Horizon Zero Dawn Postmortem
I’ve decided to start creating and publishing postmortem on the reviews I write for The Domus Project, in order to provide a running log of things worth mentioning during the creation and production process, and in hopes I can improve my work over time and practice.
This took way too long to complete
I started this project back in March, as I was about ½ through the game. I was about 50% percent through the game when I decide to do an actual review of the game. I’ve heard all this praise and adoration of the game, but there are things I felt worth addressing, and video production was something I’ve wanted to dip my toes into this year. Inspired by the works of Shammy and Raycevik, these long form style reviews, I wanted to create something that effectively shares my message about the game, where it excels and where it falters.
Most of the time was spent constructing the script, which is about 7500 words. That’s way too long, especially for a first time reviewer. Plus I spent a lot of time writing and re-writing, and my process for creating reviews could use some actual structure and work in order to deliver content faster and more clearly.
Editing the script took a month. Some friends offered to help, but I ended up doing it myself more or less, and it took a bit of time. Unless you really like me, I don’t expect you to edit and offer feedback for 7500 words over and over again, as well as deal with my indecisive nature. But hey, growth is a wonderful thing.
I became frustrated as the script reached completion. I had so many ideas to implement and put together. But this pushed back the game a ton, to the point where publishing the video past it’s prime would prove unfruitful in terms of traffic. There was a bevy of 3rd party content I wanted to include, but settled on game play instead to keep pushing the project forward.
Learning Premiere Pro CC
I bought Premiere Pro CC as well as After Effects CC to create quality content, and I chose that software due to the amount of depth offered. This isn’t just for YouTubers, a lot of professionals use this and there is something to be learned when you can tell people you know your way around Premiere and AE. I also could better leverage my Gaming PC, which I mainly used to capture game play and record voice overs.
I spent an entire week watching videos on how to use Premiere Pro, as well as some basic video techniques like cut editing, balanced cross-fading, and transitions. Nothing stuck. So I threw myself into the deep end, stumbled around for a bit, and slowly built up a flow for the editing process.
There are a few creative elements I wanted to include, but again, my tardiness on the project’s initial deadline pushed me to focus on getting this out the door as a first step. The size of the project also played a factor.
Footage
I recorded on two different PS4s. A base PS4 for about 70% of the raw footage, and the rest of it on the Pro (concerning Horizon Zero Dawn content). Some footage was also recorded on PC for a few games such as Overwatch and The Division. Using a majority of base PS4 footage, the videos were captured at 720p/30. This resulted in some creative scaling that diminishes the overall value of the world as I make my argument. Jarring differences in quality, especially from PC to PS4 footage, just drops overall desired quality. The base PS4 is retired, and now sits as a trophy on my shelf, and my Pro will do all the heavy lifting from now on.
Audio
Audio is also inconsistent in terms of levels, equalisation, and overall quality. I used to make music back in high school, so I know my way around a graphical equaliser, but recording really slowed down the process. First, recording is very boring. At least I found it to be. So some work will be done to liven up the process. Second inconsistent mixing software (using Audacity and Probe by Audiotool) for equalisation and normalisation lead to differences between audio sections. It’s definitely noticeable, and I plan to do better.
Music
There was so much to say about the music. It is very effective at existing, but there are a few tracks that are worth listening to on their own (will list here). It’s atmospheric, doing just enough to add to the overall mode the biome or event projects to the player. This was cut due to lack of research, and time.
Process
The process was incredibly amateur, obstructed, and rushed. One example would be where my voice over would reference a game, say GTA 5. However, footage of said game is missing, or not recorded at all. In order to strive towards the quality I wanted, I’d stop editing, record the footage, the splice it into the project. This happened way too many times though the whole process. Also I need to learn to save more often.
What I learned
Oh my god this difficult creatively. The technical knowledge to create great content is available and can be easily learned with enough effort. But translating my ideas to video takes more technical knowledge than I had initially. My script felt concise, but rambling.
I have a pretty good excuse for all of my gaming gear now, as it helps fuel a potential passion. Like I said, inspired by the likes of BlueWestlo, Shammy, Raycevik, Mr. Fruit, and various other YouTubers. I wanted to start to offer my own takes on video games, cause I love video games, a little too much to be honest.
The script was way too fucking long for a first project. I can easily see how in depth reviews such as the incredible Halo years after series by Raycevik take so long to produce. It made the project difficult to complete as fuelling the drive to “make a short film length review” was more than I realised.
Next Steps
Consistency in raw footage. Every PS4 game reviewed will be captured in 1080p/30 minimum, via the Pro. Once I have a capture card, I hopefully won’t be limited by it. I can always apply frame interpolation to boost to 60 FPS, at the cost of pre-render and rendering, but that’s for another video I guess.
Consistency in audio capture. Define recording equalisation profiles for all audio tracks to maintain consistency. Best to record everything in one day, properly tag it, chop it, block it, and push it out the door. I can also attempt to be more animated in my voice, recording standing up and moving around, keep the mic stable, etc.
When playing the game initially, keeping notes as I play to keep talking about stuff worth addressing, games to compare to, etc. That way, when I collect B-roll of other games, I have a plan of attack.
Script failed hard in some areas, especially where I discuss Aloy’s struggle with her status as outcast, clashing with the praise she receives for being the chosen one. Delivery was poor, and improvisation didn’t help. Get an editor for a once over.
— —
Thanks for reading. Next video will most likely be my impressions on the Destiny 2 Beta. I won’t publish anything immediately in the forefront, but rather after the beta ends, I’ll offer my opinions, as well as my overall thoughts on the direction the game is heading. I’ll also be doing a “much” smaller game that can basically be completed over a weekend or two. Hopefully the script will be 1/2 as long, and I can deliver it in 2–3 weeks after beating the game.
@tenji240
@thedomusproject
— —
