MOVIE COMPETITION RULES and DEADLINES NOW CLOSED!!

[Freycinet]

Great initiative!

Too bad Barfly cannot compete, he would be a really strong contestant.

I'll enter a movie, but with the competition out there I have no belief that I'll be close to winning...

[Troll2k]

Maybe you could win the door prize.

[DoolittleRaider]

Originally Posted by Freycinet

Great initiative!

Too bad Barfly cannot compete, he would be a really strong contestant.

I'll enter a movie, but with the competition out there I have no belief that I'll be close to winning...

I'll soon be posting some food-for-thought comments about movie-making by newcomers, part of which address the fact that, with the exception of 3 or 4, most of the IL-2 Movie-makers of the ‘glory days’ of IL-2 movie-making (2004-2009) have long retired from the flight sim hobby, or certainly from the movie-making aspect thereof...

Additionally, as mentioned by someone on another Forum website: with Barfly, Biltongbru, Monty Dan, and Joe-90 on the Judging Panel, a high percentage of the experienced 'professional' level 'front-runners' are "scratched' from the ticket/competition. It's wide open for Newcomers!

And...the prizes are the best ever offered! With more to come. Stay tuned.

I think anyone who has even dabbled with using the trk recorder and Fraps, etc., will have a shot at winning. And..there is no rush! The 90-day duration of the competition will allow lots of time and opportunity for learning, researching, asking Questions on this sub-forum, trial and error, referral to tutorials, even dumping one's entire work file and re-starting from scratch [that can happen], and ultimately creation of a very competitive product/Movie.

[Freycinet]

Let's call it the "Il-2 CoD...

...X-prize"!

[kyletiernan]

Looks great, will definitely be participating Thank you everyone for putting this together!

[White Owl]

I was driving home from work tonight, and inspiration struck my brain from out of nowhere. I know what I want to do for this. Even though I haven't tried anything like it before...

[bw_wolverine]

I intend to enter a film. God, I hope I can find the time to get this thing done on time. Even 90 days seems like it might be tight with my schedule

[DoolittleRaider]

As there may be a number of Community members who would like to enter the Movie Competition but are new to Movie-making, and might not be sure where to begin, we think it might be valuable to present Food-for-Thought with regard to Flight Sim Movies…perhaps to stimulate ideas for a competitive ‘Cliffs of Dover’ movie.

Note that in no way is this competition limited to only Experienced Flight Sim movie-makers. In fact, with exception of 3 or 4, most of the IL-2 Movie-makers of the ‘glory days’ of IL-2 movie-making (2004-2009) have retired from the Flightsim movie-making hobby…or advanced to more professional real-world realms of movie-making.

As has been noted elsewhere, GamePlay videos play a number of very useful roles…to open discussions of on-line experiences and tactics; to offer Training in aircraft controls and instruments; to provide flying lessons in aerial maneuvers and gunnery lessons; to demonstrate positive features or negative bugs of the COD game, to promote Sales of the Game, or simply display on-line kills/achievements, etc. In the main, the sequence of events in the majority of GamePlay videos consists of take-off (sometimes preceded by engine start steps); flying to a point in time and space, sometimes just for sightseeing, more often to encounter enemy targets which are then engaged (either airborne or ground targets, with guns or rockets or bombs); a resolution of the combat engagement occurs which may or may not result in the ‘loss’ of the POV pilot, or a safe return towards home base…often all the way through landing and engine shutdown. Very often, a gameplay video will begin “airborne’ and consist solely of constant, or nearly constant, air-to-air combat action.

Putting Gameplay videos aside for the moment, however, it should be noted that this current Competition is for "Movies", and the very best FlightSim Movies offer the opportunity to present a much greater variety of “events’, specifically orchestrated by a “Story” or “Screenplay” which usually conveys an emotional connection of one sort or another with the “humans” at the aircraft controls. The typical Story or Screenplay (of a Hollywood movie or Broadway/West End stage play) most often follows a general structure in which there is a Beginning (setup), Middle (crisis) and End (resolution), sometimes referred to as the 3-Act structure. The structure is sometimes more refined, such as: Introduction, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.

This structure can be applied to even the shortest movie, and most would agree that, with rare exception, simply must be followed with long movies (referring to Hollywood movies, Stage Plays, and novels, etc). Note that the outstanding IL-2 (and Rise of Flight Movies) have been as short as 2 minutes, and as long as One Full hour…but at both extremes the best movies have employed some version of the 3-Act structure.

The simpler way of putting the preceding is that a movie-maker must plan ahead before ‘shooting’ his first raw ‘footage’, plan and think beyond Action-Action-Action. Think about the "story", about the “message” and/or the “emotion” to be conveyed. When we say "emotion", guys, we aren't talking "Chick Flic". You've got Happiness, true, but also achievement, pride, sorrow, respect, fear, patriotism, sacrifice, camaraderie, bravery,cowardice, evil, heroism, etc.

It has been proven in Flight Sim movies that it is possible to convey emotion, to engage the audience, without on-screen human actors. I refer you to “Requiem”, "I Promise", and "Not my Time to Die". If, at the end of your movie, the viewer is left Thoughtful, Wondering, Smiling, Laughing, Enlightened/Educated, or even with a Manly Tear in his eye, you've produced a "Movie". I will note that, lacking human actors on screen, voice-over Narration and/or Dialogue can be a very effective technique to convey emotion, and contribute to immersion, in Flight Sim movies.

The very first step, of course, is to establish what “Type” of movie is desired. Below are listed several types of flight sim movies which have been made using the IL-2 series, and to a much lesser degree Rise of Flight, and one or two from other Flight Sims. All of the movies below can be viewed at the Flight Sim Movies Website . They may give newcomers an idea of what is possible, and what appeals to their individual personalities and interests as movie-makers.

For convenience, I have provided direct links to each movie’s Showcase page at FSM.

Flight Sim Movie types

Memoirs:
I Flew for the Fuhrer
Not my Time to Die
Checkertails, Star of Altoona

Docudrama:
Brothers in Arms
Desert Dogfighter
Faith, Hope, and Charity

Comedy:
Bob Storm of War
Nachthexen
Bill et John, Episode 2
The Messenger

Documentaries and Tributes:
Sabres of the 51st FIW
Death of Mannock
Taranto
Mitchell
Against the Odds
Operation Ten-Go
Battle of Britain:The KanalKampf

Dramatic Fiction and/or Science Fiction:
I Promise
Pictures of War
Pictures of War 2
In the Sky

Thematic, Poetic, Inspirational… Music videos:
“Requiem” The Classic IL2 Movie, which has stood the test of time for a full decade
Come with Me
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
Hearts and Minds

Recreations of Hollywood Movies:
Battle of Britain 2.0 (Recreates opening scene of 1969 BofB Movie)

Unique and Infinitely Creative:
To Do and Die