Category:Moviestorm Walkthrough -> Using Moviestorm -> Step by Step

New Movie

There is a definite beginning and end to the process of creating a movie with Moviestorm. The middle, however, is really up to the individual. With the flexibility that Moviestorm provides, to edit and change anything that you’ve done, at any time, there really is no way to write a walkthrough that describes this process. How to make your movies will be entirely up to you. This walkthrough is designed to take you through Moviestorm section by section on a logical path, dealing with each section fully before moving on to the next. Once you become familiar with Moviestorm, this will rarely be the case.

Quick Start Movie

A very useful walkthrough, the Quick Start Movie introduces a new user to the concept of Moviestorm. Choose from a group of pre-made sets and scenarios and follow the step by step instructions.

To keep a new user from getting overwhelmed, many of Moviestorm’s features are slimmed down or disabled in the Quick Start Movie. When you’re ready to build your own sets and add extra characters, start a New Movie from the Main Menu and hit No when the Quick Start Movie window appears.

New Movie Page

Description of the New Movie page.

There are a number of things that you can do on this page; Save (although there’s no reason to do so just yet); Add Actors; add notes and adjust settings in the Script Editor; or switch from the Moviestorm Sets to My Sets (sets that you’ve saved) in the lower left corner; however, understanding the options presented here will be easier if we build up to them. So, since all of those can be done later, we’ll focus on the Toolbar, left to right along the top of the screen, and then move along.

Toolbar

The movie making process of Moviestorm is broken down into different work spaces, accessed through the Toolbar, called Views. Switching to a different View will change the interface, change the entire screen, or both. However, no matter what View you may be in, the Toolbar will always remain same.

In the screenshot above, much of the Toolbar is grayed out. This is because certain actions are dependent on others. You can’t switch to Director’s View if you haven’t chosen any characters to direct. Likewise, you can’t access the Cutting Room until you’ve created some camerawork to edit, or access the Publisher’s View until you have an edited movie to print. This design choice keeps a user from getting ahead of themselves and becoming confused by menus that have no options. Access to the different Views becomes available as you progress.

1) Save - Pressing the icon saves your movie. Pressing the triangle allows you to save a different copy.
2) Undo - Undoes your last actions. Changing Views will clear out it’s memory.
3) Redo - Redoes your last undos.  Changing Views will clear out it’s memory.
4) Set Workshop View - Where you build or change your set.
5) Character View - Where you choose, alter, and dress your actors.
6) Director’s View - Where you add the actors and give them directions.
7) Camerawork View - A through the lens view, aiming and moving the camera happens here.
8) Cutting Room View - Where you cut and paste what the cameras saw into a sequence.
9) Publisher’s View - Take what’s in the Cutting Room and make a playable video.
10) Script Editor - Where you take notes, add additional scenes, and adjust movie wide settings.
11) Moviestorm Help - Moviestorm help files and tutorials.
12) Main Menu - Exit to the main menu, prompts you to save.

Moving Along

Leaving the rest of the options for later in the walkthrough, we’ll choose a set and get to work. You can either do a single click on a set’s thumbnail and then click the Set Workshop View icon or do a double-click of the set’s thumbnail. Choose the Empty Set, in the top left corner of the list, by either method. You’ll be taken to the Set Workshop View.

Continue to - General Movement