Cutting Room Floor

While I do have lots of newness to share with you, I am planning on sticking to my Sunday post schedule; eventually I may run out of goodness and I don't want to hurry that along. I reclaimed some prims yesterday so I have about 1500 again. I plan on leaving 500 available for rezzing, but there is still room for great new stuff. Other items will be retired and hopefully replaced with smart mesh builds that save on that nasty finite "prim" allowance.

Meanwhile since I am a blogger first and foremost, I decided to chat a bit as my newly finished (ohIreallyhopeso) film finishes processing. It is taking half an hour for 4:30 which means to me that I used a lot of filters (yep) and layers (you got it) and that I could use more RAM (well yes, but not for once a month).

So here is my philosophy of the day:

The Cutting Room Floor

If you have been making machinima for awhile, you know how long getting a four to ten second "fantastic" clip can be. Props, costumes, locales, animations, lighting -- it all takes time. Finally, if you are lucky, you get just what you wanted -- or sometimes serendipity sneaks in and you actually get something better than what you wanted. You smile with a sign of relief and move on to the next scene.

But what happens when those hard won seconds don't really fit into your film? That actually happened in my last two projects -- including the one that is now happily uploading to YouTube *wink*.

I am not the best machinimatographer in town, but I do pride myself on high production values and good editing. I spend MUCH more time in the virtual editing room than filming -- even with those hour for four second scenarios. I watch and watch and watch again: not only when the film in starting out but after I think I am done. And of course I am rarely actually done when I think I am.

Along the way there comes a point (not always but sometimes) when something just isn't right; something doesn't fit. And, it could be that scene I worked so long on. Ego comes into play here of course. I want to show off that great scene, but at what price. Twice now I have thrown away clips, cluttering the cutting room floor. Where the films better? Yes, they were. Am I glad I made the decision to let those scenes go? Yes I am.

Did I save them "just in case" there is a spot for them in another film?

You betcha!