With the highly anticipated Decimated by 
-Max- and eTerNal having just been released I figured it would be a nice idea to interview them both about the movie, their thoughts about it and about the movie scene in general.
I think a lot of people are curious about your background, this being your
first released project from Ultra-violet Productions. Have you had any other projects? What background do you have in the movie community?
-Max-:
Well, I started playing ET at the very beginning in May 2003 but it was probably the summer of 2004 where I started to take an interest in movies.
Movies like Destructive Vision, True Destination, but most of all Dignitas eXposed really got me into the whole scene. I had a few small projects for clans I was in but I didn't really know what I was doing until about 18 months ago, when I started preparing for my next project which turned into Decimated.
eTerNal
Well for -Max- and I this was our first project, I have played ET since its release but at the moment I'm currently playing in sFx Gaming. When -Max- released the Decimated Trailer I noticed that he wasn't very strong at text effect, so I asked if I could join Ultraviolet and since then I did the text and graphical elements for Decimated. I have never done a major movie like this before but I enjoyed it as I'm sure -Max- did aswell. As for the movie community I watch a lot of Gaming Movies (Q3, Q3 Trickjumping, ET etc) but I'm not as involved as -Max-, as he is on many community forums and helps alot of people out with problems.
Are you happy with the final result? With the movie being released and recieved critisism, is there anything you would've done differently? And, do you think the public is happy with the result? Are one4one happy?
-Max- and eTerNal
We are very happy with the final result. Criticism is necessary to improve. Unfortunately some is less encouraging and constructive than others but we expected that.
I think the hype attributed to the project may have hindered the result as peoples expectations got out of control near release. With that in the back of our minds, we spent a lot of time discussing, testing and enforcing changes with the help of several trusted beta testers whose opinion we value greatly, such as fei.
We have had lots of good feedback on irc, some saying it motivates them to play and others it motivates them to make movies.
On the other hand, it is not a typical fragmovie which may upset those faithful to the 'frag after frag' type of movie you find on this site. one4one were delighted with the movie.
A part which most of them agreed needed improved was their own content, as both Ultraviolet, the team and I'm guessing much of the community know they had many great frags which were lost or just weren't sent to us.
What is unique about Decimated? There are hundreds of ET and RtcW movies, what makes Decimated stand out?
-Max-
It includes a storyline throughout which hasn't really been a part of any ET/RTCW movies before.
It originated when I decided before I started work on the movie that the Allies and Axis frags would be separated, as comments on the progression and flow of the trailer sunk in. Myself and Darkangel, now of Shaolin Productions, initially discussed machinima scenes. My original idea was to have the machinima sequences done by a 3D Animator, but it never came to fruition so I did my best to make it look good ingame with the great help of actors and FlyingDJ's voicework.
Onto the production itself. What would you say was the most difficult part of making the movie?
-Max-
There are a couple of aspects which were really tedious and definitely played a part in the movie taking so long. Mainly the frags themselves, with a movie of this length it's very hard to pinpoint where to put scenes, placement and so on, especially when you're staring at a blank project.
Syncing was pretty difficult but there were many situations where great syncing happened almost by accident and looked great which is why I have complete faith in the music track myself and eTerNal worked on.
From where do you get your inspiration?
-Max-
The movies I mentioned earlier were instrumental in my interest in editing, but when R3 ET Clan Trailer came out, it really gave me a kick up the backside on how much you can do. From there I started reading tutorials and seeking help and advice from those with more experience.
From about March 2005-August 2005 I was learning a lot from Vegas and GTKRadiant and compression etc.
Another aspect is the difficulty of working with another editor. Arguments were quite common and we both had our share of getting it our own way, but it improved our teamwork together and the result delighted us both.
eTerNal
I had a hard time getting my inspirations as most text effect on ET movies are not very helpful, so I started looking towards Q3 movies with nice text and also Hollywood movies since the text has been getting more advanced than just the plain old simple effect. They gave me inspiration on how I should do the text on certain sections but also keeping to how -Max- wanted them.
What motivated you to continue with this project? The team had folded long ago and seven months is a very long time, most people would probably have given up long ago.
eTerNal
At one point we stopped making it, -Max- lost motivation because the team quit, but I got him back into shape because the players still wanted it and the community wanted to see it, too. Eventually many great moments you can see in the movie got both of us working back at full capacity again and helped us complete the project.
Your choice of music has been a subject of much critisism - Can you understand this, and how do you defend your choice? Wouldn't it have been possible to create an alternative soundtrack?
-Max-
I can definitely understand it. CrozZ told me 9 months ago he didn't like what I had at the time. But I still after all the criticism have complete faith in the soundtrack and wouldn't have it any other way. They help give great syncing moments throughout. It would've been more practical if maybe some tracks didn't have lyrics but that wasn't possible obviously. I'm glad eTerNal was here to advise me to change a couple of the tracks from the way it was in the very beginning. The music is not typical music you hear in ET movies, which is probably a catalyst for the criticism. I think the criticism is aimed mainly at the songs themselves rather than how the songs go with the movie.
What part of the movie are you most satisfied with?
-Max-
Initially eTerNal's favourite part was actually the Ultraviolet logo but that all changed when he saw the credits (which he didn't get to see until just before it was released).
I'd have to say I agree with him that the credits look great and I thought they needed to be because I was reading comments months ago about those who never watch credits or always switch off when the credits start. We wanted to make something to keep them watching until the end.
I also have a couple of favourite fragscenes, mainly from an editing perspective. syk's 4man West Radar Parts run on Radar was great and perfect with the music. CrozZ's 4 man in Goldrush spawn is another favourite, and I also loved the ovrboost 3 man vs uQ on Ice at the start of the Axis frags section.
For those who want to make their own movie, could you give us a quick tour of your production? What is it you have done, using what programs?
-Max-
Where do I begin? For video editing, I don't want to double the length of this interview so one day I may publish a guide somewhere with all the info. Basics are that I captured at 100fps at 1024x768 (Limited by my monitor). I always used the source resolution in Sony Vegas and added a HSL Adjust tweaked preset to each scene to give it some colour. I rendered to separate versions of the movie, one with motionblur (8x SuperSampling) and one without, then I made a new Vegas project imported both and set the opacity of the non-motion blur render to 40%. Rendered the final, then sharpen, then resize, then encode. :-) VirtualDub was used for sharpen and resize renders, while X264 MeGUI was used for x264 compression. I didn't use any programs like After Effects or anything, though. Still have to learn.
eTerNal
I used my Mac for all the text work, with programs like Motion 2 and Livetype. It's also really important that you utilise beta testers every step of the way, they are a great help throughout the editing process. Teamwork between myself and -Max- was absolutely essential in gaining a positive result.
On to the scene. What do you think about the ET and RtcW movie scene of today, and in general? Ganon has just released a short video where he
presents his frags in a very pure way - not much editing and no synching or fancy codecs. What's your oppinion about that?
-Max- and eTerNal
Movies are rushed - We're not saying everyone should spend 7 months in a one year period making a movie, but the vast majority of ET movies lately don't have enough effort put into them. We have seen an improvement since last year, where people barely knew what a movie config was, but there is still work to be done.
We're not going to use this to make comments on any particular movie. Enough has been said already about it. All that needs to be said is the two are incomparable...completely different ends of the spectrum. That video clip is what it is. People enjoy it and that's super. But the comments made against our movie in relation to it have been unnecessary.
What do you think the people who want to create a movie of their own should think about? What's the most important things with a movie, what should they focus on?
-Max-
Content is very important but I can enjoy a well-edited movie with less than great frags more than I can the opposite. Config quality and compression are also really important aspects for me. But personnaly, editing tops my list.
eTerNal
Aside from what -Max- said, I think it's very important to be surrounded by people who can give you impartial feedback on tests and clips. In Decimated we had many testers who made lots of suggestions, many of which were enforced, and altogether made it a better movie in my opinion.
And finally, as a closure, could you give us a list of your favorite ET and RtcW movies?
-Max-
4Kings Revolution, R3 ET Clan Trailer, Swadhistana Trailer, Violent Reflection and Kno or Die stand out. I can still enjoy any of the movies I've previously mentioned too, such as Dignitas eXposed. I look forward to mjo's next movie, and Zaigon by hannes looks very promising. Also, we must get Conflict to finish the United 5 Movie!
eTerNal
R3 ET Clan Trailer, 4Kings Revolution, Dignitas eXposed and I am looking forward to hannes movie.
-Max- and eTerNal
We would also like to thank #sfx.gaming and sFx Gaming for all there help with website hosting and server hosting for the movie, and evo for making that possible. We would also like to thank all those who have offered mirrors of the movie. Thanks again!
And with that we thank the dynamic duo for this interview!
-Max- and eTerNal having just been released I figured it would be a nice idea to interview them both about the movie, their thoughts about it and about the movie scene in general.I think a lot of people are curious about your background, this being your
first released project from Ultra-violet Productions. Have you had any other projects? What background do you have in the movie community?
-Max-:Well, I started playing ET at the very beginning in May 2003 but it was probably the summer of 2004 where I started to take an interest in movies.
Movies like Destructive Vision, True Destination, but most of all Dignitas eXposed really got me into the whole scene. I had a few small projects for clans I was in but I didn't really know what I was doing until about 18 months ago, when I started preparing for my next project which turned into Decimated.
eTerNalWell for -Max- and I this was our first project, I have played ET since its release but at the moment I'm currently playing in sFx Gaming. When -Max- released the Decimated Trailer I noticed that he wasn't very strong at text effect, so I asked if I could join Ultraviolet and since then I did the text and graphical elements for Decimated. I have never done a major movie like this before but I enjoyed it as I'm sure -Max- did aswell. As for the movie community I watch a lot of Gaming Movies (Q3, Q3 Trickjumping, ET etc) but I'm not as involved as -Max-, as he is on many community forums and helps alot of people out with problems.
Are you happy with the final result? With the movie being released and recieved critisism, is there anything you would've done differently? And, do you think the public is happy with the result? Are one4one happy?
-Max- and eTerNalWe are very happy with the final result. Criticism is necessary to improve. Unfortunately some is less encouraging and constructive than others but we expected that.
I think the hype attributed to the project may have hindered the result as peoples expectations got out of control near release. With that in the back of our minds, we spent a lot of time discussing, testing and enforcing changes with the help of several trusted beta testers whose opinion we value greatly, such as fei.
We have had lots of good feedback on irc, some saying it motivates them to play and others it motivates them to make movies.
On the other hand, it is not a typical fragmovie which may upset those faithful to the 'frag after frag' type of movie you find on this site. one4one were delighted with the movie.
A part which most of them agreed needed improved was their own content, as both Ultraviolet, the team and I'm guessing much of the community know they had many great frags which were lost or just weren't sent to us.
What is unique about Decimated? There are hundreds of ET and RtcW movies, what makes Decimated stand out?
-Max-It includes a storyline throughout which hasn't really been a part of any ET/RTCW movies before.
It originated when I decided before I started work on the movie that the Allies and Axis frags would be separated, as comments on the progression and flow of the trailer sunk in. Myself and Darkangel, now of Shaolin Productions, initially discussed machinima scenes. My original idea was to have the machinima sequences done by a 3D Animator, but it never came to fruition so I did my best to make it look good ingame with the great help of actors and FlyingDJ's voicework.
Onto the production itself. What would you say was the most difficult part of making the movie?
-Max-There are a couple of aspects which were really tedious and definitely played a part in the movie taking so long. Mainly the frags themselves, with a movie of this length it's very hard to pinpoint where to put scenes, placement and so on, especially when you're staring at a blank project.
Syncing was pretty difficult but there were many situations where great syncing happened almost by accident and looked great which is why I have complete faith in the music track myself and eTerNal worked on.
From where do you get your inspiration?
-Max-The movies I mentioned earlier were instrumental in my interest in editing, but when R3 ET Clan Trailer came out, it really gave me a kick up the backside on how much you can do. From there I started reading tutorials and seeking help and advice from those with more experience.
From about March 2005-August 2005 I was learning a lot from Vegas and GTKRadiant and compression etc.
Another aspect is the difficulty of working with another editor. Arguments were quite common and we both had our share of getting it our own way, but it improved our teamwork together and the result delighted us both.
eTerNalI had a hard time getting my inspirations as most text effect on ET movies are not very helpful, so I started looking towards Q3 movies with nice text and also Hollywood movies since the text has been getting more advanced than just the plain old simple effect. They gave me inspiration on how I should do the text on certain sections but also keeping to how -Max- wanted them.
What motivated you to continue with this project? The team had folded long ago and seven months is a very long time, most people would probably have given up long ago.
eTerNalAt one point we stopped making it, -Max- lost motivation because the team quit, but I got him back into shape because the players still wanted it and the community wanted to see it, too. Eventually many great moments you can see in the movie got both of us working back at full capacity again and helped us complete the project.
Your choice of music has been a subject of much critisism - Can you understand this, and how do you defend your choice? Wouldn't it have been possible to create an alternative soundtrack?
-Max-I can definitely understand it. CrozZ told me 9 months ago he didn't like what I had at the time. But I still after all the criticism have complete faith in the soundtrack and wouldn't have it any other way. They help give great syncing moments throughout. It would've been more practical if maybe some tracks didn't have lyrics but that wasn't possible obviously. I'm glad eTerNal was here to advise me to change a couple of the tracks from the way it was in the very beginning. The music is not typical music you hear in ET movies, which is probably a catalyst for the criticism. I think the criticism is aimed mainly at the songs themselves rather than how the songs go with the movie.
What part of the movie are you most satisfied with?
-Max-Initially eTerNal's favourite part was actually the Ultraviolet logo but that all changed when he saw the credits (which he didn't get to see until just before it was released).
I'd have to say I agree with him that the credits look great and I thought they needed to be because I was reading comments months ago about those who never watch credits or always switch off when the credits start. We wanted to make something to keep them watching until the end.
I also have a couple of favourite fragscenes, mainly from an editing perspective. syk's 4man West Radar Parts run on Radar was great and perfect with the music. CrozZ's 4 man in Goldrush spawn is another favourite, and I also loved the ovrboost 3 man vs uQ on Ice at the start of the Axis frags section.
For those who want to make their own movie, could you give us a quick tour of your production? What is it you have done, using what programs?
-Max-Where do I begin? For video editing, I don't want to double the length of this interview so one day I may publish a guide somewhere with all the info. Basics are that I captured at 100fps at 1024x768 (Limited by my monitor). I always used the source resolution in Sony Vegas and added a HSL Adjust tweaked preset to each scene to give it some colour. I rendered to separate versions of the movie, one with motionblur (8x SuperSampling) and one without, then I made a new Vegas project imported both and set the opacity of the non-motion blur render to 40%. Rendered the final, then sharpen, then resize, then encode. :-) VirtualDub was used for sharpen and resize renders, while X264 MeGUI was used for x264 compression. I didn't use any programs like After Effects or anything, though. Still have to learn.
eTerNalI used my Mac for all the text work, with programs like Motion 2 and Livetype. It's also really important that you utilise beta testers every step of the way, they are a great help throughout the editing process. Teamwork between myself and -Max- was absolutely essential in gaining a positive result.
On to the scene. What do you think about the ET and RtcW movie scene of today, and in general? Ganon has just released a short video where he
presents his frags in a very pure way - not much editing and no synching or fancy codecs. What's your oppinion about that?
-Max- and eTerNalMovies are rushed - We're not saying everyone should spend 7 months in a one year period making a movie, but the vast majority of ET movies lately don't have enough effort put into them. We have seen an improvement since last year, where people barely knew what a movie config was, but there is still work to be done.
We're not going to use this to make comments on any particular movie. Enough has been said already about it. All that needs to be said is the two are incomparable...completely different ends of the spectrum. That video clip is what it is. People enjoy it and that's super. But the comments made against our movie in relation to it have been unnecessary.
What do you think the people who want to create a movie of their own should think about? What's the most important things with a movie, what should they focus on?
-Max-Content is very important but I can enjoy a well-edited movie with less than great frags more than I can the opposite. Config quality and compression are also really important aspects for me. But personnaly, editing tops my list.
eTerNalAside from what -Max- said, I think it's very important to be surrounded by people who can give you impartial feedback on tests and clips. In Decimated we had many testers who made lots of suggestions, many of which were enforced, and altogether made it a better movie in my opinion.
And finally, as a closure, could you give us a list of your favorite ET and RtcW movies?
-Max-4Kings Revolution, R3 ET Clan Trailer, Swadhistana Trailer, Violent Reflection and Kno or Die stand out. I can still enjoy any of the movies I've previously mentioned too, such as Dignitas eXposed. I look forward to mjo's next movie, and Zaigon by hannes looks very promising. Also, we must get Conflict to finish the United 5 Movie!
eTerNalR3 ET Clan Trailer, 4Kings Revolution, Dignitas eXposed and I am looking forward to hannes movie.
-Max- and eTerNalWe would also like to thank #sfx.gaming and sFx Gaming for all there help with website hosting and server hosting for the movie, and evo for making that possible. We would also like to thank all those who have offered mirrors of the movie. Thanks again!
And with that we thank the dynamic duo for this interview!
