My Vanilla-styled Cinematic Trailer

[Triceron]

Elaborate.

The presentation was poor because you didn't offer anything to discuss beyond 'take a look at this wall of text, and make it into a video for me if you can'

[username993720]

Well, who's the villain/big bad tying it all together? When you go from there, you can just have him/her/it say something foreboding/ominous/threatening to the backdrop of what you described that puts their lives at risk; how and why, and what will happen if the mortal races don't react to his/her/its menace.

There was no big bad in the vanilla cinematic. I don't want it to be like Xal'atath or the Jailer narrating corny-ass lines.

The presentation was poor because you didn't offer anything to discuss beyond 'take a look at this wall of text, and make it into a video for me if you can'

What do you think of this wall of text? That is the discussion.
What would you take away or add?

[Triceron]

What do you think of this wall of text? That is the discussion.
What would you take away or add?

I think it's a montage that lacks structure. There's no clear beginning, middle or end. And while the Vanilla cinematics seem like they are just random montages, there is still a story being told beyond the montages.


Let's take a look at the WoW cinematic and break down its themes.

In the Beginning, the WoW cinematic shows us the map of the world, and speaks of the timeline and brief overlook of history. It explains the setting. Four years after the races/factions banded together against the Burning Legion. The narration is centered on one central theme - War. The Drums of War are sounding again. This establishes the central theme of the cinematic.

Then we get to the middle of the cinematic, which establishes the primary characters and settings we will see in the world. We see different characters in their own environments, and we see a wide spread of them, showcasing different races, cultures, classes, and environments. This establishes a vast world which we are expected to see and explore. But these are all disconnected scenes. What us the purpose of seeing these characters? Which brings us to the big transition to...

The end of the cinematic. Each of the characters are now pitted against each other. These characters aren't just peacefully isolated, they're all part of a connected world filled with conflict and war. Thr Alliancr vs Horde conflict spans multiple races, between multiple continents. The Tauren of Thunder Bluff is present in the snowy mountains of Khaz Modan! The Orcish warrior is fighting the Druid in the ruins of a burning city! The Mage is fending off the Warlock's summoned army of Infernals! Faction Conflict and Global scale War is the core theme of the cinematic. This is theme that the beginning of the cinematic establishes. This is storytelling 101; we aren't just seeing a random montage, we are getting a full connected story.


Even the TBC cinematic might feel random, but it's not. It is specifically centered on one theme - "You are not prepared". All the characters we see? The Warlock killing the murlocs with a simple gesture, the orc slicing up naga in a single blow, the troll on the epic mount - all illustrate the high level of achievement our characters have gone through. Yet the cinematic begins and punctuates one theme - Illidan is back, and despite all your achievements, you are not prepared for his arrival. That is the story that ties the montages together.



What you present is just a random selection of montages that only has a middle. There is no beginning or ending. There is no context to seeing these races and locations. Why are we seeing these places? How is it all connected to each other? No one really knows, because it's completely random. This is what Kyphael is getting at by talking about a Villain - it's not really about adding a villain to your cinrmstic, it's about adding a story to it. And focus on a Villain is one way you can add a story (but not the only way). It's more about finding your theme, finding the point your cinematics are trying to make. Every montage can be its own individual thing, but they should all serve some common theme to them all.


So question is - what is the story you want to tell? Without a story, all you have are a bunch if disconnected scenes that leaves the audience with nothing to talk about.

Find that theme, and mold your scenes around that theme. Find the story you want to tell.

[Throwme]

Find the story you want to tell.

He did. And he is. It's the story of how he got so many people mad about something that is obviously made just to piss off people.

[username993720]

I think it's a montage that lacks structure. There's no clear beginning, middle or end. And while the Vanilla cinematics seem like they are just random montages, there is still a story being told beyond the montages.


Let's take a look at the WoW cinematic and break down its themes.

In the Beginning, the WoW cinematic shows us the map of the world, and speaks of the timeline and brief overlook of history. It explains the setting. Four years after the races/factions banded together against the Burning Legion. The narration is centered on one central theme - War. The Drums of War are sounding again. This establishes the central theme of the cinematic.

Then we get to the middle of the cinematic, which establishes the primary characters and settings we will see in the world. We see different characters in their own environments, and we see a wide spread of them, showcasing different races, cultures, classes, and environments. This establishes a vast world which we are expected to see and explore. But these are all disconnected scenes. What us the purpose of seeing these characters? Which brings us to the big transition to...

The end of the cinematic. Each of the characters are now pitted against each other. These characters aren't just peacefully isolated, they're all part of a connected world filled with conflict and war. Thr Alliancr vs Horde conflict spans multiple races, between multiple continents. The Tauren of Thunder Bluff is present in the snowy mountains of Khaz Modan! The Orcish warrior is fighting the Druid in the ruins of a burning city! The Mage is fending off the Warlock's summoned army of Infernals! Faction Conflict and Global scale War is the core theme of the cinematic. This is theme that the beginning of the cinematic establishes. This is storytelling 101; we aren't just seeing a random montage, we are getting a full connected story.


Even the TBC cinematic might feel random, but it's not. It is specifically centered on one theme - "You are not prepared". All the characters we see? The Warlock killing the murlocs with a simple gesture, the orc slicing up naga in a single blow, the troll on the epic mount - all illustrate the high level of achievement our characters have gone through. Yet the cinematic begins and punctuates one theme - Illidan is back, and despite all your achievements, you are not prepared for his arrival. That is the story that ties the montages together.



What you present is just a random selection of montages that only has a middle. There is no beginning or ending. There is no context to seeing these races and locations. Why are we seeing these places? How is it all connected to each other? No one really knows, because it's completely random. This is what Kyphael is getting at by talking about a Villain - it's not really about adding a villain to your cinrmstic, it's about adding a story to it. And focus on a Villain is one way you can add a story (but not the only way). It's more about finding your theme, finding the point your cinematics are trying to make. Every montage can be its own individual thing, but they should all serve some common theme to them all.


So question is - what is the story you want to tell? Without a story, all you have are a bunch if disconnected scenes that leaves the audience with nothing to talk about.

Find that theme, and mold your scenes around that theme. Find the story you want to tell.

I agree that i need some kind of a voiceover.
The point is to showcase some of the cool races of Warcraft in their natural environments, doing their thing. I can't yet pit them against each other because they're neither Horde or Alliance. So, i do need a connective tissue. Got any suggestions?

He did. And he is. It's the story of how he got so many people mad about something that is obviously made just to piss off people.

What?
What's infuriating about it?

[Triceron]

I agree that i need some kind of a voiceover.
The point is to showcase some of the cool races of Warcraft in their natural environments, doing their thing. I can't yet pit them against each other because they're neither Horde or Alliance. So, i do need a connective tissue. Got any suggestions?

Honestly, that's up to you to figure out.

Why not start with a fictional expansion idea, and work towards that? Find some common themes and glue those random races and locations together somehow.

Like how did you come to pick and choose the races and events in your mockup? Why those characters, why those events specifically? I think Kyphael's suggestion could help, like think of a common threat they are against, or a common theme they are being chosen for. You got Ethereals, Tuskar, Nathrezim, stuff from MoP... If you want a global showcase, then think of a global theme.

[username993720]

Honestly, that's up to you to figure out.

Why not start with a fictional expansion idea, and work towards that? Find some common themes and glue those random races and locations together somehow.

Like how did you come to pick and choose the races and events in your mockup? Why those characters, why those events specifically? I think Kyphael's suggestion could help, like think of a common threat they are against, or a common theme they are being chosen for. You got Ethereals, Tuskar, Nathrezim, stuff from MoP... If you want a global showcase, then think of a global theme.

I pretty much went through the list of races and picked the ones i think were iconic and cool. Since people, usually, really like them, i wanted them to get a CGI rendition. What is described in each shot is what they are known for and what i imagine them doing when i think of them.

I'm not sure i want a specific theme. That's what characterizes every expansion. What was unique about the vanilla cinematic is it showed the world of Azeroth and its many races and locations. That's the beauty i want to evoke.

[Triceron]

I pretty much went through the list of races and picked the ones i think were iconic and cool. Since people, usually, really like them, i wanted them to get a CGI rendition. What is described in each shot is what they are known for and what i imagine them doing when i think of them.

I'm not sure i want a specific theme. That's what characterizes every expansion. What was unique about the vanilla cinematic is it showed the world of Azeroth and its many races and locations. That's the beauty i want to evoke.

You should still have a common theme.

Even an abstract theme tying in a sound or musical element could suffice.

For example, you have some of that already with some of your scenes having certain races react to the call of a Warhorn. Remember that one Warcraft commercial (BFA?) with live actors and celebrities blowing an oversized Warhorn to return to play WoW? Something like that could be used as a connection point between unrelated races.

And you can think about how deeply the theme goes. What is the mysterious sound each race hears? How would these races react? Is the sound signifying a threat or a call to action? Take that seed and nurture it into a narrative. It could be Malfurion blowing the Horn of Cenarius to warn the races of the world of a new threat, it could be the rumbling roar of an emerging Elemental Sound Lord (like Murmur) resonating through space and time, it could be a montage of battle music and warsongs being used by various races and cultures to illustrate its importance in combat. It's up to you what you want that story to be. And music is just one of infinite examples of a common theme.

[username993720]

You should still have a common theme.

Even an abstract theme tying in a sound or musical element could suffice.

For example, you have some of that already with some of your scenes having certain races react to the call of a Warhorn. Remember that one Warcraft commercial (BFA?) with live actors and celebrities blowing an oversized Warhorn to return to play WoW? Something like that could be used as a connection point between unrelated races.

And you can think about how deeply the theme goes. What is the mysterious sound each race hears? How would these races react? Is the sound signifying a threat or a call to action? Take that seed and nurture it into a narrative. It could be Malfurion blowing the Horn of Cenarius to warn the races of the world of a new threat, it could be the rumbling roar of an emerging Elemental Sound Lord (like Murmur) resonating through space and time, it could be a montage of battle music and warsongs being used by various races and cultures to illustrate its importance in combat. It's up to you what you want that story to be. And music is just one of infinite examples of a common theme.

Maybe a world revamp, a WoW 2. A reason to reintroduce Azeroth's iconic locations and races and market them to the audience. Not, necessarily, this "world is healing" dragonflight narration, but a new way to introduce the game's main map as it should look - unbroken.

[Triceron]

Maybe a world revamp, a WoW 2. A reason to reintroduce Azeroth's iconic locations and races and market them to the audience. Not, necessarily, this "world is healing" dragonflight narration, but a new way to introduce the game's main map as it should look - unbroken.

Weave that into your opening and ending.

[username993720]

Weave that into your opening and ending.

I think i know what i want.
A Lorewalker Cho or Medivh styled narration.

[username993720]

Appreciate the idea, enthusiasm, and creativity, but kind of need dialogue and something at stake to read that much text. At least if the script had dialogue like Warlords of Draenor's opening cinematic/trailer, then we could sink our teeth into something. The description of a beautiful dead body is still dead, you need conflict to liven it up and silence is the enemy of drama.

So question is - what is the story you want to tell? Without a story, all you have are a bunch if disconnected scenes that leaves the audience with nothing to talk about.

Find that theme, and mold your scenes around that theme. Find the story you want to tell.

I've taken your advice and added a Medivh narration to it. I based it on him saying in the movie that on his journeys, he met a strong and proud people (Garona's mother), so i assume he travelled quite a bit. I know it's not top-tier writing and i'm still not sure about the order of the shots. But, what do you guys think? Does it convey the visuals? What would you change, add or remove?