Legions release campaign: MJ needs your help!

[IzSid]

I really like the video, but I'd like to suggest a Few things. The most horrid thing I noticed was right after where the video said "Feel The Speed" (In that horrid font) You had a Slow-paced DM clip right after it, Switch that with the clip that came directly before the text (Flag pass on Zenith). Also going from flag pass to flag pass is sort of boring to watch, , keep some of the ones that were in, It just that you could notice they were from the same video. This video has some sweet angles and passes that you could use (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVRO_vQTavY). I really like the song choice, it should stay, but the entire song is build up and you should put some text to break up some of the clips and make it seem more epic-like(With better font ), having an extended text box at the end with two different things was sort of a lame finish.

My 2cents.

EDIT: I also agree with frosted.

 

[Serket]

I really liked the videos as well, just a few things. The first one was fine, but maybe the song should be changed to an instrumental one, like you said before songs with lyrics don't go too well with game videos, whereas instrumental songs blend in nicely.
On the second video I'd suggest that when we get the game back you get some footage to show some gameplay in all the maps, and also include a demonstration of all the weapons in action, not just the RL and the GL, which is how the current version is.
Hope this helps a bit, cause I really like the idea of promoting legions through videos, so keep up the good work.

 

[57thEnryu]

let me know if you want logo help

I can help too, I'm rather good at making logos (I've made money off it before. Ive considered doing it as a side job, but I never went through with it)

 

[MJ1284]

Wow, I wasn't expecting getting this much feedback in this time. It's good to hear that most of you think the song fits (mostly orchestral, occasional back chorus), and yes, I WILL CHANGE THE TEXTS to something else
IzSid was spot on noting that slow DM clip right after "Feel the Speed" is kinda silly.

As for clip selections in general, I aimed for having an overview on each map that I'm showing on the trailer (except I forgot Nivosus).. in other words, if I start by showing Zenith flyover I will be using Zenith clips, then I add Frostbyte flyover and use Frostbyte clips instead. Worry not, I'll try to have equal split amongst RL & GL & CG & flagpassing & flagplay (pro or casual player footage? We'll see)
I think Frost is correct, this is too long for a mere trailer. After listening the song again I think I could fade it out around 1:40-2:00 to keep it in trailer-ish lenght... and ending sucked, I couldn't agree more.

This is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for, I'm not interested in "Look mah crazy MA skills lulz!", I'm more interested in knowing how the music flows along the video and are the effects fitting or just irritating to watch. So far you've analyzed it thoroughly, keep it that way. Will start working on second concept soon as I recover from this exaustive task

Dacil & 57thEnryu: Feel free to make some logos (with or without texts) that you'd think would fit a trailer concept. They'd look so much better than those blatantly boring purple texts (I think we all can agree on that).

 

[stefygraff]

mj, my only problem is the disco disco sound! Legions: Overdrive needs more personality! And also stick to the tradition of rock in trailers!
Me and A2 strongly suggest this song:

It fits too good to not give it a chance! (but my suggestion is to cut off the vocals, and let only the instruments do the work as in this one:

 

[Disci]

Too much clips and too long... make it last max 30 secs and leave it more "open" for questions(can't describe it better) so people gets interested what the *dance* it is and wanna check it out.

 

[Xtreme]

I'm looking over the previews you've posted, and I like them. But (yes, unfortunately there is a "but") many of the clips you've included will not impress your audience. What this means is that, even though the long range MA's and OD's MA's are amazing to me, the trailer will be directed to an audience that has no knowledge of Legions mechanics, Legions tactics, or anything whatsoever. Either add many special effects (not just brightness/contrast) to bring out the shots, or don't include them at all. What I really liked was the music synchronization with the flag passes and maneuvers.

 

[Kissyface_r0x]

Although I'm sure we can all relate to your bias towards frostbyte, I dont think you should make it as obvious in the video. You should really include clips of all the maps.

To be honest, one of the biggest reasons I started playing legions is because I thought Blade run looked soo cool. Obviously I've realized that it's not actually that great of a map at this point, but we want to get lots of people hooked, so we need to show all the maps to attract as many types of people as possible.

This also goes for the different aspects of the game, as ExtremeSpeed and frost have stated before me. MA's are great but the other aspects such as chaingun, different classes, etc. should be shown as well.

 

[MJ1284]

Too much clips and too long... make it last max 30 secs and leave it more "open" for questions(can't describe it better) so people gets interested what the *dance* it is and wanna check it out.

Well these are around 30 secs and they sure do leave "what the *dance* did I just watch?" impression... but would you honestly want to check it out after seeing these clips?

 

[Daphinicus]

2. So what's the second thing I have in mind? Game review. Yes, I'm serious on this one
I actually have a reviewer in mind, sadly he doesn't have previous Legions gameplay experience so I'll need couple american (or those who are close to America's timezone) volunteers to act as his mentors. This person lives in America and I live in Europe, 8 hour jetlag makes it pretty much impossible for me to train him.

Forgive me for popping in here -- I tend to play the silent lurker role more often than not -- but I think it's important not to encourage reviewers to look at unfinished content. As much as we might love Legions, even once Overdrive comes out, it won't be a finished game; the development team will continue to iterate a great deal over time. Legions is much better preview fodder than review fodder for a games journalist, especially since you're talking about generating interest and excitement -- not slapping a score on an unfinished game that may well turn potential players away if it's not the score everyone's hoping for.

I don't mean to butt in, but I'm not talking out of my ass; I've written over 50 preview/review/cover articles for GamePro Magazine and did my senior thesis on Games Journalism. I would LOVE to see Overdrive get the publicity, but I can't stress enough how critical it is to NOT chase reviewers; any journalist worth their salt won't review an unfinished product anyway, so you don't want those who ARE willing to touch it, touching it.

Hope I haven't rubbed folks the wrong way. This stuff is just pretty important to me. =)

EDIT: That's not so say you can't chase folks to do previews -- that's just peachy, and sometimes journalists need a heads-up on games that might be off their radar screen. I'm just talking about reviews, which usually carry with them a certain connotation.

 

[Dacil]

Well these are around 30 secs and they sure do leave "what the *dance* did I just watch?" impression... but would you honestly want to check it out after seeing these clips?

omg i love the eerie music for the third a lot more than the trance or whatever it is....it makes it more compelling and people will probably be a lot more curious after seeing it

 

[MightySheep]

the clips in the OP arent very trailer material

I personally wanted to see more speed and skiing, for a trailer nobody wants to see u do rocket kills over and over for entire vid

the other 3 you posted are crap, watever they are..

I would say make it about 1:30 and show epic speed/movement clips aswell as combat clips, with variety of weapons and scenery and keep it fast paced

 

[MJ1284]

the clips in the OP arent very trailer material

I personally wanted to see more speed and skiing, for a trailer nobody wants to see u do rocket kills over and over for entire vid

*sigh* Does anybody even bother to read OP?

Cons:
- Clips aren't well suited for trailer/feels more like skill montage than trailer *
- Needs more variety in terms of weapon & map display
- HORRENDOUS TEXT FONTS
- Too long for a trailer

* Old clips, I can't just snap my fingers and turn them into trailer material (wish I could).

What I'd change/improve in future version:
- Make it 1:40 - 2:00 long (with audio fade out near end)
- NEW CLIPS (soon as I CAN record new stuff), might use some stuff from Chronicles of Zeta
- Replace texts with some smexy art/change text font and put some animations on them
- Will try to add variety in maps and weapons
- Use more "casual" gameplay footage (not just MA hits, regular kills and regular movement)
- Use only a handful of MA clips with spiffy effects (keynotes at 0:58, 1:12 & 1:26), just to give the video some "highlights"

I listed these so that people would know I've acknowledged them.

 

[mausgang]

Here are my thoughts on the trailer you have so far. As others have said, its too long and a skill montage more than anything else. Also, it could be just a little confusing for people watching this what legions is about. I would recommend filming stuff happening from a spectator camera point to even better get the z-axis idea across to players. Using somebody else as a 'cameraman' would take more people to turn it into a production, but it would seem more like a preview. First person viewpoint just doesn't seem very much like a trailer. Show some skiing, show some flag stuff, and make it look awesome. Also, using every weapon would be a good idea, just to show what is available for use.

 

[Dacil]

^ adding to that, look at awesome game trailers that you like to get references as to camera views and how to mix them with combat first person views....b/c even though first person may not seem like a trailer i've seen it used and used very well

 

[MJ1284]

2nd trailer concept up and running, check OP for embedded video.

 

[Serket]

This new video really has more of a trailer feeling instead of a skill montage like others were saying and it came out rather nice. If anything maybe you could add a little bit more combat to spice it a up a notch.

 

[Frost]

Concept 2: You improved it 10fold, but you went from tons of MA fights to none, though I know you need some more clips. As serket said it does need -some- combat, not necessarily MA's but it needs some pvp gameplay (I'd switch out the clip at 0:56 of the outrider with some small fight since the music picks up a bit then)

Much better then the old one

 

[Disci]

Well 30secs was kinda too short but you get the idea. This is the promo vid they made for warsow 0.5 and it kinda shows my point. It's not about cool shots but about what the game is. Movement, game mods etc, you have to include everything that game is not just some awesome stuff you would put in some skill montage.

 

[Daphinicus]

Regarding Trailer 2:

It's hugely improved over the first! You want trailers to pick up the pace over time, and throw new twists and turns into the mix as you move along, and you're doing just that. Good job! A few suggestions:

1. Keep the aspect ratio of your clips consistent. If that means you need to crop out pieces from some clips, that's what it means -- the action will most likely be in the center of the frame anyway.
2. Speaking of aspect ratio, go with widescreen whenever possible. It's far more cinematic, and that's exactly what a trailer should be going for.
3. Consistency also comes into play with framerate, even if it's just PERCEIVED framerate. In the 0:15-0:22 span, you've got several nice environment clips, but they're a little choppy, and they grate when compared to the smoothness of a couple of your earlier shots. This may well just be my opinion, but the "Freedom of Movement" in Legions is a LOT smoother and more graceful than the movement in, say, Warsow. You want the smooth and graceful parts of your trailer to emphasize that.
4. The transitions between the early clips are great! I would, however, dump them once the action starts, or at least speed them up a LOT. Once we start seeing those GNRL suits flying, we want to be watching action, action, action! Blur transitions just slow down the pacing.
5. Last content recommendation, though it's a tough one: Do whatever you can to get closer, more intimate shots of players in action. Right now the camera's very distant, and the action feels far off. At the same time, you don't want to bog down the trailer with player-perspective shots -- those cameraman shots are far more cinematic in feel. But if you could tighten them up in re-shoots, it would make a world of difference to the final product.
6. And to close things out: Ask the development team if they'll let you use the Legions Overdrive logo (the one on the forum titlebar) in the movie, in place of the Courier font at the end. It'd make a world of difference in how viewers walk away from the trailer, since the logo (for reasons escaping gameplay designers everywhere) can be a huge subconscious influence on whether a game is viewed positively or negatively. Of course, if they DO let you use the logo, then the trailer gets interpreted by viewers as an official release of the development team... and they may or may not be comfy with that.

Keep up the hard effort, bud!