Questions about making machinima or in help CLICK HERE!

SO here are some things to know before you rush it

Capture card (there are two types, external and internal, since I don't know crap of internal, I'll talk exteranal)

There are pros and cons depending what capture card you'll have here is a list of quality capture cards

1.) Those who want 1080i get a black magic intensity shuttle
Pro: Great quality, never saw anything better
Con: It needs alot of requirements on the computer and requiers 3 ports plus it costs $200 and is rare in stores.

For more info go here http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/intensity/techspecs/[/url)

2.) Those who want 720 get a HAPPAUGE

Pro: Their great with HD, capturing is easy, comes with good editing if you don't have one, you can get them in many stores such as best buy.
Con: Their $200.
Also note: That they can go up to 1080, but the fraps WILL SUCK

3.) 480 Go get a USB live 2 I'll show you the link

Pro: Their $50, their easy to use and connections easy

Con: Their to be found online like in Newegg.com and their cables are really short so plan on get getting more cables or plan on getting your pc close to your xbox. Also their editing SUCKS, yet what I do is to save the file put it in desktop and put it in my editing program (video pad or sony vegas)

Voice acting: So unless you want to get voice actors for your machinima to voice your character and find people to do it online, I RECCOMEND NOT TO! I went to tons of voice actors to help yet their all too lazy and they take to long so I reccomend on getting a HD webcam and record yourself. Before you go, I can't voice act. I'm saying yes you can, you just have to be in a privote room so that way you can bemore comftorable that no one is their but the recorder and the machine and start playing around. When you are certain of the type of voice you'll do go and download a program in google called wavepad (FREE AND LEGAL), it's great and helps you filter the hisses and pops and other noise.

HOW TO USE IT.

Once you download it, go to your control panel and find the program click on it and downgrade it to free mode (everything is the same).
1.) NOw go to the program and click on a red ball
2.) Now click ok as something will tell you what number will it be
3.) You'll be recording and press the square to stop it and then exit it.
4.) You'll see a bunch of waves and stuff.
5.) Look at effects and click on remove hiss and noise
6.) Put it to -30
7.) You could also cut out the bad parts of the voice

Story telling:
Now to make a great machinima means you need to make a great story. So try now to do a spartan grab gun and tbags a elite story, make the story convincing, wanting the viewer to come back for more, make it a mystery, horror, a comedy, ANYTHING!

So to need help theirs a website that will help you alot on it
[url] http://www.virtualflicks.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78:story-telling&catid=37:tutorials&Itemid=81

MUSIC: We all need theme music, yet we don't want to get copyright right? So theirs this site that gives you free LEGAL music for machinima called
machinimasound.com
I go there all the TIME, and remember ask permission from the composers to use it, you don't need permission in this website.



Bodyacting: Remember that it'll be boring to see only 4 spartans, so I reccomend to have more body actors, you can hire people online and make sure their dedicated to the machinima (it could beyour friends....) Of course they'll need to know what to do and you will direct them. The con is that THEY CAN'T LOWER THEIR GUNS! I wish that their was a
PETIION TO LOWER THE GUNS ahem.... http://halo.xbox.com/forums/games/f/7/t/7357.aspx

Forging: Now we would want to see some creativity in the maps so the audience can see something new , remember to get some forgers to help you make machinima settings.


Editing: I prefer to use video pad and sonyvegas 10 in my opinion, just don't use windows movie maker <---- SUCKS
Videopad is easy to use and it could be downloaded and then downgraded to free mode, just you can't do masking.
If you want to make special effects of a million spartans for a war machinima get yourself a sony vegas cause I belive that's the only program to do that other than after effects.

HAVE ANY QUESTIONS POST THEM!!!!!!!