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sadisim · 7 years

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Lee’s Writing Tips #1

Hi! To those of you who don’t know my blog or simply don’t know me, i’m Lee, your friendly writer next door with a constant creeping terror of not getting her writings perfect every time.

Today i bring you some of the writing tips i’ve picked up writing from my experience.

English is not my native language, but i have been introduced to it when i was 3 by a relative who gradually taught me English alongside my native language, therefore i do make mistakes and sometimes i happen to fall in the traps of multiple language errors so please be patient with me. I started my writing journey when i was 10, being attracted by short flash fiction English texts in class which lead to me writing a lotta stuff, and here i am 18 and still not entirely proud of my writing skill.Also feel free to suggest me more things and let me know what you think!

BUT HEY we all learn so today i’ll give you some of my tips into:

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT 101

I will add some of my favorite links at the end of this post so you can check them out but my best advice, and the first one, is to simply pile up on resources on your own. Don’t just expect information to come at you. You have this huge platform called Google which will introduce you to the magical world of research.

*They=official pronoun accepted when we’re talking about no specific gender of a being,as in he/her or anything in between

Before beginning these steps I will assume you have already picked the most basic things about your character such as : gender, race etc.

First things first: Let’s pretend your character has been just created into a very empty world, like you’re playing some kind of creator game and you shape your own beings after yourself. Make sure that you first pick a purpose for your character. What should they be like? Are they a bright, cheerful person with a bubbly personality and joyous laughter who always know how to make people smile? Or are they rather a social introvert, with a mysterious aura engulfed within a severe persona? It is all up to you what you choose. Just think up of a few basic personality types and pick one for your character. Let us pretend this drawing is your current character:

So they are a very basic shape, no colors, no personality, nothing that will identify them. Well it’s all up to you after you have picked your personality to fiill it in. This will consist of 100% of their base. Let us pretend mine will be a Friendly character. I will fill them in with pink:

-Secondly, after you picked out the full coverage of your char you will have to create a mindmap or whatever lets you keep track of things, of their main traits. This means you will have to do some research on what traits belong to which personality. I will leave that up to you.I have picked out a few for my character: Peaceful, Friendly, Calm, Helpful, Joyous, Childish. Keep in mind that these will mean probably the next 70% of their personality, although you do not have to restrict yourself to one type only. Not all personalities are the same and one person can be both extremely shy but also outgoing among friends. They can be super friendly but also very grumpy under certain circumstances and so on. You have to be creative, and this is the keyword here. Do not stick with one persona only.Make sure you give your character BOTH good AND bad traits. They have to balance themselves. Think of as many as possible. For example my character will be clumsy, shy, supportive and understanding.

I gave a bit more colour to my human, according to what i thought would match their shaping personality.

-After figuring out all of these things i suggest making a list of all the personality tests and things that can help you study more about your character. MBTI test, Zodiacs in multiple cultures, enneagram types, mental illnesses,disorders, the temper, their harry potter house if you want too, generally whatever test will determine their personality. Once you do as many of these in their boots, gather the results and google them all: research is extremely important again, this will help you define what your character’s personality truly is, and you will be able to nitpick from these results whatever you like/dislike and shape your character. These will help you find results on who they are and then yo're able to read more stereotypes/characterisations of that personality.

I’m gonna pick some random results as an example for you: My character is a gemini and a rising scorpio with an INTP mbti, phlegmatic temper, enneagram type 3.

-After reaching this point it should be really easy to have a main idea of the personality. What i would do after is start shaping them with different hobbies, passions, activities that tell you what they like or dislike doing. Develop minor things like the way they talk,act,react, write, how they walk or what facial expressions they give in : all of these sound easy to do but if you do your research properly you'll be able to develop a very well shaped character. A lot of the things listed tell a bunch about a person. If you dont believe me just do your research. You will know what i’m talking about after that.

-Go in depth: get a character sheet and gather as many questions as you can. Answer them all, find all the small and big things about them: why they don’t like coffee, what planet they are from, when do they go to bed, what do they have in their pockets, do they love their mom? These will add all the fine details you need to outline minor things about your character.

-Background: backstory, relationships,family, interaction with other beings and their surroundings: CRUCIAL elements which define who your character is. Remember when a baby is born it will grow up and be educated according to the place it grows in. All of the items listed above influence their behaviour, temper, reactions, personality etc. A very well defined background will tell other people who your character is, without having to know them well.

-Their name. To you a name may not mean too much, but i am DESPERATE about names. Names to me are everything about a character. Keywords, acronyms, puns and wordplay will always be present in my characters’ lives, and why not pick it up yourself as well? Search for names, save them in a list, take time to pick a name for your characters as if they were your children.

-MOST IMPORTANTLY: DO YOUR RESEARCH. I cannot stress this enough. People simply do not research. They think that cresting a character is fun and then abandon them after a week and complain they are boring. That’s because you don’t put effort into them. Look at yourself first: how old are you? How many years did it take you to get where you are now? If you look back one year ago will you realize you’ve changed? If so then think about how your character has shaped with time. If you give them a certain age to start off with, who were they until that point in time?were they different from who they are now? Do not simply create a character just to slap them into a world and leave them die. No human being stagnates in the same state for their whole life,without changing at least one thing about themselves. So do not expect your character to transform radically every day. It takes time, just like it would take you to do it.

-Research their race/nationality. If it hasn’t hit you until now, every country in this world has different people and mostly they have “stereotypical” things about these nations. We’re not talking about stupid things like germans drink beer and americans don’t like sport, no. Those are simply stupid things made up by people. I’m talking about their cultural traits. It really gets on my nerves when people slap on a nationality on a character without doing the littlest bit of research beforehand. Look up into the culture of that nationality: what are they like? what is their religion/belief? How do they interact with others? Minor things like these are often seen unimportant but trust me they matter.

-Make your character interesting and relatable. If the reader does not engage or emphasize with the character in any way it will simply make them not find that character interesting enough to be cared about. What makes them special?What makes them relevant? What do they have in common with other people or characters?What are their morals,beliefs? What makes them good/bad?

-My BEST BEST BEST tip is to STUDY!!STUDY!!STUDY!! If you don’t do your research before creating a character then it’s pointless. You cannot simply KNOW stuff without STUDYING it at least somehow. Be it as simple as how being a vegan would influence your character’s lifestyle to how their actions could turn the entire world upside down. It doesn’t matter. If you’re unsure on a matter, and even if you know it decently well, make sure you do your research properly before assigning them a trait,a lifestyle, a belief or anything else.

-Don\t play God. Don’t make your character unkillable, without weaknesses or weak points or flaws or simply overpowered. Doesn’t matter if they’re superhuman or not. If your character lacks flaws then it’s simply a pointless superhero prototype. There’s no reason to have your character be the god in their universe and make everything really boring. Think very well about what makes them weak, what are their low points?

-Keep references close, save up all the stuff you can, bookmark websites and resources, make your own masterposts. Get an inspo blog and look up everything you need when you lack the motivation to shape your character. If you leave them like that,without drawing inspiration from the real world you won’t get far with them. You will lose motivation and won’t be able to develop them anymore.

Some REALLY helpful websites, but again,personal preference and it’s up to you to gather more ;)

Psychology

What should your character do?

Character types that should be more often used

How to build your character

Building your character’s personality

Flaws

About realistic characters

Avoid stereotypes

Thesaurus | Dictionary

#writing #writing advice #writing tips #writing help #character development #original character #writing reference #writeblr #writers #character #characters #nonsims #masterpost #tutorial #my tutorial

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droneseco · 5 years

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Insta360 Evo: Now Anyone Can Make Movies for VR

Our verdict of the Insta360 EVO : Great quality footage for immersive viewing makes this convertible 360/180 stereoscopic device the best way to start making VR movies right now. It's only let down by a non-removable battery and weak plastic clips to lock the position. 910

If you have a VR headset, you’ll know how immersive 180-degree 3D videos can be. But the hardware to produce such videos has been either too pricey or only capable of grainy, low-resolution video. Insta360 EVO changes that. Now you can make beautiful 5.7K resolution 3D, VR180 videos … for less than $500. I’m confident in saying it’s the best consumer-grade camera around for VR moviemaking.

If that wasn’t enough, the convertible design means it can transform back to a 360-degree camera. This gives it the same “shoot now, point later” magical freedom of the Insta360 OneX.

Check out our video review below–preferably on a VR headset if you have one–to find out exactly what we thought of the Insta360 EVO. Nearly all of the review was shot directly on the EVO, so there’s no better way of sampling the footage. And as always, at the end of this review, we’re giving one of these amazing devices away to one lucky reader. Enter using the competition widget at the bottom of the review.

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Insta360 EVO: Specifications and What’s In The Box?

Insta360 EVO Insta360 EVO Buy Now On Amazon $419.99

Insta360 EVO Hybrid 360/180 stereoscopic camera

Mini Tripod

Clip-on phone lenses for previewing videos on your phone

Felt carry case

Max video resolution (combined): 5760×2880 @30FPS

Max photo resolution: 6080×3040

Fixed f2.2 lenses

1200mAh non-removable battery, about 45 minutes continuous shooting

Bluetooth 4.0, micro-USB port

MicroSD storage slot (no card included in the basic set)

I’m not usually one to comment on packaging, but the unboxing experience of the EVO was exquisite. The camera is secured in the box mounted to a large metal stand with a tripod screw from underneath. I’m not sure if this is supposed to serve a later function given the inclusion of a mini tripod, but it’s quite dramatic if you want to keep your device out on display.

Also in our review set was the Holoframe, an accessory for your phone that enables you to view 3D content without the need for a VR headset or special glasses. More on that later.

Convertible Design

You can either use the EVO as a 360-degree camera, with each sensor recording a hemisphere of video; or it can be flipped open to become a stereoscopic 180-degree camera, with sensors recording the left and right eye viewpoint respectively.

When folded, the EVO is a neat little two-inch cube, weighing no more than four ounces. It’s minuscule and extremely easy to carry around.

Swapping between the two modes and locking them back involves some flimsy plastic clips. These seem like they’ll be the first things to break. The buttons to unlock those plastic clips are small and fiddly too. I found myself not actually knowing if it was locked, or halfway in. Just keep it unfolded if you’re unlikely to use the 360-mode.

Controls and indicators on the EVO device itself are sparse: there are two buttons and two LEDs on top, and two LEDs on the front. One button is a dual purpose power and shutter button; the other switches mode between photo and video. The current mode is indicated by one of two LEDs. All of the LEDs flash alternately when recording. There is no menu system or LED panel: any setting beyond photo/video and record/power are done through the app.

The battery is a little larger and therefore lasts longer than the OneX, but on the flip-side it’s non-removable. Still, when shooting for VR, it’s easy to plug the camera into an external power source, since the rear view is invisible (unlike 360-degree videos, where you can’t hide anything).

360-Degree Features Too? Why Would Anyone Buy the OneX Then?

Despite being a convertible design, don’t think this model is a replacement for the OneX device. They do share many of the same features: the core ability to shoot now and point later, automatic removal of the magic selfie stick, TimeShift and FlowState Stabilization, as well as some of the more obscure modes like Tiny Planet. You’ll find all that when shooting in 360-mode on the EVO. I’ve glossed all of this, despite being incredible, because they can all be seen in our Insta360 OneX review.

But two features are noticeably absent. You can’t LiveStream to social platforms, nor can you record Bullet Time sequences. If those were things that really stood out to your from the One X, stick with that. In addition, the lenses are physically further from each other, so the stitching along the horizon may contain more errors. This is a relatively minor gripe, but my point is that if 360-degree shots are your primary intent, buy the OneX instead.

FlowState Stabilization for VR Too

One feature that really differentiates the EVO from competitors is the FlowState Stabilization technology, which gives you ultra-smooth footage by using the onboard gyroscope. This works in both the standard 360-degree mode, as well as 180-degree stereoscopic.

That said: it’s important to remember that most new VR users (and even some experienced ones) will find artificial motion in VR makes them nauseous. It’s a bit like motion sickness, only in reverse. Your eyes perceive movement, but your body isn’t feeling it. For a while, the advice when filming for an intended VR audience was to remain static and simply observe the scene, but this has relaxed a little as most users develop their “VR legs” quickly. Still: know your audience before deciding whether to use camera movement.

If you do intend to move the camera, do it slowly. The FlowState Stabilization certainly helps to smooth things out compared to not having it all.

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Preview the Shot in VR

When previewing something intended for VR on a flat screen, it’s practically impossible to get an idea of scale or presence.

But if you have a Vive Focus, Oculus Go or Oculus Quest, you can preview the footage live through the Insta360 VR app. This is yet another standout feature that sets apart the Insta360 EVO. You can view both the videos already taken and stored on the microSD card, as well as a live viewfinder. You can stream directly from the camera, while you’re shooting. This takes away the guesswork of framing correctly or ensuring objects aren’t too close. There is, of course, a small delay when streaming over Wi-Fi, and you can’t watch at the full resolution.

While it is an incredible feature to have, I didn’t find myself using it to preview shots that much. It was useful for checking out what I’d already recorded, though, and the whole process is about as seamless as it could be. Put on your headset, connect to the camera’s Wi-Fi, open the app. Done.

The Editing Workflow

If there’s one serious drawback to the EVO, it’s the amount of effort required to edit the video. This isn’t a unique problem to the EVO, but it is compounded by such high resolutions!

While the mobile app is perfectly functional for short clips, it’s limited to producing 4K content. For the full quality 5.7K resolution, you’ll need to process the files from the Insta360 Studio desktop app. It took about half a day just to output all the footage I took for the review video, with my MacBook Pro fans running full speed. You’ll also need an enormous hard drive: it works out at about 1 GB per minute.

That’s just to output the raw footage: you’ll need a professional editing suite like Adobe Premiere or Apple Final Cut Pro X to take advantage of 360-degree editing. (Pro-tip: For Final Cut, make sure you select horizontal 360-degree stereoscopic top/bottom as your output format. It’s the last option on the list, and not the default).

After you’re done editing, it will, of course, take longer than usual to render your final video, given such a high resolution.

But you’re not finished yet: for uploading to YouTube and displaying it as a VR180 video, you’ll need to use Google’s free VR180 Creator tool to inject the required metadata. Otherwise, YouTube doesn’t know it’s designed for VR, and will just try to compress it to a regular viewing window.

In short, it took an inordinate amount of time to process, edit, render, inject metadata, then upload the 15 GB review video you see embedded!

You’ll need a powerful machine, a big hard disk, an unlimited internet connection, and a mountain of patience. I should note that there is apparently a more direct integration with Adobe Premiere, but I don’t have that to test with.

The Holoframe and Clip-on Glasses

The Holoframe looks like a regular gel phone case, and is designed to be used as one when you’re not previewing videos. When you do want to use it, just snap it off the back and clip it onto the front of your phone instead. It works in a similar way to other glasses-less lenticular screens, but uses the phone’s front camera to see where your eyes are and adjust the 3D effect accordingly. Previous attempts at glasses-less 3D viewing through lenticular screens required you to sit in a particular place; the Holoframe uses the phone’s processing to adjust the image, rather than you needing to adjust your seat. If you want this, you’ll need to buy the model that matches your phone. Only a handful of the latest handsets are supported.

It works, but the 3D effect was overall unsatisfying, I felt.

In fact, I preferred the stereo separation and depth offered with the included clip-on 3D viewing glasses, which work with any phone.

Moreover, use of the Holoframe requires a scene to be processed before you can watch it. The processing time depends on the length of the clip, but even a relatively short clip will take a minute or so. And if you move your eyes, the app will need to “capture” where they are before you can resume watching. It just felt like far more effort than it was worth. The clip-on glasses could be used without any additional processing time: it’s just a generic side-by-side 3D output.

Should You Buy an Insta360 EVO?

The main attraction of the EVO is the ability to shoot for VR. If you’re not sure you even want to do that, and are primarily interested in the 360-degree features, go for the OneX model instead. You’ll get better quality stitching, a removable battery, and a few other features like the ability to shoot bullet-time that aren’t found on this device. Consider the EVO mainly for VR video production, with 360 features as a little bonus.

Insta360 EVO Insta360 EVO Buy Now On Amazon $419.99

The hardware isn’t perfect. The non-removable battery and flimsy plastic clips are annoying, but not enough to detract from the overall fantastic package on offer here. Finally, it’s feasible for everyone to produce good quality VR video content.

Just don’t bother with the Holoframe. The included clip-on glasses are fine for previews on your phone. For the ultimate live VR preview, put on your Oculus Go or Quest!

Enter the Competition!

Insta360 EVO VR180/360 Convertible Camera Giveaway

Read the full article: Insta360 Evo: Now Anyone Can Make Movies for VR

Insta360 Evo: Now Anyone Can Make Movies for VR published first on http://droneseco.tumblr.com/

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