I am actually serious about this.
I decided that I should dedicate part of my skills retraining to learning how to edit video. Nothing fancy, of course. I won’t be making trailers or mashing up love scenes from Troy to songs from Adele. But eventually I want to be able to splice video and audio, make semi-attractive presentations of games and myself.
So, Flash of Steel TV was born. Or will be born. There aren’t any videos yet, but I do hope to get at least one simple webcam video shot before month’s end. I have a lot to learn, including script writing, lighting and looking at the camera. I will also need a backdrop of some sort.
FoSTV will not replace the blog, of course. I am a writer. But I think it will give me a chance to express a different creative side.
What will FoSTV be? Strategy game focused, still. It will probably be more relentlessly positive than the podcast or blog are sometimes. I want to look at design components in classic games and why they work. If I can get local friends to appear on camera with me to talk about some of this stuff, even better. But for the most part, like this blog, it will be me.
So what sorts of things do you want to see me talk about or make videos about? Keep in mind that I am still very, very new to this and don’t even have a real camera. But I’ve been encouraged by friends and followers to take this step.
Fire away with suggestions and advice.
Welcome to the beginner’s world of video editing. My corporation is encouraging reporters like me post video recordings of interviews and events on our websites. I actually enjoy doing it though.
And woooo!
This will depend on your living situation but use the city as a back drop or even better film it outside – backyard, cafe, etc. Avoid having the camera face you directly (like most webcam videos).
I, personally, am all in favour of seeing Troy lovescenes on this site.
Great to Hear Troy. I would love to see the mechanics that you are writing and talking about in motion. Much of strategy games for me is seeing the dynamics of what a game does as it is the planning and the units. Good luck and looking forward to FoSTV.
I know this is a purely personal thing, but actually seeing some sort of video AAR could be a good PR thing.
Also: my own video-blog project is semi-stalled for lack of tool knowledge. Which ones will you be using?
I have no idea what tools I will be using or anything after the early webcam ones. I’ll figure it out.
And yes, the city will be as much a character as I can allow. Especially once I learn editing.
Hey, if you need wandering, vacant-eyed extras to mosey back and forth in the background of your shoot I am only seven hours away. I work for scale though ;) and will insist on having my own trailer.
The dawn of a new era for Flash of Steel! I’m stoked.
Look forward to seeing your videos! (also, I think I accidentally hit the wrong button when trying to subscribe – so if you got a Youtube request from me, it was sent by mistake)
Great idea Troy! Can’t wait to see the first episode. Cheers!
Definitely AARs. Even better, video Tom vs Bruce with commentary.
One-off ideas:
1) Analysis of strategy UI, showing which games do it well and why, and which games fail.
2) National Character, the documentary!
3) You got an iPhone didn’t you? Video reviews (or if you feel uncomfortable with reviews, quick looks) of iOS strategy games.
It’s a pity Vimeo is so anti-gaming, it’s so much classier than YouTube for this kind of thing.
Troy, you’re exclusively PC, right? What’s your price range for editing software?
Hi Troy-
As a video editor for a news magazine show, if you have any questions send me an email, I’m here to help.
Jorune