[SOLVED] Peripherals for Cinematography?

Max_4_

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Dec 19, 2015
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I’ve always enjoyed making content and videos through recording games with my PC, and recent thoughts have lead me to this question I have no answer to, hopefully someone does. Is there a peripheral that would allow for complete cinematic camera control in a game? What I mean (by example) would be something like a controller with set dials, bindable analog sticks and the like which I could assign to camera controls in a game and use to achieve professional and smooth shots. I don’t mean any generic controller, is there something specifically made for that use? Through my searches I’ve also looked for software which would help achieve something similar and I’ve found nothing. Any input would be appreciated.
 
Solution
If I understand the original question correctly, you want to be able to 'film' what's going on while a game is running. You want to have control over camera position, camera movement, and maybe even what type of virtual camera lens you can use. You want to be able to do tracking shots, dolly, and pans.

I'm not aware of anyone offering this. Usually any kind of recording like this is control within the game, IF the game developers offer it. GTA V, for instance, is pretty good for this sort of thing. Source Filmmaker is another one you should look at. These are all game specific though, there is no third party tool that works with all or most games that I've ever heard of. Some games may have mod support, with mods available that give...
So here is the thing, for camera controls in a game you usually have things like L,R, F, B. Which means you need to hit those specific buttons to move the camera. You can use L+F and combinations to move diagonally. You can't bind those controls to a wheel really since in the game it will tell you "hit the button to bind key" with a controller wheel, there is no "button" to assign since you have a full motion controller.
 
So here is the thing, for camera controls in a game you usually have things like L,R, F, B. Which means you need to hit those specific buttons to move the camera. You can use L+F and combinations to move diagonally. You can't bind those controls to a wheel really since in the game it will tell you "hit the button to bind key" with a controller wheel, there is no "button" to assign since you have a full motion controller.
I’m talking about things like assigning axis of motion on a controller to axis of motion in a game. If you move your mouse slowly the camera will move slowly, if you move your mouse quickly the camera will move quickly. Let’s say part of this controller has two dials that are related to speed for the pitch and yaw of the camera, turning the analog dial up would tell the software to move the pitch or yaw of the camera (depending on which one you turned) at a speed relative to how much you turned it. I don’t know the technical name of the peripheral I’d be looking for so I was trying to describe how it could be used to help people who may know what it is recognize it.
 
I’m talking about things like assigning axis of motion on a controller to axis of motion in a game. If you move your mouse slowly the camera will move slowly, if you move your mouse quickly the camera will move quickly. Let’s say part of this controller has two dials that are related to speed for the pitch and yaw of the camera, turning the analog dial up would tell the software to move the pitch or yaw of the camera (depending on which one you turned) at a speed relative to how much you turned it. I don’t know the technical name of the peripheral I’d be looking for so I was trying to describe how it could be used to help people who may know what it is recognize it.

Look for a 3D mouse. I had one of those but never used it, sold it on eBay. Or maybe a trackball would help, a lot cheaper than the CAD 3D mice.
 
If I understand the original question correctly, you want to be able to 'film' what's going on while a game is running. You want to have control over camera position, camera movement, and maybe even what type of virtual camera lens you can use. You want to be able to do tracking shots, dolly, and pans.

I'm not aware of anyone offering this. Usually any kind of recording like this is control within the game, IF the game developers offer it. GTA V, for instance, is pretty good for this sort of thing. Source Filmmaker is another one you should look at. These are all game specific though, there is no third party tool that works with all or most games that I've ever heard of. Some games may have mod support, with mods available that give some of this functionality.

About the best you can count on for all games is to run your game and do whatever, while recording your gameplay. Then you'll have a clip to use in editing. What you can record will depend on the controls the game gives you in controlling your view while gaming. Some games more control over that view than other games.
 
Solution