OLD Subject Specialism - Research - Starcraft 2 Wings of Liberty trailer/Intro cinematic

Starcraft 2 Wings of Liberty trailer/Intro cinematic 

This a cinematic production created for the game Starcraft 2, i'm not too familiar with the starcraft
games, but they have a sci-fi theme so that's all i need to start talking about how they went about
presenting their ideas to the viewer.

Figure 19

This cinematic starts with some narration from an unknown source or person, then some lights turn on
to reveal a small section of some sort of factory. As the narrator continues we see something descend
down from the ceiling, as it comes to a stop some mechanical parts on the side open up, Figure 19.
The first thing I want to talk about is the models and textures used. The metal parts of the object in the
first scene looks really well done and it reacts to the white light as each of them turns on, the use of
shadows is also really well done and it keeps the viewers attention on what's happening rather than
being distracted by something out of focus. The next point is the narration, it's rough and gritty so I
imagine it's from someone who might have military experience or is in a position of command, this
really helps instantly set the tone for the cinematic and that's important when you want it to present a
certain theme. The sound design is also really well done, as each of the light turns on we can hear the
flicker as they power up, some even flicker multiple times which gives the feeling of old equipment
that gets used a lot. As the mechanical box descend from the ceiling, we can hear a mechanical whine
which is a simple sound but it really adds to the scene when there is little overpowering noises going on
at the same time.

Figure 20

The trailer then cuts to a wide shot of the whole room, this gives the viewer a better understanding of
where they actually are, Figure 20. The design for this room is good and the modelling and texturing of
the assets is well done, not as high detail as the first shot i don't think, this would be done for a reason
as you don't need objects that are far away to have extreme detail as you won't be able to see it. This
shot is mostly silent, with a break in the narration to build tension. I like the ambient sound of the room
and I don't think that this scene would be better with music as it's about building tension without the use
of music. This is something that I can try and replicate in my trailer animation as i don't think that I am
able to create a fitting score so making use of different sounds and ambient noises will be a great help.
The lighting is also very good and it's easy to see the room but not to bright that it looks unrealistic.

It then cuts to a shot of a large metal door that opens to reveal just darkness. I really like how this door
opens, first the key type object on the front turns in the motion of unlocking a door, then the top and
bottom opens showing these metal claw type objects as they seem to recoil from the light. The animation
on the doors moving parts is very good and I can imagine a lot of work went into the design of how it
opens and works.

Figure 21

The next shot is a look into what's inside of the darkness behind the door. It's a close up of a mans face
that is hidden in shadow, the only light source comes from the cigar that he is smoking, Figure 21. I really
like the use of the subtle light and sudden music score to build up this new character. A female computer
voice is also heard telling this character t step forward, calling him a prisoner. This bit of information is
vital to the viewer, now we can work  out that this factory may be some sort of prison, this is an example
of not telling the viewer exactly what's going on until you need to. It's hard to see the details on this
character face but I can tell that they have a good amount of detail for example, we can see some light
being reflected in his eyes. It's a small detail but it really adds to the overall scene. The character then
steps out of frame towards the doors exit.

The next shot a close shot at ground level, this host is to show the viewer that this person is definitely a
prisoner if they had missed the voice telling use. They show this by having the characters all in with
chains around his ankles. The sound of the chains is there but it's very subtle and it doesn't overpower
the scene. 

We then get a shot from inside of the door looking out at the factory and the back of the prisoner, as this
happens we recoil into the dark and the door folds closed blocking the view of the man, Figure 22. I
really like the framing in this shot, the door acts as our focus point and the dark room blocks out any
distractions so we only focus on the man. We then get some text that reads “Blizzard Entertainment
presents”, i like this little break in the cinematic. It almost makes you feel like all that came before it was
to set this up but now we are going to get into the real portion of the trailer, which is true.

Figure 22

After that it cuts to a shot of the main character putting his feet into some metal clamp devices, it amazes
me the amount of small mechanical detail they have added to shots like this. The lighting and the use of
smoke makes you think that there is an immense heat below the floor, this adds to the feel of the room
and its purpose as a prison/factory. 

The next couple of shots shows a computer that seems to have the main characters information on it, like
his crimes. In fact it reads off his crimes in a very sinister way, even when it says that the player is “free”
it feels like that is something we shouldn't be happy about it. Between cuts of the computer screen
changing and filling out information, we get shots of some metal plates being added to the feet of this
character, I can't imagine how long it took to get the animations for the mechanic parts to work and feel
like they should. I like the use of multiple different narration we get, the first is definitely narration but the
next two seem to have a direct purpose in the scene. Understanding that difference then applying it to a
trailer in a way that works is important knowledge.

Figure 23

One of the shots that comes next is a medium shot of some mechanical device in the room as it begins
to slowly power up and spin around, as it does it begins to glow red and start producing a small amount
of smoke, Figure 23. The reason I like this shot is because we get a much closer look at some of the
textures in the factory, we can see the dirt and oil from constant use and how the equipment looks a bit
old and unkempt. This is something that I need to remember when I design my textures, they have to fit
with the environment  and not be clean when it's not necessary. The sound of the machine powering up
is great and it can be heard in the rest of the trailer. I think that they added some motion blur to the first
spinning part of the object, this would be done to make it seem like it's spinning faster than it actually is.

Figure 24

The next part of the trailer is a montage of the machines in the room adding the suit components to the
prisoner, it's cut very quick so talking about each shot is mostly not needed, Figure 24 and 25. I would
not know where to begin when designing all of the moving components for this suit because it's incredibly
complicated. I suppose what you would have to do is design each piece for the scene but swap it out for
parts that have a lower poly count and does not need to the additional parts on it at the end. The lighting
is once again great in these scenes and you can see everything very clearly, on paper having a guy put
a robot suit on doesn't sound that interesting but they have managed to make it look intricate and
interesting. The music now kicks in as the narration ends for the moment, the music is loud and feels
like it belongs in this game. Pair this soundtrack with the machine whines of the equipment and the noise
of high pressure steam being dispelled from the suit makes for a great scene. This is a good example of
having a good score but knowing when to save it and when to use it, if you play it to early it will lose its
effect and if you lose it too late then it might not engage the viewer for long. To render this whole scene
out must have taken a while, i don't know what software they use but it definitely does the job well.

Figure 25

Figure 26

The final twenty second of the trailer is narration paired with quick one second shots showing different
things outside of the factory, such as monsters and ships, Figure 26. The final shot of the cinematic is
a close up of our main character no completely encased in his suit, we get a clearer look as his face
model as well. The eyes of this character are still in shadow but we can see some scars on his face
along with what looks like dirt. Overall i would say that the face model is well made and they knew how
to use it for this cinematic. 

In conclusion i this is a well made cinematic, it's very different from the Dawn of War trailer as that one
was focused around action to set up the theme and style of the game. This trailer made use of tension
and narration to build the story and drip fed the information to the viewer in the from of said narration
and some visual guides.