplishing this type of syncing is through color correction. This type of syncing is a lot trickier because there’s really no way to explain why certain effects go with certain characteristics. It’s all natural. Why does black and white match a somber tone? Why does red match an aggressive tone? Why does a light glow match the intros and outros of Coldplay songs so well? This is why this is another place where many editors fail. Incorrect matching is very easy to do because these matches just don’t come to some people and it effectively kills the flow of a video (just imagine the beginning of I Found a Way in Apex with sped up footage and let’s say bright red color correction). Anyways, when you’re attempting this type of syncing, just close your eyes and let your mind paint a picture of what would fit.
A more complex form of syncing to entire portions of a song is paralleling the song lyrics to the video. An example is Kampy cutting to an angle of him jumping to take out the guy coming up the lift on Pit in Apex when the song says, “I’m divin’ in.” Another one is OutCold’s Pit Oddball killtacular victim doing a backflip after trying to retreat when the song says, “And no, we can’t go back.” This method of syncing actually requires some thinking and intelligence so I’m really impressed by it. It’s also pretty uncommon in montages.
Finally, I think we’re done. Now that we’ve gone over all of these types of syncing, go out there and try some of them. Remember that different people have different tastes so just experiment, see what you like, and eventually, you will develop some sort of style. Also remember that it’s better to use a variety of these techniques to keep the video interesting. Good luck.
The Art of Editing (Part 1) - Definitions
Editing is a beautiful art form with limitless possibilities. There’s a lot of controversy over what editing truly is, but here’s my definition. Editing is anything done with footage to make it more impressive and/or enjoyable to the viewer. Editing’s main purpose in a Halo video is to make the game footage flow with the music. Editing that doesn’t do this is called eye candy, effects that are there merely because of visual appeal (in other words, they do nothing except look cool). Speaking of effects, there is a vital difference between effects and editing which many people don't seem to understand. All effects count as editing. However, editing is more than just effects. An effect is something that alters video footage. Some examples are slow motion and color correction (basic effects) and the clichéd bullet and shattering glass (complicated effects). Editing, like I said before, is anything done with video footage to make it more impressive and/or enjoyable. Anything. An example of editing which isn’t an effect is simply placing a clip in a certain place on a timeline to sync it.
Now let’s lay out exactly how I judge editing. This should give you a slightly better understanding of the grades I give in my montage reviews and what I look for in a Halo montage editing-wise. For me, there are 5 main levels: Amazing, good, average, bad, and horrible. Amazing gets an A in a montage review, good gets a B, average gets a C, bad gets a D, and horrible gets an F. Naturally, some editing jobs fall in between these levels. Now here are the definitions of each.
NOTE: I will use several videos as examples, and after the 5 definitions will be a list of all of those videos and their respective reviews unless noted otherwise.
Amazing editing is heavy editing that harmoniously melds game footage and music into one with little to no flaws. In order for this to happen, almost all of it must add to the video in some way, shape, or form. Amazing editing rarely makes the footage hard to see or understand meaning that most of it should be clean and smooth. Syncing should be on point and the video should match the overall tone of the music used. But most importantly, amazing editing is creative. Amazing editing goes above and beyond the call of duty and works hard to bring something new to the table while rarely succumbing to overdone and clichéd effects. Amazing editing may resort to eye candy, but most of it should be original and of course, fulfill the purpose of eye candy by looking really fucking cool (like the two sides of a helmet coming together in Dualtality's introduction). Amazing editing also uses a vast spectrum of techniques and devices to keep the video from becoming stale. For me, there are very, very few Halo 3 montages in existence (just 2) that meet this definition. They are Dualtality (a no-brainer) and Dutchy’s Lag Warrior (a bit questionable. Also, the review for this montage should be coming soon). The Str8 Tage’s editing comes in third, but it’s still quite far from amazing status.
Good editing can range in terms of amount, but it usually falls in the middle. It’s essentially amazing editing minus the creativity and lesser in amount with few more flaws here and there. But, there are exceptions. Good editing can also be pretty heavy. However, one thing that good editing has to do is overall, add something to the video. Syncing should almost always be on point and there should be a substantial amount of it to provide the video with a noticeable flow. There may be a small variety of devices used, but the effects are generally pretty basic. This goes the same for originality. Good editing may have a few original components, but none of them are ground-breakingly amazing and/or revolutionary. Some good editing jobs also use recycled effects, but they’re well done enough to balance out the penalty of resorting to them.
To sum up everything I’ve said about good editing, good editing can be described in one word: solid. For some examples of good editing and an explanation of why they’re good, check out Good Morning and Scratch It Up plus their respective reviews. However, those are on the higher end of good editing (B+), so for a more accurate example of good editing, check out Kblocker’s and OutCold’s For the Love of the Game 2.
Average editing is editing that overall adds to the video but not by much. There’s syncing, but not very much of it, and some of it’s usually off/not noticeable resulting in little to no flow. Average editing is on the light side and is a result of not a lot of effort being put into the video. There are very, very few exceptions to this rule. If you want a good idea of what average editing is, envision a montage that’s just game footage slapped on to a song. That’s a C-. You might be asking, “Shouldn’t absolutely no effort be given an automatic F?” Well, a complete lack of editing neither takes away or adds to the gameplay, meaning that it could be worse. How? By taking away from the gameplay of course.
Bad editing is editing that overall takes away from the gameplay and is usually pretty heavy. Bad editing will not only resort to unoriginal effects, it will also execute them poorly. Bad editing may sometimes try to be original, but it always ends up creating a stupid, awkward mess in the end. In order for editing to qualify as bad, most of it has to be visually unimpressive, pointless, and make the game footage hard to understand and see. Instead of adding to the gameplay, bad editing tries to take it over, killing flow and forgetting its original purpose. I’ve seen my share of bad editing, but I’m not going to name any names to avoid offending anybody.
Horrible editing is editing that essentially fucks the game footage in the ass, making it an incomprehensible mess and a gigantic pain for the eyes. A good way to describe it is bad editing on steroids. Almost none of it adds to the gameplay and the clear majority of it will be over the top while not fulfilling any sort of purpose. Horrible editing completely takes over the game footage and turns the video into a monster trying to stab your eyes out. Luckily, like amazing editing, terrible editing is very, very rare. I don’t think I’ve seen more than 10 montages with editing I would deem horrible. If you want to see some examples of horrible editing, I’m sorry because I can’t provide you with any (shit like that needs to be erased from my mind). However, YouTube is a pretty damn good place to start looking.
Now let’s lay out exactly how I judge editing. This should give you a slightly better understanding of the grades I give in my montage reviews and what I look for in a Halo montage editing-wise. For me, there are 5 main levels: Amazing, good, average, bad, and horrible. Amazing gets an A in a montage review, good gets a B, average gets a C, bad gets a D, and horrible gets an F. Naturally, some editing jobs fall in between these levels. Now here are the definitions of each.
NOTE: I will use several videos as examples, and after the 5 definitions will be a list of all of those videos and their respective reviews unless noted otherwise.
Amazing editing is heavy editing that harmoniously melds game footage and music into one with little to no flaws. In order for this to happen, almost all of it must add to the video in some way, shape, or form. Amazing editing rarely makes the footage hard to see or understand meaning that most of it should be clean and smooth. Syncing should be on point and the video should match the overall tone of the music used. But most importantly, amazing editing is creative. Amazing editing goes above and beyond the call of duty and works hard to bring something new to the table while rarely succumbing to overdone and clichéd effects. Amazing editing may resort to eye candy, but most of it should be original and of course, fulfill the purpose of eye candy by looking really fucking cool (like the two sides of a helmet coming together in Dualtality's introduction). Amazing editing also uses a vast spectrum of techniques and devices to keep the video from becoming stale. For me, there are very, very few Halo 3 montages in existence (just 2) that meet this definition. They are Dualtality (a no-brainer) and Dutchy’s Lag Warrior (a bit questionable. Also, the review for this montage should be coming soon). The Str8 Tage’s editing comes in third, but it’s still quite far from amazing status.
Good editing can range in terms of amount, but it usually falls in the middle. It’s essentially amazing editing minus the creativity and lesser in amount with few more flaws here and there. But, there are exceptions. Good editing can also be pretty heavy. However, one thing that good editing has to do is overall, add something to the video. Syncing should almost always be on point and there should be a substantial amount of it to provide the video with a noticeable flow. There may be a small variety of devices used, but the effects are generally pretty basic. This goes the same for originality. Good editing may have a few original components, but none of them are ground-breakingly amazing and/or revolutionary. Some good editing jobs also use recycled effects, but they’re well done enough to balance out the penalty of resorting to them.
To sum up everything I’ve said about good editing, good editing can be described in one word: solid. For some examples of good editing and an explanation of why they’re good, check out Good Morning and Scratch It Up plus their respective reviews. However, those are on the higher end of good editing (B+), so for a more accurate example of good editing, check out Kblocker’s and OutCold’s For the Love of the Game 2.
Average editing is editing that overall adds to the video but not by much. There’s syncing, but not very much of it, and some of it’s usually off/not noticeable resulting in little to no flow. Average editing is on the light side and is a result of not a lot of effort being put into the video. There are very, very few exceptions to this rule. If you want a good idea of what average editing is, envision a montage that’s just game footage slapped on to a song. That’s a C-. You might be asking, “Shouldn’t absolutely no effort be given an automatic F?” Well, a complete lack of editing neither takes away or adds to the gameplay, meaning that it could be worse. How? By taking away from the gameplay of course.
Bad editing is editing that overall takes away from the gameplay and is usually pretty heavy. Bad editing will not only resort to unoriginal effects, it will also execute them poorly. Bad editing may sometimes try to be original, but it always ends up creating a stupid, awkward mess in the end. In order for editing to qualify as bad, most of it has to be visually unimpressive, pointless, and make the game footage hard to understand and see. Instead of adding to the gameplay, bad editing tries to take it over, killing flow and forgetting its original purpose. I’ve seen my share of bad editing, but I’m not going to name any names to avoid offending anybody.
Horrible editing is editing that essentially fucks the game footage in the ass, making it an incomprehensible mess and a gigantic pain for the eyes. A good way to describe it is bad editing on steroids. Almost none of it adds to the gameplay and the clear majority of it will be over the top while not fulfilling any sort of purpose. Horrible editing completely takes over the game footage and turns the video into a monster trying to stab your eyes out. Luckily, like amazing editing, terrible editing is very, very rare. I don’t think I’ve seen more than 10 montages with editing I would deem horrible. If you want to see some examples of horrible editing, I’m sorry because I can’t provide you with any (shit like that needs to be erased from my mind). However, YouTube is a pretty damn good place to start looking.
The Art of Editing (Part 3) - To All Montage Editors
Now, this is a piece of advice to all editors out there. After each and every effect, angle, piece of 3D work, etc that you apply to a montage, ask yourself these questions. First and foremost, “Does this editing device take away from the footage?” Second, “Does this editing device have no purpose?” Third, “Is this editing device clichéd and overdone?” If you answered yes to 2 or more of these questions, take it out. If you answered yes to the first question, take it out no matter what.
For all of you new editors out there, remember that you have to start somewhere. Don’t try to jump ahead of the curve and just emulate the editing techniques and styles of your predecessors and slather on dozens of pointless, complicated effects because if you do, you are almost certainly doomed for failure. Start off simple. Start off with the concept, “Less is more.” Don’t go off creating 3D Spartans and bullets, just sync a couple moments here and there, applying effects and simple angles wherever they’re necessary. DO NOT stray from this path until you have mastered this simple style of editing. Then when you feel that you are ready, move on to the complicated stuff. But, also remember this. You can still establish yourself as a good editor without ever moving on to the complicated material. There are thousands of people out there who appreciate the beauty of an old school style video, and as long as you do this well and consistently, you will become known, I promise you. Some examples are Phurion (probably the best example), Kblocker, and Kampy.
You will never become great copying the great ideas of others. This is an undeniable fact. Newer editors seem to have the mentality that, “If they did it and became successful, then it should work for me too!” Wrong. To leave an impression on the viewer, you must do something different. And given the current burst of unoriginality, this is your time to shine. Instead of only following tutorials and doing things other people thought of, just sit down and try to think of something new. It’s really that simple. Start watching great montages not to copy them, but to analyze them. Look past the eye candy and focus on how the angles are shot, how they’re placed, the transitions, the effect usage, the syncing patterns and everything else that makes a montage great. Look past the technical successes (eye candy) and see the innovation. To end this part of the post, here are some editing trends to avoid like the plague.
Motion Blur – It was cool when passTHEword used it, but now it’s just getting annoying. I’m not saying that you should avoid using motion blur entirely, I’m saying that you should be VERY careful with it. If it flows with the music, by all means, add it in. But don’t just do it because it looks cool.
Robot-esque displays – These are those awkwardly slapped on phrases that make it seem like you’re watching the first person view of a Terminator or something. They usually come in the form of “Target located” or “Target eliminated.” The worst one is “beast mode on,” because of how incredibly moronic and unprofessional it sounds. Anyways these came back after the immense success of .exe, a Halo 3 montage edited by passTHEword, which was actually themed around these. Unlike motion blur, just stay away from these entirely guys. They died back in the Halo 2 days and after passTHEword took the extra step of theming an entire montage around them, all of their worth is completely gone. There’s nothing original you can do with these anymore; they’re just dumb, awkward, and clichéd. Just let them die again.
Color Correction – Pretty much the same thing I said for motion blur. Almost all of the motion blur I see nowadays is completely pointless and annoying. Again, be VERY careful when applying color correction, especially because it is, like I said in The Art of Editing Part 2, hard to figure out and disastrous to tone, feel, and flow when applied incorrectly.
By staying away from these annoyingly popular trends you are not only making your montage not suck, you are also decreasing the pressure for other editors to follow these trends. When I was reviewing a render of a montage from the editor I previously mentioned in this post, he told me that he applied color correction because almost every montage seems to have it nowadays. I want a world where people don’t do this, a world where new ideas are commonplace and appreciated, old ideas aren’t recycled, and trends don’t develop and pressure people to conform. Thomas Edison once said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. It’s clear to me that the next generation of the Halo montage community has the 99% perspiration down. Now all we need is that 1% inspiration. Get going guys.
For all of you new editors out there, remember that you have to start somewhere. Don’t try to jump ahead of the curve and just emulate the editing techniques and styles of your predecessors and slather on dozens of pointless, complicated effects because if you do, you are almost certainly doomed for failure. Start off simple. Start off with the concept, “Less is more.” Don’t go off creating 3D Spartans and bullets, just sync a couple moments here and there, applying effects and simple angles wherever they’re necessary. DO NOT stray from this path until you have mastered this simple style of editing. Then when you feel that you are ready, move on to the complicated stuff. But, also remember this. You can still establish yourself as a good editor without ever moving on to the complicated material. There are thousands of people out there who appreciate the beauty of an old school style video, and as long as you do this well and consistently, you will become known, I promise you. Some examples are Phurion (probably the best example), Kblocker, and Kampy.
You will never become great copying the great ideas of others. This is an undeniable fact. Newer editors seem to have the mentality that, “If they did it and became successful, then it should work for me too!” Wrong. To leave an impression on the viewer, you must do something different. And given the current burst of unoriginality, this is your time to shine. Instead of only following tutorials and doing things other people thought of, just sit down and try to think of something new. It’s really that simple. Start watching great montages not to copy them, but to analyze them. Look past the eye candy and focus on how the angles are shot, how they’re placed, the transitions, the effect usage, the syncing patterns and everything else that makes a montage great. Look past the technical successes (eye candy) and see the innovation. To end this part of the post, here are some editing trends to avoid like the plague.
Motion Blur – It was cool when passTHEword used it, but now it’s just getting annoying. I’m not saying that you should avoid using motion blur entirely, I’m saying that you should be VERY careful with it. If it flows with the music, by all means, add it in. But don’t just do it because it looks cool.
Robot-esque displays – These are those awkwardly slapped on phrases that make it seem like you’re watching the first person view of a Terminator or something. They usually come in the form of “Target located” or “Target eliminated.” The worst one is “beast mode on,” because of how incredibly moronic and unprofessional it sounds. Anyways these came back after the immense success of .exe, a Halo 3 montage edited by passTHEword, which was actually themed around these. Unlike motion blur, just stay away from these entirely guys. They died back in the Halo 2 days and after passTHEword took the extra step of theming an entire montage around them, all of their worth is completely gone. There’s nothing original you can do with these anymore; they’re just dumb, awkward, and clichéd. Just let them die again.
Color Correction – Pretty much the same thing I said for motion blur. Almost all of the motion blur I see nowadays is completely pointless and annoying. Again, be VERY careful when applying color correction, especially because it is, like I said in The Art of Editing Part 2, hard to figure out and disastrous to tone, feel, and flow when applied incorrectly.
By staying away from these annoyingly popular trends you are not only making your montage not suck, you are also decreasing the pressure for other editors to follow these trends. When I was reviewing a render of a montage from the editor I previously mentioned in this post, he told me that he applied color correction because almost every montage seems to have it nowadays. I want a world where people don’t do this, a world where new ideas are commonplace and appreciated, old ideas aren’t recycled, and trends don’t develop and pressure people to conform. Thomas Edison once said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. It’s clear to me that the next generation of the Halo montage community has the 99% perspiration down. Now all we need is that 1% inspiration. Get going guys.
First Blog
Okay everyone this is my very first blog ever. I will post anything related Halo, any Halo news, etc. I'm going to be making a community montage, so if you have some nice clips, send them to me. Also, for that community montage I will need an editor. If you would want to edit it, send me a link of work you've done in the past so I can get an idea of how your editing style is. Oh and if you have any ideas for what I should post, tell me I'd be glad to post something to make you happy.
~Monst3r
~Monst3r
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