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             Г       РФФФФФП   Г          Г      Г  Г  Г   Г      Г    Г
             Г             Г   Г          УФФФФФФД  Г  Г   Г      Г    Г
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                               Г          Г      Г  Г        ФФФФФСФФФФй
                               РФФФФФФФ             Г
                                                    Г






     жФФвФФП вФФФФФП ФФвФФ жФФФФФП в   кФ  жФФФФФП
        К    К     Г   К   К       К   Г   К
        К    ЧФФФТФй   К   К       ЧФФФСФП гФФФФФП
        К    К   Г     К   К       К     Г       Г
        а    а   СФ  ФФаФФ гФФФФФй а     С гФФФФФй

                                 жФФП жФФП вФФП
                                 ЧФФД К  Г К  Г
                                 а  С а  С аФФй


                                           жФФвФФП ФФвФФ вФФФФФП жФФФФФП в
                                              К      К   К     Г К       К
                                              К      К   ЧФФФФФй гФФФФФП o
                                              К      К   К             Г
                                              а    ФФаФФ а       гФФФФФй


                                                         by Christian Zane






===============================================================================

                        GREETINGS STUNT ISLAND FANS!!

I have been a big fan of Stunt Island ever since it hit the shelves
and I thought I would share some of my secrets, suggestions, tricks and
tips that I have utilized making my own SI movies: "Mickey vs Donald"
(and it's sequel "Mickey Chases UFO"), "Dogfight!" and "Savages".  
These suggestions are in no particular order, and of course there are 
probably tons of tricks that I don't know just waiting to be discovered 
and explored.  So happy filmaking and I'll see you on the set! (:

===============================================================================

TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS:


1. Give objects shadows!

One of biggest mistakes I have seen while watching many Stunt Island movies
is that none of the objects, especially planes, don't have shadows.  To add
a better sense of realism, turn on the SHAD button for flying objects.  This
might slow down the scene a little bit (since the SI program must process that
much more information), but in the long run it will greatly enhance the look
of your film (especially those of us with fast 486 and Pentium CPUs).


2. Watch those white credits against white backgrounds!

I have made this mistake many times, but there are ways to get around it.  
Unfortunately the Stunt Island credits are small and white, and there is no
way to change the font size or color of the letters so anytime credits appear
against a white object, you can't see them!  Always try to put credits against
a dark, stationary background.


3. Put that gear up!

This is another common mistake.  How many SI movies have we all seen where the
Mig is flying at Mach 2.0 with the gear down!?  This is a very simple solution.
If the plane is object #1 (which you fly) just hit the "G" button at anytime
and the wheels will retract very nicely into the plane.  If the plane is 
another position which you DON'T fly, just go into the GLOBAL menu and put
the gear "UP".  


4. Rotate UFO's and radar installations.

Making the UFO rotate adds wonders to your movies!  Just having the UFO sit 
there in space looks pretty cheesy.  To make UFO's rotate (or any object for
that matter), just go into the ANIM menu and change the FACING Yaw to 180.
This will rotate the UFO 180 degrees and give it a nice effect.  You can also
do this to radar installations.


5. Fill up the blank space.

Stunt Island provides for 40 objects to be used at any one time, so try to
fill up all that dead space with moving objects such as cars or stationary
objects like buildings or people.  The more information you provide in the
frame of the camera, the more visuals you provide for your audience which
greatly enhances the look and quality of the film.


6. Use deep focus!

The greatest tool I use in Stunt Island is the ZOOM feature for the cameras.
By zooming in on an object (expecially a moving one), you give the sense of
deep focus which adds a 3D quality and space to the frame.  Just go into the
WTCH menu and toggle the zoom with the "+" and "-" keys.  And just because
you are in the WATCH doesn't mean that the camera will watch something 
because you changed the Zoom (an camera or object will ONLY watch if you
put watch "ON").


7. Use credits.

Always try to start and end a movie with credits.  If you would like to add 
credits to a black background, just prepare a set and have a camera film the 
black shadow of a large object.  Then save that black space as a film and add 
credits to it whenever you like.  


8. Use both sound channels.

Sound can make or break a movie, and not utilizing BOTH tracks in the SI 
editing room is a BIG mistake.  Always try to use both channels, perhaps one
for music and the other for sound effects and avoid having dead space where
there is NO sound at all.


9. Watch those polygons!

Unfortunately the limited technology of polygons provides for some pretty
funny and unwanted moving and shifting of objects.  If you film a scene and
the mountains or certain objects disappear (or flash on and off), re-shoot
the scene from a different angle. 


10. Sound Editing.

Don't edit sound to your movie until VERY LAST.  I have expereinced a lot
of problems when adding sound to certain scenes and then trying to cut them
together.


11. Keep those shots quick and exciting!

Many shots are just too long and tedious, for instance if you were to show
a paraglider circling a military installation for two minutes waiting to land.
Keep the action fast-paced and exciting and don't let your audience fall to
sleep.  (Just think of the great cutting and fast editing in great Disney 
movies like Tron!)


12.  Too many title captions!

If you have to tell your story with page after page of title cards, you 
should have spent your time writing a book instead of making a Stunt Island
movie.  Stick with visuals when story-telling and only use captions for
crucial plot clarification.


13. Quick exit

Believe it or not, many of my friends who have Stunt Island STILL forget 
about the quick exit feature in SI even after reading the manual two and
three times.  To instantly exit to DOS anywhere in SI, hit CTRL and ESC
together.


14. Backing up

Back up all your SETs, TKEs, and FLMs to floppy disk.  I have made some
really lame mistakes while editing and ended up saving myself by backing
things up.


15. The Zane Dogfight technique

Many of you who downloaded my "Dogfight!" film asked me how I was able to
seemingly follow another plane in a dogfight while it moved and changed 
altitude.  Well the trick to this is easy:  First position the plane you 
will control in POSITION 1 and place it anywhere.  Then go to POSITION 3
and place a plane on top of yours.  Make this plane's altitude and speed 
the same as yours, then make it FOLLOW your plane but stick it >IN FRONT<
of your plane, not behind by using the DISTANCE, YAW and PITCH buttons.
When you fly this stunt, the plane will move around in front of you as you
control your own plane.  It's awesome.


=============================================================================

Well I hope these tips will help you while creating movies.  If you have any
quesitons or comments, or know of any secrets or bugs that are unique, feel
free to e-mail me and drop me a line.

                                                                  -=CZ=-