Friday, November 16, 2012

Battle Tank: Footage and Footnotes


(Do not adjust your Volume, there is no sound in this video)

-Erik McGrath

Its been awhile since I've said anything about Battle Tank. So let me correct that oversight.

As of now we are hard at work watching public domain, black and white newsreel footage. When we find something that looks good I download it and start editing the clips together and then we watch my drafts. I've made a few of them now and hopefully I am almost done because once I get one we like it becomes CJ's problem since he is responsible for the sound.

When it's done we will have a 40s-style newsreel about the invasion, and subsequent disaster of a retreat from, of Giant Robot Island with voice-overs by our very own CJ Andersen.

Sourcing clips has proven somewhat difficult. There is plenty of great footage that is still privately held and therefore of no use to us. There's plenty more that is for non-commercial use only which also doesn't help us. There's been almost nothing that is free to use with attribution that I have liked which did surprise me a little. I didn't think the quality of the footage would vary as much as it does. Then there is public domain footage that is covered in watermarks which makes it a no go as well.

So after sifting through all that, I get about one usable piece for every twenty that I look into, and out of those I have so far discarded or cut more than 90% of it. In the end, I expect it to have been worth it as it really sets the mood we are trying to convey.

In the end I hope you all will enjoy it.

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