Before
Element Studios were releasing a new game, and wanted a trailer that showcased all of the new features. Their team assembled this teaser using gameplay footage, and it’s already pretty good! They posted it on their YouTube page, and it currently has over 1,000 views. Not bad at all!
For the official release, however, they wanted to hire a professional to “edit/tweak/fix it up to look proper,” and they had a deadline of only 10 days.
During
They gave me a number of clips containing gameplay footage, some logo graphics, a couple of music selections, and a well-organized list with detailed information about the order in which the clips should appear. They knew what they wanted, and they provided the materials so I could bring it all together. This makes for a very quick, very simple project, right? Right!?
Once all the clips had been assembled, I realized I didn’t understand what I was watching…
Something we all need to acknowledge: when we work on a project for too long, we become focused on the minutia. We see every single little detail, and those details become far more important to us than they do to others. Hiring an outside eye can clear your perspective, refocus, and put you back on the right track.
I have no personal experience with tower defense games, so maybe I was missing the point, but the purpose of a trailer is to entice viewers to learn more. It should showcase the best parts without giving anything away. If I didn’t know what I was watching, I was convinced others would be confused as well, so I spoke up.
Even with such a tight deadline, the clients were able to capture new clips by request. Their system is built in such a way that they can replay game footage that has already been captured, but they can change the viewing/recording angle however they please!
So every now and then, I’d ask “do you have any more spinning clips of the lava level?” They’d quickly record something and send it my way. It was a wonderful partnership! We added flying text, synced the clips to the music, reorganized the order, and turned it into a much more interesting piece of art. We brought it all together.
After
The Element TD2 Trailer launched on February 27—right on time! It currently has over 4,000 views on their YouTube channel, and the game is very highly rated on Steam. I’m proud of the end result, and I look forward to working with them again someday!