My (Animated) Military Video thread

[George]

Before I post anything, I would like to thank everybody for letting me hang out with you all, and this chance to present a bit of fandom and creativity, for one JediMichael for teaching me about video editing.

I've taken on a video project that depicts (approximates) an event from (military) history for the purpose of info-tainment/militainment.

Aside from historical events, I love creating updated versions of missions from retro games such as Task Force Dagger, so I will be posting that too just for the fun of it.

The first video was made in the spirit of '12 Strong' , about Green Berets being flown into Afghanistan at the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom:

Thanks for watching ~ more to come

 

[joberg]

Very good description of military strategy. A mix of ground shots + arial ones makes it dynamic and interesting.
Keep up the good work

 

[George]

After four months of hard work, video #2 (v1) is ready for review:

Thank you for watching and comments/constructive criticism are welcome.

 

[joberg]

Very good stuff George! Crazy battle to say the least

 

[George]

Thank you. Based on a true story minus the graphics, so this video depicts reality mildly to say the least (half way down the page):

21st Century Horse Soldiers - Special Operations Forces and Operation Enduring Freedom | Defense Media Network

Personally, what I found the worst about those first two months of fighting were the wounded and dying horses. I'm a massive animal lover and it tore me up inside to read about their suffering, aside from that of fellow human beings that is. (Domesticated) animals have no say in the matter in the human world; the fact that they were involved in battle in the 21st century was both exceptional and difficult for me to read about.

That being said, if the badguy(s) take your country (still valid these days) and inflict pain and suffering even on generations before you, you would want to stand, fight and get it back. I fully get their point of view; that's why I like reading about it so much. Courage is timeless and very necessary.

 

[joberg]

Yes, I think that animals used during war/conflict should be seen as somewhat humble in their innocence and courage, despite their fears, since they recognize it, they'll go on and do their duties to the ultimate sacrifice of their life. I think there's a true symbiose between human and animal in those circumstances.

 

[George]

If at all possible, I would go one step further and replace animals by robots, which I think is being worked on by (miltary) science

 

[joberg]

If at all possible, I would go one step further and replace animals by robots, which I think is being worked on by (miltary) science

The problems with robots is numerous: battery is the main one and electronics the second. Nothing replaces a good mule or a horse...and in certain countries, those are the choice transportation. The poor infrastructure (road, bridge, etc...) is a big challenge for any army.
Even tanks can become fast obsolete when local bridges cannot support tones of steel. Maybe one day

 

[George]

Half movie, half walkthrough, and a lot of hard work cutting clips to right size, organize etc.

Thanks in advance for your support on either youtube or the forum. It keeps me motivated

Second mission almost done, same movie/walkthrough format, and to be released here. Enjoy ^_^

 

[joberg]

Very good work. Loved the walkthrough: very dynamic

 

[George]

Mission #2 remake from the same Task Force Dagger game (2002). After weeks of hard work, I finished it yesterday and uploaded it today:

Again: I love playing with camera angles, especially when it comes to capturing footage of helos, but also panoramic footage of the battle in total.

Enjoy ! And please consider your support for it on the forum and/or youtube. It keeps me motivated to create more.

 

[joberg]

Your camera angles are very good! I love how you can go from wide/panoramic shots to "close" shots of the action

 

[George]

Bump post #11. I would love to see/hear more reviews for my videos.
If you like what you saw, please support my work with a ‘like’ either in this thread or on youtube. Given the amount of time and effort I put into a video, the support and enthusiasm for it is much appreciated and keeps me going.
Thank you all so much !

 

[yuumi2891103]

Good stuff!!
I enjoyed those intense gun fighting. It is a really 'Lone Survivor' vibe. The enthusiasm and tons of effort paid off. It is getting better and better each time. I subscribed and look forward to the coming sequel.

 

[CB2001]

This is pretty awesome, George. I'm glad to see another user here who happened to make machinima also (I experimented a bit with it back in the mid-2000s, doing not so great shorts such as An American Roadrunner in England, using Need for Speed: High Stakes and a fake trailer for a story called Karma Agent using Lionhead Games' The Movies). But you certainly have done a great job at telling the real story, even with whatever game or programs you've used to help you tell it. Keep it up, George.

 

[George]

Thank you all.
CB2001 I’m right there with you, sir. The possibilities are endless and it’s great fun.
Since you mentioned Need for Speed: #3 for PS1 happened to be my favorite. My brother and I literally played that game until it wouldn’t load anymore.

The idea for machinima was rather born out of ‘necessity’ though. My old video game servers weren’t supported online anymore and the company that made them was sold. No one to team up with or to share my creations with.

Two years ago I bought a few of those old games back after seeing ‘12 Stong’, realising I was not done (creating) yet, however I couldn’t share my creations with anyone anymore. It occurred to me that I could then use the mapmaking tool to (still) tell military history stories that I could then share, which sounded like a perfect compromise anyway. I wasn’t going to lose any sleep on gaming anymore.

I have acquired a book about Operation Eagle Claw; the failed attempt of Delta Force to free the hostages in Iran in 1980 after the embassy was stormed. I have read two books on the subject, I have seen several documentaries about it and listened to interviews with some of the veterans that were there. Obviously, no book or story gets past the malfunction of helo #6 and the collision with the C130 in the desert that led to the cancelling of the mission, because that’s how history went. Nevertheless the commander’s intent/mission plan was never further explored in any video project that I know of.

A question I would like to ask is whether such an initiative (when sincere and with respect towards the veterans) is frowned upon or in context accepted?
If not, I will leave it be. But if at all acceptable…I will do my utmost to make a proper video on the subject which would show the mission as intended.

What do you all think? Leave history be or acceptable to elaborate on the subject?

 

[George]

Okay, I’m about 1/3 into video project, but cannot seem to share the progress with you all, despite uploading a 3 minute sample all the way and then the website says “Oops, we’ve ran into a problem” without specifying anything.
Emailed the admin a week ago but no response thusfar. Does anybody know what could have gone wrong?
Please and thank you for any help I may receive.

 

[joberg]

Thank you all.
CB2001 I’m right there with you, sir. The possibilities are endless and it’s great fun.
Since you mentioned Need for Speed: #3 for PS1 happened to be my favorite. My brother and I literally played that game until it wouldn’t load anymore.

The idea for machinima was rather born out of ‘necessity’ though. My old video game servers weren’t supported online anymore and the company that made them was sold. No one to team up with or to share my creations with.

Two years ago I bought a few of those old games back after seeing ‘12 Stong’, realising I was not done (creating) yet, however I couldn’t share my creations with anyone anymore. It occurred to me that I could then use the mapmaking tool to (still) tell military history stories that I could then share, which sounded like a perfect compromise anyway. I wasn’t going to lose any sleep on gaming anymore.

I have acquired a book about Operation Eagle Claw; the failed attempt of Delta Force to free the hostages in Iran in 1980 after the embassy was stormed. I have read two books on the subject, I have seen several documentaries about it and listened to interviews with some of the veterans that were there. Obviously, no book or story gets past the malfunction of helo #6 and the collision with the C130 in the desert that led to the cancelling of the mission, because that’s how history went. Nevertheless the commander’s intent/mission plan was never further explored in any video project that I know of.

A question I would like to ask is whether such an initiative (when sincere and with respect towards the veterans) is frowned upon or in context accepted?
If not, I will leave it be. But if at all acceptable…I will do my utmost to make a proper video on the subject which would show the mission as intended.

What do you all think? Leave history be or acceptable to elaborate on the subject?

Sorry for the late reply George:
I'm pretty sure the Veterans would be o.k. with that type of re-creation. While History is done and in the past, with 20/20 vision one can learn to ask the right questions vis-a-vis the strategies used at the time and the improvements that could be found from those questions.

 

[George]

That was the idea behind the video: no matter what the format is to tell the story, the outcome is always tragedy.
I wanted to tell history right up to the moment where it went wrong…and then continue the story with hope in the form of the ‘Commander’s intent’ or ‘Mission plan’ if you will, which was very real(alistic); just never executed. Using that mission plan I think could give enough realism and (historical) value to the video eventhough it is animated.

An alternative to the direct upload to the site might be a temporary upload to youtube once the video is halfway done, but I’ll leave that up to you all to decide. Replacing it with the final product might confuse/upset people who previously watched and liked it, and now can’t find it anymore?