Creating A Home Film For the First Time: A Personal Journey
by SourdoughBread, HSM guest contributor
I first started using PlayStation Home since private beta in 2008. Back then, I didn’t own a lot of PS3 games and Home was what kept me busy with my console.
My then-girlfriend was also sent a private beta invitation to try Home. We used to do a lot of things together in Home; we would spend hours playing pool, bowling, hang out in the mall, or the plaza. She was my inspiration and reason to make this film – we have this on-and-off thing going on – and at the time we weren’t really together. She stopped playing Home with me, and I was alone there. Then this idea of making a video just popped up. It was the summer of 2009.
In real life, we live miles and miles away – we live in different states – and I think I can say that Home brought us together in some way.
She is the only reason why I decided to shoot a short film and learn something new; I don’t have any background in film or audio editing. And with a little motivation, we all can learn something new.
I don’t have any software or hardware that can record in-game footage. The tools I’ve used to do this film are a Kodak EasyShare V1253 digital camera, a few PS3 games to support the camera – I don’t have a tripod – a notebook to take notes, and Sony Vegas Trial Software to edit the video and audio. I looked up video tutorials on YouTube and online tutorials to learn a few things about Sony Vegas so I could create my video.
It wasn’t really hard learning a few tricks and how to use Sony Vegas program; the hardest thing for me was doing everything alone. I shot scene by scene whilst listening to the song I’d chosen – there was a lot of pausing, back/forward actions when I was playing the song while filming. I didn’t do everything at once, and most of the footage I shot was cut to fit the song perfectly. I had to set up my one of my drafting tables very close to the TV, and I had to sit very close to the TV as well as close the camera so I could press “stop” while it recorded. Thank God for Sony Vegas, it helped me edit the video and cut seconds to make this better!
The hardest part for me while producing this film was putting the pieces together to make more sense to the music. The fun part – to me – was the “costume” change.
I was the directior, the cameraman, the actor and actress in the film. The avatars – both myself and my girlfriend that you see in the film – were created and manipulated by me the whole time. It took me roughly two and half weeks straight to learn the basics of film editing, brainstorm the story and put everything together. I shot footage in both Japan and US PlayStation Home locations, because at the time, the majority of the spaces you see here were only in Japan’s Home; they hadn’t made it to the US yet. Keep in mind too, at the time I made this video, our avatars didn’t even have the ability to take pictures in-Home yet!
The song I picked was from a trailer I saw in Home. I found out about this song while I was in the Irem space, as they were airing a trailer of the game. I listened to the song and I instantly felt a connection. I Googled the song so I could listen to it fully, and the lyrics were just perfect for the film I was planning to do. If I can remember correctly, it took me four or five days to study the lyrics and the find the available locations in Home to make this work. I was able to find the Japanese lyrics online, so I printed out a copy and wrote all over it, describing the scenes that I wanted to try.
I have to be honest and say that it was quite tedious. It may not look like a lot of work, but it is – picking out a perfect scene and making it work with the song was a big challenge for me. I had no help from anyone, but I’ve seen a lot of music videos, so I knew what I had to do to make this work. I think I can safely say that I have listened to the song for more than a hundred times. It was getting boring, but it’s a necessary step that you have to take if you want the product to look perfect – and by the time I was done with it, I’ve only listened to it one or two times since. I couldn’t take it anymore.
My experiences filming this were better than I expected it to be. I was expecting to encounter a lot of folks dancing close by or next to me, but overall it was better than I thought. I was able to film this peacefully, and I didn’t have to reshoot a lot of the footage; there wasn’t that much distraction from other users in the US Home.
You can view my film here, if you want — keep in mind that embedding is disabled, so you’ll have to watch it on YouTube:
I think I should explain the video scene by scene. I will try to explain in a way that makes sense. (Spoiler alert: I will probably tell the story). I will try to translate the song and explain my film step by step. It’s very hard to explain everything, but I hope I will give you insight to what this video is about.
The video starts out in the Japanese Nightclub in the Japan PS Home. I’m inside the nightclub thinking about the past, the experiences I shared with my girlfriend and the day she left me.
The rain scene is where she left me. In the scene, I am walking in the rainy road, remembering the day she left me, wondering if she will ever remember us and what we had together. In the lyrics it mentions some like “I’m slowly walking towards a brighter day but if I quit walking that road and if the city floods, will you ever notice me?”
The scene switches to the Hot Shots! Golf room, and there I’m thinking about the time we shared together having a good time doing some karaoke, and how it’s gone and she is not there with me anymore. The song lyrics repeat the part, “will you ever notice me” again.
The next scene I’m in my apartment, remembering the memories and laughter we shared together. In the lyrics, it talks about how the carefree days she had smiling and laughing with him and how she was looking forward towards tomorrow with her special someone. There is a flashback to the Irem area, where I reminisce about the times we would have picnics there.
Then the scene moves back to my apartment. This is where I have realized how important she is to me, and I want to protect her and hold her close, and that I dont want to forget her. In the lyrics it sings of something similar to it; the singer mentions that she wants to call his name, so she can remember the things they had together and how important he was to her in her life.
The penultimate scene was filmed close to the ocean in the Japanese Home Plaza. I’m in the looking at ocean and thinking about her and how I want to see her.
The end of the video was filmed in the Red Bull area. This is the only scene filmed in the US Home; I tried filming more, but there were a few users distracting me, and it was hard for me to find more locations in the US to film without distraction. This scene is bascially me going back to Japan – because it’s over – and that if I ever come across her again, I wanted to tell her that my feelings for her haven’t changed.
When I finished the video and showed it to her, a part of me wanted to leave her puzzled. I wanted her to figure out my message behind the video, which was (and still is) that my feelings have never changed and I’m always thinking about the things we did together. I can say that she really enjoyed the video, even though she doesn’t understand Japanese or anything.
If you’re wondering if the video worked and if my girlfriend and I got back together — it did, and we did.
July 10th, 2011 by SourdoughBread | 10 comments
This was such a sweet story. How could any girl turn away from this? I hope you have a long life together.
omg this was sooooooo cute! i almost cried! your video was touching and shows how you were motivated/driven by your strong love for her. im glad you two are back together. YAYS!
Brilliant for a first-time video. And yes, they are a lot of work, aren’t they?
Very touching film about time shared in Home and the memories that it. Very moving and for a first time movie, I applaud the excellent job. Glad to hear that you are now making new memories together.
I was a bit lost at first with the music selection, although once it hit the 1 min 30 sec spot, and the woman started to singing “punany -- punany” I caught on quick.
Two thumbs up for the video, I will have your Punany song stuck in my head for a few days to come.
I admire anyone who can make a video on PS3 Home (cbeyond and carlabirch come to mind) or YouTube music videos because I can’t, but that’s OK.
Watching can be as enjoyable as creating and it is easier, watching is easier that is.
Congratulations SourdoughBread!
Great to see your work Sourdough. I’ll keep an eye on your Youtube Channel.
Awesome video…please make more..
you did a wonderful job.
BRAVISSIMO SOURDOUGH!…Your video tugs at the very center of what everybody seeks on Home…That being a centered Connection…I’m glad it worked out for you …