LHtimes: Who are you and what do you?
Ash: Heya! My name is Ash and I'm Lead Scene Designer on “The Movies.” My job involves both directly designing and producing scenes, and also representing and coordinating a team of Scene Designers. As a bit of a primer, and before we continue further, I'd like to briefly touch on what exactly a scene is and what it is that a Scene Designer does.
LHtimes: So what exactly is a scene?
Ash: The term “Scene” has a broad technical description in “The Movies.” There are two main types: those you'd never suspect -- created to provide interactions between people, the game world and user interface; but most of our work is done on the most famous type -- cinematic scenes that can be assembled together like building blocks to form a movie.
There are two main types of cinematic scene in “The Movies.” We have scenes that are much more like what everyone generally understands a scene to be: actors performing a range of actions and with multiple camera angles arranged in a sequence.
But we also have another type -- quick shots such as a close up of a face, a quick wide shot of a Suburban street, or a gun pointed close up at the camera. Both types of cinematic scene can be customised by the player through the use of a simple piece of interface we like to call a “slider.”
Sliders allow you to choose from a range of scene-changing options. Together with scene content choices -- like Sets, Costumes and Props -- sliders are one of the main ways you can interact with and influence your Cast and Crew, to direct and encourage them to perform their parts more to your personal liking. The more sliders and slider options the scene has, the greater the range of scene content the player can create. Effectively, sliders allow the player to take on the part of the film crew -- most especially the Director and Cameraman.
LHtimes: So what do Scene Designers do?
Ash: Scene Designers are responsible for designing and creating cinematic scenes and studio interactions using content provided by the Animation and Art departments with tools and effects produced by our programmers. I like to think of us as the creative adhesive which binds our studio's movie magic together into movie building blocks featuring highly customisable cinematic moments. In plainer words, we design and produce scenes.
LHtimes: Could you give us more details about your team members?
Ash: There are seven of us now: Dan Hunter, Dave Carter, Rob Mackenzie, Nick Dry, Tadhg Kelly, Carson Herrick and myself. Our team is highly creative and varied in terms of past experience, which has been of definite benefit since Scene Design in “The Movies” has evolved to be a fantastical and creative mix of art, programming, storytelling and cinematography.
Though we all started off doing mostly the same thing, over time some of us needed to specialise in certain areas. For example, Dan's work time is especially focused on our scene camera work, whereas Dave specialises more with liaising with the programmers to create and update the non-cinematic type interactions between people, the game world and user interface.
LHtimes: How long have you been designing scenes?
Ash: I arrived on the team in May 2003 and was quickly accompanied by Dan and Nick -- so at least three of our team of seven have been creating scenes for just under 2 years now.
Along the way, the Scene Design team has doubled as we make every effort to provide a rich variety of scenes, riddled with as many opportunities for budding Film Directors to flex their fledgling cinematic wings.
LHtimes: What is the biggest challenge your team has encountered?
Ash: Movie making is a very rich and deep vein for creative inspiration! Because of this wealth of possibility, it is a challenge to be limited to capturing just a part of that -- creating and supporting only a certain group of genres and strong themes -- without wanting to do even more.
This is even further complicated by the style of our game. Fun and exaggerated actions will appeal to some players, but other fans will want to create movies with a style based more on subtlety and realism and with less emphasis on the comical.
It is very challenging to provide as many options as we can; to provide a range of possibilities and to fulfil as many of these expectations as possible and yet to do that within the time constraints of a production schedule.
LHtimes: How long does it take to make an average scene from scratch?
Ash: We have so much variation it's hard to pin down what characterises an average scene. They range from long sequences of actions and camera angles (with up to three or four Sliders which can completely change the meaning of the scene) down to momentary shots of faces or actions created to allow the player many options without having to resort to last minute post-production wizardry.
Depending on the size of the set or if the scene includes a “location” slider, roughly half of the time spent making scenes involves creating walk paths for actors. Simpler scenes can be created rapidly, whereas longer and more interactive-friendly scenes can take several days.
We have a certain standard of completion and much of our time between now and release will be spent enhancing what we've got, as well as supporting and adding to it with new scene content.
LHtimes: What kind of impact do the scenes have in the game?
Ash: In a game focused on the world of movie making, I'd say scenes have a pretty big impact! Without them, everything about our actors would be only what you read about in tabloid magazines -- such as Stars acting up -- and absolutely nothing about the great creative work they do on screen. You need to choose at least one scene to make a movie script, so if not only by necessity alone, without scenes you cannot create movies.
However, it is important to point out here that there are definite ways for people to play the game without being particularly worried about all the potential creative choices available to make movies. Instead, if you want to spend your time concentrating on the stars or studio, there are definite ways you can do this.
LHtimes: What is your favourite scene and why?
Ash: I have to choose just one?! There are probably about 30 or so that are in my…err…top-30. Some are particularly good because they've got loads of slider options and thus provide for a great range of different possibilities, others because they feature powerful camera techniques, and some of the very best are simple -- already providing a strong and usable cinematic moment without needing any or many added bells and whistles. I guess what I am saying is that I can't pick just one -- sorry.
LHtimes: How many different scenes will there be in the final game?
Ash: I'm happy to say there will be a lot more scenes than we originally planned! At the moment we have at least four and a half thousand cinematic type scenes and we're working hard to get even more into the game.
LHtimes: Do you have any words of advice for the community?
Ash: Think of your favourite movies and imagine how much you'd have enjoyed them the first time if all the actors had spoken in only a language you didn't know, and without translated subtitles or voiceovers to help you understand. Perhaps cheesy Kung Fu action, soppy Romance, over-the-top Slapstick comedy and spine-chilling Horrors would be some of few styles or genres of movie that would survive such a loss and still provide a compelling and apparent storyline.
That is the same in The Movies. The scenes have been designed so that if you string a whole lot of strong, clear actions and or symbolic moments together, lo and behold a plotline emerges before the camera's lens. Generally, the longer you spend carefully planning for your movies, producing and then adjusting and enhancing them in post production, the better the result will be -- your efforts will create better movies.
So definitely an astoundingly great deal can be portrayed through careful selection of actions, sequencing of shots, precise slider settings, camera techniques and the like – but absolutely everything you choose to add from this point on will only make your movies richer and more engaging.
You absolutely don't have to do any of this. Scripts can be chosen and produced to the silver screen with minimal effort if you desire. But if you want to create top notch mini-movies that will delight, intrigue and maybe even move your audience, then you need to spend the time picking just the right props, the perfect costumes for the moment, adding in the sound effects and music, the subtitles to help express meaning and strengthen your storytelling intentions, or pick up your microphone and make some noise. I've noticed voiceovers in particular have a very strong and potent effect on our movies.
Will your Movie Studio be overshadowed into obscurity or will you and your Movie Stars stylishly step up the stairs of Stardom? You're not forced to, but adding in your own touches and putting in the extra time and effort to polish and perfect will add a rich dimension to each and every movie you can and will make with this game.
Woody, Community Manager.
Thanks to Ash Harman, Lead Scene Designer.
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