Make a movie in SL

HOW TO: MAKE A MOVIE IN SECOND LIFE

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Key words: captures movies mpegs mpgs avis divxs wmvs machinima mpeg4s mpg4s

Before you begin you will need the following:

• Windows Media 8.0 and 9.0 codecs (if you don't already have them). You can find these at: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/wi...cdownload.aspx.

• Video editing software

1. Change your screen resolution to as small as possible.

• Right-click on your Windows desktop.
• Choose Properties, then Settings.
• Choose 800 by 600 pixels.
• Click Apply, then OK.

2. Log into Second Life

3. Turn on the Debug menu.

• Press Ctrl-Alt-D. Debug should appear to the right of Help in the main menu.

4. Set your movie resolution.

• From the menu, select Debug/Set 320x240 Windowed.
• IMPORTANT: your Second Life window will be reduced significantly.
• During filming, you must leave the SL window at this size on your screen.

5. Hide the User Interface.

• Click Ctrl-Alt-1 to hide the UI so that it won't appear in your movie.

6. Start your movie.

• Click Ctrl-Shift-A to start the movie (this command also stops filming).

7. Pick a place to save your movie.

• IMPORTANT: select or create a folder NOT on your desktop, for example, any folder on your C drive will work.
• Once you have your folder selected, click Open.
• Click Save.

8. Choose video compression.

• Select Full Frames/Uncompressed.
• IMPORTANT: this will generate a large uncompressed video file - about 1 GB per minute, which you will need to compress during or after editing.

OR

• Select Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec.
• Click OK. Filming beings.

9. Capture your raw footage.

• To stop filming, Click Ctrl-Shift-A.

10. Edit your movie using your choice of video editing application.

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contributor: -Char Linden